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Our Fifth Anniversary

Celebrating our Fifth Anniversary | Friday, July 27, 2018

Our fifth wedding anniversary was on July 27. We had made big plans for an anniversary trip, but the Navy unmercifully squashed our hopes and dreams. It’s fine, we’re over it. Instead, I spent the majority of that Friday eagerly awaiting Curtis to return from his exhausting 36 hour shift, then enjoyed every second of him for 2 hours before he crashed for the next 12 hours. Thankfully, I then had him all to myself until he went in to work on Sunday morning for his next 7 day work week. To top it all off, he also managed to get sick for the second time in a month. But that’s life, right? At least I did get to see him, unlike our second anniversary when he was at OCS. It’s all about perspective, enjoying moments together, taking advantage of free time, and laughing when things go wrong. Taking all that to heart is part of what has made the last 5 years of marriage so positive despite the trials thrown our way.

Obscure Hikes on Oahu

On Saturday, we slept in, enjoyed breakfast together, then made plans for a special fifth anniversary hike. I have recently been searching all sorts of blogs and Youtube channels looking for more obscure hikes. My interests as of late include less popular hikes that aren’t going to endanger our lives. A task easier said than done, but for today I had the perfect hike in mind. Since it was only going to be around 3 miles, we brought Charlotte along. In hindsight, we should have started the hike earlier for her sake. We made up for this mistake by carrying plenty of water and taking lots of breaks along the way.

Finding obscure hikes hasn’t always been so difficult — everywhere else we’ve lived, we’ve always managed to easily find great hikes that don’t get too much traffic, or we picked the right time or season to hike to avoid crowds. Here, that isn’t always so straightforward and simple, and yet we’ve never felt more desperate to take the path less traveled. On Oahu, we have not only a million residents on a small island all hiking the same trails, but we also have multitudes of tourists year-round.

There are many factors that come into play when searching for a more obscure hike. First of all, you need a place to park where your car won’t be ticketed or broken into. You also don’t want to be a nuisance to others, as so many hikes on the island begin at the end of residential streets.

Next comes figuring out if the hike is actually legal. It’s not always black or white, legal or illegal. Illegal can mean “this trail is closed, someone was injured, don’t hold us responsible if you get hurt” which really just means that it isn’t maintained but it’s still regularly hiked. In comparison, illegal could also mean “No trespassing, violators can be fined up to $2500, must appear in court and fulfill community service requirements.” There’s a certain sign you see often around here that says “Area closed, do not walk beyond this sign,” and it’s a known fact that some of the best hikes begin right behind the sign (for example: Crouching Lion, Pali Puka, and Pali Notches).

Now once you’ve determined you can safely park and go for the hike, you need to know how to navigate it. There are plenty of well-worn trails that are used daily by hundreds of people; these trails are suffering from erosion whether the conditions are wet or dry. Then there are the obscure paths that are hardly used and have become overgrown. Sometimes AllTrails is an option, but what if your hike is so obscure that it’s not on the website? Always come with a plan and plenty of food, water, and a first aid kit just in case.

Sometimes you can put in all this effort only to fail. But sometimes, you totally luck out and have a enjoyable scenic hike all to yourself on a beautiful day. Today turned out to be a success! With enough research, we found our way to the trailhead, up the path and to a gorgeous overlook. It gave us a new perspective on this now-so-familiar island. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I absolutely love that we’re still finding hidden gems on this tiny little island. Even after 10 months of hiking every weekend, there’s always a little surprise waiting for us when we put in the effort to find it. We may have hiked every ridge surrounding this one, but it still offered something fresh and inspiring.

We wrapped up our short weekend anniversary celebration with making dinner together at home, and delicious blackberry wine. As the years go by, I find myself reflecting less on our wedding day, and more on all the moments we’ve shared in our years of marriage. We opted to read old blog posts instead of watch our wedding movie this year. I’ll always remember it as my favorite day of my life up to that point, but since then there have been so many wonderful days together. Though life lately has been challenging, I’m certain we will one day look back at this time fondly. I hope we remember how we actively put in the effort to make the most out of every situation, and kept persevering week after week.

There’s so much I could say about things we’ve learned from five years of marriage, but it just seems fitting to share a recent adventure with musings from our life as of late. Out of everything we’ve done and learned, I think we both agree that the best thing we’ve done is commit to taking weekly “adventures” together. Not only is it valuable time spent together learning and experiencing new things, but it has also created hundreds of memories. Here’s to many more years of adventuring together.

Nu’uanu Judd Trail

Hiking the Nu’uanu Judd Trail | July 21, 2018

If you’re looking for a trusted resource to learn more about hiking on Oahu, (other than this blog 😉 ) we recommend The Hiker’s Guide to Oahu by Stuart Ball. It’s where we have found some of our favorite more obscure hikes, as well as gotten information for more popular ones. It shares how to get to the trailhead, where to park (because that isn’t always clear), a thorough trail description, different types of flora along the trail, history in the area, and other need-to-know information. It also doesn’t list illegal hikes where you could be fined, and omits some of the most popular hikes that everyone does (for example, Diamond Head and Koko Crater Stairway).

