Kuli'ou'ou Ridge Trail

Cousin Sam came to visit at Thanksgiving and wanted to hike up one of the ridges.  We selected the Kuli'ou'ou Ridge Trail, which starts in the Aina Haina neighborhood of Honolulu, for a hike that we hoped would be "good bang for the buck".  He had limited vacation time so we did not want to spend half a day getting up and down the mountain.





The Kuli'ou'ou Ridge Trail was just over 5 miles round-trip and reached 2,028 feet.  A series of switchbacks meander up the mountain and through an ironwood grove.  The needles carpet the trail making the ground soft and cushy.


The easy switchbacks give way to a number of steps built into the mountainside making for a very steep final ascent.  The below picture was taken at the trail's official end point, on the windy (look at the A's shorts) plateau overlooking the Windward Coast. Unofficially the trail continues to the Puu o Kona peak - but its approach and return are very difficult.

The sky threatened rain but fortunately the clouds held the rain until we made it safely back down to the trailhead.  The wind was very strong at the summit and our sweat covered bodies were quickly covered in goosebumps.

But first we had to take in the views:

Waimanalo

Kailua and the Marine Corps Base

Waimanalo with the Mokolua Islands off the coast