Makapu’u Ridge to Puka - December 29, 2013

This hike was a birthday celebration for Caveman. Caveman is a hiker in the Oahu Hiking Community known for doing some of the most ‘extreme’ hikes on the island. If you read my entries, I really don’t know the true meaning of extreme, so I call a very hard hike, a difficult hike. Regardless of your interpretation of the word extreme, this hike I was about to go on had some bad ass hikers, people who’ve completed the entire crest of the Ko’olau Summit and some of Oahu’s most dangerous ridges. I’ve hiked with a lot of these people before and let me tell you, they are bad ass. 

I picked up The Judge from Mililani and we headed off towards Makapu’u. Near the University cut off, my tire blew out. I panicked a little, but we methodically got the spare and put it on. However, while driving, the spare was flat, the car started to shake since the car was running on 3 tires, so I drove to a gas station nearby to fill air. Luckily The Judge knew where the gas station was. After filling the spare with air, I drove very slowly towards Makapu’u. 

The lookout, as always, is packed with people. Things didn’t get any better as at least 60 people were expected to show up for this hike. The start time was at 9am, but because Caveman’s Crew are adrenaline junkies, they got restless and headed up the ridge without waiting for him. While going up, I was right behind Aaron. We talked story about photography, a hobby I’m really into right now. Going up and down the rolling ridge wasn’t too bad. My cardio is still good since the marathon. As we neared the puka, I saw Kikaida, J, Ted, Thomas, Randy, Nate, LyZel, etc. I also saw some people who I’ve always wanted to meet. By the time we arrived at the puka about 30 people were already there. The wind was howling, dirt flew in my eyes. Caveman eventually came with a group of people and gave a short alpha male speech. We took a group picture, sang happy birthday, and talked story. 

The PHM was at Kona Brewing. The Judge and I bought Caveman a beer and The Judge and I did more socializing. We bailed about 1 hour into the fun at Kona Brewing because I wanted to get my car fixed and Darren needed to go to a party.

This was a nice meet and greet. It’s hard to meet all the hikers in the Oahu hiking community, but Caveman and probably The Crazy Bastid are two people who can pull it off.