While it isn’t a priority for us to accomplish every hike in the book, we’re working our way through doing the ones that interest us. Before getting the book, we had hiked the Judd loop trail last December. Afterwards we read about the Nu’uanu trail that branches off the loop and ends at a lookout over the Nu’uanu Valley. We were looking for a new-to-us easier hike with a view, and this one fit the bill. We drove to the trailhead and began the loop trail going clockwise.

There are signs marking the way to the Nua’uanu trail, and we began heading up that path. It started by switchbacking back and forth, up through the pine trees. Once past the pines, the trail continued switchbacking up a hillside. I have to admit that I didn’t enjoy this part of the trail, and honestly wasn’t expecting much from this hike. I always prefer switchbacks over steep straight up the mountain trails, but it seemed as though the path was either super muddy or dry and crumbly. It also just felt dark, as it was West-facing earlier in the morning with a thick tree cover. This part lasted about a mile and gained around 600 feet of elevation.

However, once we reached the end of this stretch, it got better from here: we began following a ridge and had more views to the South, facing Waikiki and the deep blue ocean. One thing we had read from our hiking book was that there were cinnamon trees around this trail. We were starting to wonder which trees they were referring to, and kept our eyes out for any tree that looked unfamiliar.

Eventually the Nu’uanu Trail intersected with the Pauoa Flats trail, and here we took a left. If we were to go right, this trail would lead to the Mount Tantalus area, with other trail intersections that would take you to the Manoa Falls area. Both of these are areas that we’ve previously hiked, and it’s interesting to me to see how they all connect. Just looking at the AllTrails listing for this hike, you can see all the different trails that intersect in this area. There are so many different ways you could create a longer through-hike or loop hike in this area.

The Pauoa Flats trail took us through a large bamboo forest — as always, we enjoy walking through it and listening to the bamboo crash together in the wind, but it always seems to be muddier in these areas. Finally after one last uphill stretch, we made it to our destination overlooking the Nu’uanu Valley and reservoir. We were both pleasantly surprised by how great the view was. I admit I was skeptical that I would be impressed with this hike, but it was definitely worth it. The valley we were overlooking is where the trail to Lulumahu Falls crosses and the Pali Highway goes through. We loved seeing these familiar places from a different angle. (Note — since we hiked the Lulumahu Falls trail last December, they have begun construction on the reservoir so the path has changed. I believe the new trail cuts straight through the bamboo, but I honestly have no idea.)

From this point, the sanctioned trail is officially over, but if we were to hike to K1 or K2, the highest peaks in the Ko’olau range, we would continue on the path to the right for another mile and a half and 1600 feet up. I know this is pretty much the only trail Curtis REALLY wants to do, but unfortunately it’s almost always socked in by clouds. I’m not exaggerating when I say that — I can see this mountain out my kitchen window, and it’s very rare that I see it in its entirety. While we’re learning to appreciate cloudy hikes, this is one we’d want to do on a clear day to make it worth it. Today was definitely not a clear day — from where we were the wind was already strong, meaning it’d be even stronger at the top, and there were dark clouds hovering over the peak. Another day…

The view isn’t the only thing that makes this lookout fascinating — the valley is also a significant battle site in Hawaiian history. Curtis read aloud from the Hiker’s Guide to Oahu about the invasion and fight that took place in this very valley in 1795, that ended with Chief Kamehameha taking control of the island. I have to admit it’s so easy for me to forget that this island is so rich in history when all we see is how Americanized it has become. Taking in the view, it was so hard to imagine a battle going on right in the middle of this beautiful mountain range.

After a while spent enjoying this lookout, we began our trek down. This time, Curtis was determined to find the cinnamon trees, so he picked a leaf and crunched it up in his hand and smelled it. And what do you know — it was cinnamon! Just to be sure, he took a piece of the bark, smelled it, then put it in his mouth. His exact words to me were “It’s just like putting a stick of Big Red in your mouth!” As it turned out, we had been surrounded by cinnamon trees all along!

That wasn’t the only surprise we found on our descent. Have you ever been so focused on the ground while walking that you missed out on the views in a certain direction? I realized that I had missed all these wide South-facing views on the way up, and now was able to enjoy them. It was still just of Waikiki and Honolulu, though there was a small window where we could see all the way out to the Leeward coast and the Wai’anae Mountains. We stopped to appreciate them and the pleasant smelling cinnamon trees for the rest of our hike down.

When we returned to the Judd trail, we continued on the loop just to revisit the rest of the trail. However, we decided to skip returning to the Jackass Ginger pool/waterfall as we could hear all the people there from a distance. Instead, we returned to our car and called it a day, clocking in at 6 miles hiked.

Mokule’ia Trail

Hiking the Mokule’ia Trail to Peacock Flats Campground

Last month when we hiked the Kealia trail on the North Shore, we got a better understanding of what other trails there are in the area. I added a few more on our Hawaii bucket list, and since then have felt even more drawn to that area. We love the drier climate, unique views of the Wai’anae Mountains, and hearing the North Shore waves crashing on the shore even from a distance.

One of the hikes I had written down was the Mokule’ia Trail to the Peacock Flats campground. It was a 7 mile round-trip hike entirely on a paved road which is now inaccessible to cars. It’s commonly known as the “Peacock Flats” trail, though that name is totally misleading — we saw no peacocks and after the first mile it was no where near flat! It’s popular for bikers, joggers, and hikers alike.

We chose to hike this on Curtis’ half-a-day off because it had been raining on the East side all week, and because alternating East vs. West hikes makes adventures more interesting. We drove up to the North shore and parked on the side of the road across from the gate for the trail, which comes right before the Dillingham Airfield. Curtis had gotten off work late so we had a late start (almost 10am) and we soon realized that we were going to pay for it. The sun was high in the sky, it was hot, and this trail provides little to no shade. However, it seemed that all other hikers we saw were leaving, so we had the area to ourselves.

The beginning of the trail goes between farms, and we loved seeing the banana, coconut, and papaya trees, as well as taro and sweet potatoes growing in the gardens. The first mile is completely flat, and then the elevation begins. I won’t lie — it was hard in the heat, but as we got higher the breeze felt so much better! We took advantage of the empty road for some auto-timed pictures together, but aside from that we pressed on and made good time getting up. The views of the valley inland and the North shore were worth it!

We reached the campsite before noon and stopped for a short break. We considered continuing to see if we could meet up with where we stopped when we hiked the Kealia Trail, but saw how much elevation we would lose and have to regain, so we decided to save it for another day. I honestly would love to come back and hike further, as long as it wasn’t so hot! It would make a good hike in the wet season as well since the road is paved and we wouldn’t have to worry about muddy trails. Camping here could also be enjoyable, I’d love to hike up and watch the sunset on the North Shore, and spend an extra day hiking through the forest reserve. The main thing that would keep me away is that dogs aren’t allowed so we’d have to make other arrangements for Charlotte.

The hike back was easy, obviously as it was all downhill, and as we neared our car the sky became more overcast. It rained on us on our way back home — so maybe if we’d waited even later we could have avoided the heat! Oh well, we were just happy we had been able to get out and do something. We returned home to our sweet puppy and made homemade wontons for dinner together.

Ma’akua Ridge Trail

Hiking Ma’akua Ridge (also known as Papali Loop Trail) | Hau’ula, Oahu

On one weekend with a rainy forecast, we decided to go for one of the easier hikes we had been saving for such a day. The hike just so happened to be near one of the wettest areas on the island…but since the trail was considered easy and not dangerous like the ridges would be, we weren’t deterred. We drove up the Windward coast to Hau’ula and returned to an area we had explored a few months prior. Last May, we hiked the Hau’ula Loop, and today we went for the loop just down the road from there. We parked at the beach, then walked through a neighborhood, around a yellow gate, and followed the road until we came to a graffiti wall on the right. Today’s trail, the Ma’akua Ridge Trail, was about halfway down the wall on the left. Almost right away it crossed a wide ravine, but thankfully it was dry today despite the recent wet weather.

The trail was muddy and sometimes narrow, but we were still comfortable hiking it. The thick foliage from the tropical forest provided a good shield from the rain, and we didn’t even need to use our umbrellas. Much like the Hau’ula trail, there were only a few scenic vistas on the Ma’akua Ridge trail, so this isn’t the trail to take if you’re looking for views. We did see 2 other hiking groups which was 2 more than last time, but otherwise the trail was quiet and exactly what we were looking for.

As always, we admired the surrounding flora. We started noticing these purple flowers with string-like petals and soon figured out that they were blue passion flower, producing a variety of lilikoi, otherwise known as passion fruit. Most of the yellow-orange fruits we found were already eaten by the creatures in the forest, but Curtis found one that was untouched. Once we reached a bench with a view to the East, he quickly Googled it to make sure it was safe to eat, then cut it open and we found it surprisingly delicious. I saved part of mine with the seeds just to see if we could grow some. (In a pot, of course — this is one of those fruits that isn’t native to Hawaii and is taking over the native foliage.)

Altogether, the Ma’akua Ridge loop was about 4 miles long including walking to and from our parking spot at the beach. While it had a fair amount of switchbacks and went through some overgrown sections, it was honestly pretty easy and overall enjoyable. There were a few spots with unobstructed views East along the way. I’d say I enjoyed the Hau’ula loop more based on the views of the valley and the stretch of trail going through the Norfolk trees, but both were certainly worth doing.

Afterwards, we realized we needed more gas to make it back home, so we drove up North a little further to Laie to fill the tank. I had a coastal spot saved on Google Maps that I had wanted to visit, so we decided to check it out since we were there. Google has it listed as Laie Point State Wayside. I thought it looked cool, but I underplayed it as being just another ocean view so that Curtis wouldn’t be expecting much. However, once we arrived we were both struck by the view: the coral stretching out into the ocean, the giant rock arch nearby, the cloud-covered Ko’olaus to the South, and the HUGE waves that were rolling in. We spent a bit of time wandering around and taking in the views. Curtis walked all the way out to the point. I saw the size of the waves and stayed back, not wanting to risk getting my camera wet — but even being 15 feet behind him couldn’t keep me safe from one huge rogue wave that soaked us both! I shrieked and then we both couldn’t stop laughing, I’d say we were an amusing site for the other visitors who were smarter and much further back than we were!

As I gazed out over the waves at the Ko’olau mountains engulfed by clouds, I couldn’t stop thinking about how glad I was that we had risked a rainy day for this view. Sure, I’d love to return another day when I can see the whole range, but it was so worth it to get out and enjoy it today!

Independence Day 2018

Celebrating Independence Day 2018

One of my favorite parts about holidays is remembering how we celebrated them in years past. Having lived in a different state for the each of the past 5 Fourth of July’s makes it fun to reminisce. (2017 CT, 2016 SC, 2015 I lived in IA but was in SD and Curtis was at OCS in RI, 2014 AZ, 2013 IA but celebrated in MI) This year’s wasn’t especially exciting, but I still want to record it to remember for years to come!

Our day started with a morning get together for families of the boat, involving donuts, yard games, and water balloons. Afterwards, we did some yard work at home — it feels like fall here because our mango tree is losing leaves like crazy and we’ve had to rake almost every day! Then we took Charlotte for a walk to make up for leaving her in the morning and later that evening. Because 50% of owning a dog is feeling guilty whenever you have to leave your pet home alone for more than 30 minutes.

Enjoying the Kawainui Marsh Trail

Knowing the beaches would be packed, we took her to Kawainui Park to walk the trail that goes along the marsh. Walks with Charlotte are never long and include plenty of stops to smell everything. This is my favorite place to take her because it’s not as busy as the beach and has great mountain views and a variety of interesting birds.

No endangered birds spotted today, just some friendly ducks who were expecting us to give them food.

Kailua Beach Fireworks

That evening, we went to Kailua Beach with some of Curtis’ shipmates for the advertised “Air Show” and fireworks. Calling it an air show was a bit of a stretch…there was a plane that flew over the bay and 3 parachutists jumped with an American flag. We still enjoyed the company and walking the beach alone together.

The last time we had seen fireworks together for the 4th was in 2013 — before we got married! We’ve always been too unwilling to deal with crowds and traffic to make an effort, but this year we decided…why not? Kailua is a pretty small beach town, and when there’s bigger and more impressive firework displays downtown, why would everyone come here? Well, the beach was still completely lined with people, but we had an enjoyable night nonetheless. How could it not be, when we’re on this beautiful beach? The show is funded by the public and lasted maybe 10-12 minutes. We stayed for a while afterwards to wait out the traffic. As it turns out, Hawaiians don’t celebrate the 4th like they do New Year’s Eve, so not everyone had their own firework/firecracker display going all night long.

Sunset Hike on Koko Head (Hanauma Bay Ridge Trail)

Curtis had to work Thursday morning through Friday at noon, but we were still excited to have the rest of the day and Saturday to be together. We did errands and yard work together on Friday, then decided to take Charlotte for a sunset hike. We’ve clearly been too lazy to get up for sunrise hikes, but this inspired us to start making a better effort…or at least to go out for sunsets more often!

For this evening’s hike, we chose Koko Head because it was shorter and paved, and not socked in with clouds like the Ko’olaus were. We parked at the Koko Crater parking lot and crossed the highway to begin our hike. Just like last time when we did this at sunrise, we saw a surprising number of cats along the beginning of our walk, and Charlotte was very brave and well behaved while passing by.

We walked all the way up and to the end of the pavement. There were several other hiking groups, but we still enjoyed some moments of peace and quiet together as the sun dropped below the clouds and golden light reflected over Diamond Head and Honolulu.

We drove home in the dark — something we don’t do often, and it made me nostalgic for taking long road trips on the mainland. To wrap it all up, Curtis made us delicious burgers for dinner. All this, combined with the fact that we still had one whole day together before the 7 day work week, made for a perfect, relaxing night.

Wiliwilinui Ridge

Hiking the Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail | Honolulu, Hawaii

I’ve decided to stop viewing the cloud-covered ridge as an annoyance or a reason to not hike, and start recognizing the advantages of it instead. A cloudy day on the summit means that we’re not in direct sunlight, the temperatures are cooler, and there’s a refreshing breeze. If there isn’t a view, that means there will be less people at the top or on the trails. When we let the forecast control our plans, we miss out on the beauty and exciting experience we could have. And so when we were trying to pick out a hike last Saturday morning, we didn’t rule out the Ko’olaus just because we couldn’t see the summit. Instead, we chose an easier ridge and went with open minds, just seeking an enjoyable experience together. (Disclaimer: this only applies to cloudy days, if it were actually raining then we still wouldn’t hike those narrow, steep, muddy trails!)

We drove through Honolulu and up one of the neighborhood ridges to Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail. To access the trail, we had to register with the neighborhood security guard and show an ID. He gave us a day pass and directions to the trailhead. We drove to the parking area and began our hike.

This is our 5th ridge hike in the Southern Ko’olau mountain range, and is similar to Kuli’ou’ou and Hawaii Loa in difficulty and trail conditions. The drive up through the neighborhood cuts off a lot of elevation gain, and the first part of the trail is a very easy walk on a wide path. For much of the way, the path follows electrical poles, so I presume that it’s wide enough for vehicle access. We were in the shade for much of the beginning as well, with little gaps between the trees where we had South facing views that got better the higher we were. In that regard, it was more scenic than Kuli’ou’ou ridge right from the beginning.

We eventually came upon the first staircase of many. Here, we left behind the shaded area and started to have even better views to the South, from Honolulu to Koko Head. This is where I became thankful that it was so cloudy — the breeze felt so good while going straight up the steps! Soon we had the radio towers near the end of the trail in view, and it was intimidating to look and see how much higher we had to climb. Overall though, the stairs were in good condition and the trail wasn’t too muddy. We reached the tower and continued on the last stretch of the trail to the summit.

We reached the end and sat down on the bench together, the peak all to ourselves. There wasn’t any view to the Windward side, but we knew if we waited long enough we could see something. Eventually another group made it to the peak, and we struck up a conversation with them about different hikes around the island. They talked about some of the illegal hikes they’d done, such as Stairway to Heaven and Sacred Falls, and it honestly solidified in our minds that we don’t have any desire to do those. Besides the point that they’re illegal, they’re also incredibly popular and on everyone’s bucket list — we just don’t get the hype.

Finally the clouds cleared to the East, and we had glimpses of Olomana, Kailua, Ka’iwa Ridge, and more. If it had been clearer, we would have walked along the Ko’olau Summit Trail a bit more, but we’ll save that for another day. I would definitely do this hike again — it was a good workout without being too risky, and even without clear skies we still enjoyed the views we had. Kulepeamoa is still my favorite hike we’ve done on the Ko’olaus, and probably all of Oahu, but I honestly don’t want to do it again because I know the danger and risk that comes with that ridge. Once is good enough!

We said goodbye to the other group and began our hike back down Wiliwilinui Ridge. I had been dreading going down the stairs because I always find it harder to go down than up steep steps, but it really wasn’t that bad and we made good time getting back. Altogether the hike was 5 miles and gained almost 1600 feet. It’s honestly pretty easy until the last .3 miles when it gains most of the elevation. If you’re interested in seeing our AllTrails recording, click here.

The Leeward Coast

Driving up the Leeward Coast | Hiking to Ka’ena Point | Lower Makua Cave

On this particular weekend, Curtis had only half a day off, and that day happened to be rainy all over the island. It would have been easy to just forego our weekend adventure and enjoy a lazy day at home — but we both knew that we needed to do something. Getting out and exploring the island together is what keeps us inspired and excited about life. We need that reminder that life is more than a stressful job and the daily routine. We need to see and experience new sides to this island to remember how beautiful it is and what a privilege it is to live here. After a long week of 7 consecutive 13+ hour work days and having all our hopes and dreams of a summer vacation crushed, we needed a day like this to remind ourselves who we are and what we love.

I’m not saying this to draw sympathy or complain, this is just our reality and it’s important that we remember these more challenging days. We love reading back on this blog at previous weekend adventures, and reminiscing the “good old days.” The days when a weekend meant 2 full days off, when we could spontaneously travel with ease on a budget, and when we lived somewhere that we truly loved. It’s easy to miss those days, but I know that we’re in this time for a reason, and we’re growing and learning new things from it. I can’t wait to look back on this time in the future and see the whole picture of how this chapter fits into our story.

Ok, back to this weekend — I drove to Pearl Harbor to pick Curtis up, and from where we were in the center of the island, we could see low hanging rain clouds over both the Ko’olaus and Wai’anaes with a heavy rainstorm in between. I had been planning a hike on the Leeward coast, but we didn’t want to drive an hour there if we were just going to be rained out. We talked about what was over there that we could do, and ultimately decided to drive all the way to the end of the coastal drive and hike the easy Ka’ena Point trail. We had done this a couple times from the North shore, but never started the trail from the West so it still felt like a new adventure. Also, up until this day we had only driven as far as Wai’anae when we hiked Ka’ala last fall. And so we began the long drive to the Leeward coast on H1.

The biggest reason why we don’t visit this coast very often is because it’s so far from where we live, however I have to admit that I don’t often want to drive out there because of built up prejudices from things I’ve heard. I feel like I hear about more theft and break ins on the West side, as well as crimes targeting non-Hawaiians. But as we drove up the coast, I wished more than anything that these factors didn’t exist. There’s a couple towns after leaving H1, but beyond the towns is a vast space between the populated area and the mountains that appears untouched. On the Windward (East) side, the dramatic Ko’olau cliffs are so much closer to the highway and the space between is mostly taken up by towns and residential areas, but here it seems so much more spacious. Unlike on the South side of the island, where neighborhoods exist all the way up the ridges of the Ko’olaus, the mountains are mostly untouched, standing high above the land below. The scenery also is drier, with yellow hues rather than lush green, which takes my mind back to the American Southwest.

But outside of Wai’anae, I was brought back to reality as we continued the Leeward coast drive. There were run down homes and homeless camps along the road, and I felt more uncomfortable, but was bothered by my mindset. I know crime happens all around the island, and there is really no true safe place on this earth. Still, the only time when we encountered a broken-in car was at a trailhead outside of Wai’anae. We always remove valuables and leave nothing in sight, but it’s just an inconvenience that we obviously don’t want to have to deal with.

The 2 hikes I had heard of that appealed to me today were Ka’ena Point, and the Upper Makua Cave. We drove past the lower cave and what was supposedly the trailhead for the upper cave…but immediately noticed two things: one, this wasn’t a place we wanted to park our car, and two, there wasn’t an official trailhead — instead, there were signs saying “No Trespassing, Government Property.” There must be some mistake — we decided to just continue driving to the end of the road and reevaluate later.

The Leeward coast highway ends at Ka’ena Point State Park, which was fairly busy today, but a popular parking area and trailhead put our minds a little at ease. Also, it was still much less busy than the East side would be! We first walked out to the coast to take in the view. It was honestly perfect — while the parking lot had plenty of cars lined up, we couldn’t see any people, and from this point you can’t see any towns or homes. This far North, the mountains come out to meet the sea, and I couldn’t get enough of the view. The majority of my pictures from this day are the view to the South.

We finally began on the Ka’ena Point trail. It was comparable to the trail on the North shore, being mostly flat and an enjoyable walk with hills in one direction and the ocean in the other. The path is a bit more narrow and probably less frequented by off road vehicles, but we still saw some from people fishing along the coast. You can’t go wrong with either side if you’re trying to decide whether to approach from the North shore or the Leeward coast, it just depends on where you feel most comfortable driving to and parking. The waves on the North shore are louder and larger, I personally loved the view to the South on the Leeward coast the most — but you can still see it from the point if you hike along the North shore. I’m glad we decided to try it both ways, and wouldn’t mind returning to hike it again. It’s just an easy and safe hike even if the weather isn’t great.

Speaking of which, it did rain on us off and on, but we came prepared with an umbrella and pressed on. The clouds and rain showers obstructed our views so we could barely make out the mountains. All that we could see was the trail around us and the rocky coast to our left. We pretended that we were walking along the Oregon coast, and it made us happy.

Altogether, we hiked 4 ½ miles out and back, though we didn’t walk through the protected grounds at the point itself (we did that the first time we hiked to the point). We returned to our car, finding a letterbox on our way back and meeting our “one box per month” quota. Not that we’re restricting ourselves to one box…we attempt plenty, but only find an average of one a month.

We began our drive back, this time stopping to check out the Makua caves. The first one is right off the Leeward coast highway and easy to find — we just parked right across the street and walked right in. It doesn’t go back very far, not even necessitating a flashlight really, but still cool nonetheless. We then went to investigate the Upper Makua Cave trail behind a group of hikers that were hiking there, and found that it really did begin behind a “No Trespassing” sign. From what I’ve read about the trail, it’s obviously not official or signed, just a steep scramble up a cliff with loose rocks to a cave smaller than the lower one, but with nice views to the North. But we know better than to trespass on government land, so we turned back for today. That’s the most annoying thing about Hawaiian hikes — I can read about them online and they sound cool and like legitimate hikes, but half the time they’re either illegal or not official trails. If a trail becomes washed out or has too many rescues, the state’s great idea is to make it illegal rather than solve the problem, and simply finding a trail to be illegal hardly stops anyone. I know, we rant about this too much, I honestly wish I could go back to the mainland and revisit areas we used to hike in just to compare and see if the difference is really as drastic as it is in my mind.

Anyway, all that aside, we had a great time and still got a few hours of being lazy together at home, AND were a little productive as well. Whenever we drive home from the West coast, I always wonder to myself if this will be the last time we visit. The Leeward coast holds so much unique beauty compared to the other sides of the island, and is less busy as well, but there’s just not as much that we want to do over there. That being said, we have had 3 great visits to the Leeward coast in our 9 months on the island, so maybe we’ll find our way back there someday!

A Day in Wahiawa

Spending a Day in Wahiawa | Wahiawa, Hawaii

On one cloudy weekend morning, we set out for a more obscure hike in an area we hadn’t yet driven through. Wahiawa is located in the center of Oahu, right off the H2 before arriving in Mililani. Curtis chose a short hike for us, and found a few attractions nearby that we could visit afterwards. When we entered Wahiawa, we turned on California Avenue and took it all the way to the end. We loved driving through the residential area and seeing all the different fruit trees people were growing — something we’re always looking for now that we’ve started planting more trees. We parked along the road near the “trailhead”, which began behind the yellow gate with a large water tank nearby. There are 2 different trails that begin in this area, one a long ridge hike leading up to the summit that requires a permit, and the other an easier 4 mile loop. We were only going for the 4 mile loop today, which is called the Wahiawa Hills loop.

Hiking the Wahiawa Hills Trail

We walked on the narrow trail passed the water tank, until it opened up into a grove of paper eucalyptus and swamp mahogany. These were large trees with red bark, and the feeling took me back to the Redwoods just briefly. We had some difficulty navigating here, wandering around trying to find the trail, but Curtis found it thanks to AllTrails. The trail descended steeply 200 feet to a ravine, but the roots from the trees made the downhill climb easier. The scenery changed from the red eucalyptus to a green lush setting following a stream. When we came to the first small crossing, we heard the sound of a waterfall further upstream, and decided to follow it. We found our way through incredibly tall elephant ear plants and the muddy trail, until we came to a gorge with tall rock walls on either side and a 10 foot tall waterfall. Satisfied, we returned to the trail, crossed the stream and began heading uphill and through the forest.

This trail definitely felt much different from others we’d done recently, and while I wouldn’t say it was impressive and had outstanding views, it was interesting with a variety of plants and surroundings and we really enjoyed it. We came to a fork, and turned right to continue on the loop. The trail went uphill, eventually hitting our highest elevation of the day at over 1400 feet. I wouldn’t say any of this was especially difficult, it was very muddy at some points but I never felt unsafe.

When we made it up to the ridge, we were still underneath the tall trees but had more of a breeze flowing through and had little windows with views of the surrounding mountains. We were truly alone out here. We eventually came to a clearing and the trail continued down steeply to cross Kaukonahua Stream. Here we stopped and reevaluate. The river that we were going to cross happens to be the biggest watershed on Oahu. Clearly we wanted to see it, but I had my doubts about crossing it. From where we were, hundreds of feet above the river, we could still hear it clearly rushing. Judging from the muddiness of the trail, we assumed that the water level would be fairly high and possibly unsafe to cross. We ultimately decided to return the way we came. We’re glad that we came as far as we did though, because the point in the trail right before it goes down to the river has the best views of the surrounding hills.

We eventually returned to the trail intersection and decided to go right down towards the stream. It wasn’t quite as high as we had imagined it to be, but I still wouldn’t have been comfortable crossing. Satisfied with our hiking, we returned the way we came, back to the main trail and to our car. We heard others hiking at one point but never came across them.

Wahiawa Botanical Gardens

Next, we drove to the Wahiawa Botanical Garden, also right off of California Avenue, for some letterboxing. Entrance to the park is free, just like all the other botanical gardens on Oahu. This garden had maps and more clear trails than Koko Crater and Ho’omahulia gardens and just as much variety in flora. There were plenty of flowers blooming, some we’ve seen around the island and others we hadn’t. Some of the unpaved trails in the ravine were closed and there were signs saying that they were flood areas, but it was all dry today. It seemed busier than Koko Crater, but we spent about an hour here and it was well worth the stop, even if the letterboxes proved to be missing.

Kukaniloko Birth Site State Monument

Our final stop for the day was at the Kukaniloko Birth Site State Monument. This is located off of the Kamehameha Highway, just across the bridge and outside of town. We parked along the highway and walked in. There wasn’t much information at the site so we weren’t sure what we were looking at, but through later research we learned that it was the birth site for some of Oahu and Hawaii’s chiefs. It is/was also thought to have great spiritual energy, being right at the center of the island. It was constructed in the 12th century AD and used until the 17th. We wandered around the sacred grounds, the stones blocked off to the public but still accessible to visit. Besides that, we had some of the best views of the Wai’anae mountain range and big open skies.

Kealia Trail

Hiking the Kealia Trail | The Wai’anae Mountains of Oahu

If you look at our map of hikes done on Oahu, you would notice that it is very disproportionate on East vs. West hikes. We clearly spend way more time in the Ko’olaus than the Wai’anaes. The reasons for that are that it’s easier and faster for us to drive to those trailheads, they are more familiar, and there’s more easily accessible information about the Ko’olau mountains. On this weekend, we put a little extra effort in and drove further to hike in the Wai’anae Mountains. We still didn’t technically go to the Leeward coast — we just saw it from a distance.

Today’s focus was the Kealia Trail, which begins behind the Dillingham Airfield along the North Shore. When we arrived around 8, the parking lot was fairly filled and the sun was already high in the sky, promising a hot day for hiking. I was concerned because I imagined this trail to not have much shade, but thankfully I was wrong and we were able to avoid direct sun exposure for the majority of the hike. However, starting early is definitely a good idea!

We followed a gravel road back to the start of the trail. This trail was built by the CCC, and along the way you can see some initials and dates carved into the cliff walls. The first mile and a half of the trail switchbacks back and forth up the cliff. I loved this hike right from the start. It was in the shade, yet had breaks in the trees for gorgeous views of the North Shore. The ground was rocky and reminded me of hiking in the Southwest. It was hot, but a dry heat, not too uncomfortable for a hike. We drank plenty of water and made it to the top of the cliff within 45 minutes. Once there, we sat down in the shade of some ironwood trees and enjoyed the breeze.

At this point we had gained 1000 feet of elevation, and had about another 1000 to go. There were no more switchbacking sections though, instead the trail wandered up and down further into the Wai’anaes. It was all beneath the shade of tall pine or eucalyptus trees, and overall a pleasant hike. There were long periods where all we could hear were birds chirping and the wind blowing over us. When walking beneath the eucalyptus trees, there was the calming scent and there were colorful leaves scattered around the ground. Knowing that peacocks are found in these mountains, we listened and kept an eye out for them, but didn’t see any today.

Eventually the Kealia trail turned into the Kuaokala Trail, there were a few signed intersections but we had no problems finding our way up to the overlook. At the last fork in the trail, we went to the right, up a final uphill stretch and came to a pig fence. It was a little unclear which way to go, but we found the overlook by going through the gate, taking a few steps to the left, and an opening on the right led to a small window facing Southwest over Makua Valley and the Leeward Coast. It’s no bald peak, but the view is worth it. We waited for another group to vacate the spot before going down and taking it all in. The visibility was good, and the colors were vibrant. We had a snack, took some pictures, and then we began our trek back.

When we came to the fork in the trail, we were curious about what was in the opposite direction further into the mountains. Our hiking book seemed to indicate that an old Nike Missile site from the 1940-50’s, so we began hiking that way. We soon realized that the ‘trail’ is actually an ATV/4WD accessible road that begins on the Leeward side and leads back to campsites at Peacock Flats. and ran into several trucks and SUVs heading back there. We just enjoyed the easy, shaded walk and extra views to the North and West. We ended up walking at least another mile before deciding to turn around and head back. We had previously believed the Wai’anaes to be more inaccessible than the Ko’olaus, but after this hike it would appear to maybe be the opposite case. We later researched how the trails and roads connect and have future plans to look for peacocks and missiles.

As we hiked back to our car, we saw many more groups than before. Up until this point, we had been impressed by the lack of litter found on the path — that is, until Curtis attempted another geocache and came upon a whole 12 pack thrown aside. Hey, at least they left one unopened for our troubles… We descended the switchbacks, now less shaded than before, and made it back to our car. In all, we had hiked 9 miles in 4 ½ hours, including breaks. It was an enjoyable hike and we’re looking forward to returning to the area and trying out other trails. If you’re interested in seeing our AllTrails recording for the Kealia Trail, click here.

Ehukai Pillbox

Hiking to the Ehukai Pillbox & Beyond | Memorial Day 2018

The morning of Memorial Day started off a rainy one, but we didn’t let that deter us from hiking. We drove up the Windward coast through heavy showers and made it to our destination: Sunset Beach, where we would begin our hike to the Ehukai Pillbox. I had done this with my mom and sister, but it wasn’t the pillbox views that fueled my desire to return. Instead, it was the memory of taking the wrong path while looking for the second pillbox, and ending up walking down pleasant trails all by ourselves. Knowing that many would be out hiking or at the beach on this holiday, those vacant trails beckoned me and I convinced Curtis it would be a good idea.

We even brought Charlotte on our hike today. Lately, she hasn’t been joining us for our adventures because it’s either too exposed and hot, or too steep and dangerous. She’s also pokey and has to stop to sniff everything, and trails here are busier than ones in New York were so we have to keep her with us at all times. But since this was an easier hike and the weather was cool and overcast, it seemed like a good day to bring her.

As soon as we began the hike, we found that the trails were a complete mud bath. It didn’t take long before Charlotte’s legs and belly were filthy. The trail starts out flat so it’s easy enough to avoid the bigger mud puddles, but then comes a brief uphill section before the ropes and built-in steps which proved to be very slick. This posed a bigger challenge while going downhill; going up wasn’t too bad as long as we kept moving. As we pressed on up the steps, it started raining again and I worried that we would be descending in worse conditions, but thankfully it didn’t last too long. The hike up isn’t too challenging, it just gets your heart rate up, and soon enough we made it to the Ehukai pillbox.

The view we came upon made the whole rainy day adventure worth it. A glimmer of sunshine broke through the clouds and created a partial rainbow that started in the ocean. It was faint but beautiful; one of those moments that reminds us how blessed we are to be here. We may have not wanted to be stationed here, and we may often dream of living elsewhere, but I have to admit that living on the island has probably ruined the rest of the country for us in a lot of ways. Where else can I leave my windows open year-round, wear sundresses every day, be minutes away from both a turquoise colored ocean with a white sandy beach and an incredible mountain range with accordion ridges and jagged peaks? What other place is filled with vivid colors every day whether it be pink sunrises or sunsets, rainbows in any direction, and tropical flowers blooming year-round? Truly we are privileged to be given this experience!

After spending a little time at the Ehukai pillbox (and cleaning up trash), we opted for the wide, vacant trail to nowhere rather than going to the second pillbox. Maybe someday I’ll go there, but I’ll never regret choosing the path less traveled. At first Curtis thought we could make a loop back to the second pillbox, but we ended up going the wrong way, and we didn’t care enough to turn around and find it. Instead, we found ourselves all alone among the cook pine trees, raindrops hanging on to their needles and sparkling in the sun beams as we passed underneath. We let Charlotte wander on her own, and she reverted back to her old ways of stopping frequently to sniff something, then running at full speed to catch up with us again before being distracted by another new smell.

Back in the woods, there aren’t maps or any particular destinations that we knew of, we were really just wandering for the sake of an adventure. There were random trails that crossed our path, with whimsical wooden signs nailed to trees with unique names. “Purple Z,” “Muddy Waters,” “Hula Skirt.” If you’re interested in seeing where we went, check out our AllTrails recording here. We ended up walking 5.4 miles in a giant loop, and found a few highlights along the way. There was a short section of trail (called the Shroom trail I believe) that had groups of brightly colored painted rocks to look like mushrooms along the trail. Had we continued meandering deeper into the mountains we may have eventually wandered our way all the way to the Pupukea Road.

As we looped our way back to what we hoped would be the trailhead, we came to a trail junction that was decorated with all sorts of odd things — several picnic tables, a bathtub, a bicycle in the tree, pineapple plants. There was a tall post with different signs pointing the directions of different places and the number of miles away. We’d seen this type of sign before, but the choice of locations listed were interesting; many of which were in the Southwest and were places we had visited and loved, such as Sedona, AZ and Fruita, UT. This area is called Lilikoi Junction, and we would have stayed to appreciate it longer had it not been for the mosquitoes. The clearing was buzzing with them, so we snapped a few pictures, attempted a geocache, and then hurried away.

From here, it was pretty easy to find our way back to the main trail and eventually the Ehukai pillbox. We actually ran into a family that was hiking to Lilikoi Junction, so I guess it’s not a top secret place. We found the Ehukai pillbox and the main trail to be much busier as we hiked back to our car. As expected, the muddy trail was much more challenging to walk down, we had a couple close calls and witnessed others slipping and sliding all around, but we made it back safely. At the steepest part, Curtis had to let Charlotte go so she wouldn’t drag him down the hill, and he found her lounging comfortably in a pile of tall grass at the bottom of the slope. It’s safe to say she was very happy with her little adventure! She was not pleased, however, when we forced her little muddy self to ride in the back seat on the way home.