Pu’u Keahi a Kahoe – November 27, 2011

Today with the HTMC was Pu’u Keahi a Kahoe, the showcase hike on the quarterly schedule. Keahi a Kahoe is the dominant peak in the back of Moanalua Valley and the dominant peak in the Haiku valley area in Kanehoe. Keahi a Kahoe is also near the apex of the Haiku Stairs (Stairway to Heaven).

The day started off super early for me. I woke up at 5 am and made some breakfast. At 6:30 am, I headed to Starbucks in Waikele to get a coffee. Then I drove to the end of Ala Aolani Street to Moanalua Community Park. I was super early and waited for everyone to come. At 8 am, Mike (who usually does the trail maintenance), was coordinating this hike and gave the route for the hike. He told us that the plan today was to go up the HECO power line trail to gain the ridge, and then make a left onto Tripler Ridge before summiting. He also mentioned that we wouldn’t be going to Keahi a Kahoe or head back down Moanalua’s Middle Ridge. He said it was too windy. Fair enough, the island was under a wind advisory today expecting gust up to 50 mph. But as I talked with Nate, there was no doubt that we were going to do the true Keahi a Kahoe loop, regardless of the wind.

The story of Keahi a Kahoe holds legendary status in Hawaiian Mythology. Keahi means fire in Hawaiian. There were two brothers (Kahoe and Pahu) that settled on the Windward side of Oahu. Kahoe was a farmer and Pahu was a fisherman. The two brothers would trade gifts, fish for fruits and vegetables. However, Pahu would give Kahoe the leftovers from his catch. Kahoe learned of Pahu’s deceitfulness from his sister, but didn't confront Pahu. Eventually the crops died and the fish catch became minimal. Pahu, so hungry, was starving. Kahoe loved by many, was given some food by his neighbors. At night, Kahoe would cook food at the top of the mountain. The smoke could be seen from the base of the mountain. Because Pahu felt guilty, he did not confront Kahoe about wanting food. The mountain today is called Keahi a Kahoe or Kahoe’s fire.

There was a good turnout for today’s hike. One thing about the HTMC, the hikes are not guided, so people hike at their own pace. Since Nate and I usually hike at the same pace, we hiked together. We walked on Moanalua Valley Road (known as Kamananui) for about 3 miles until it apparently terminated. Not sure if the road continued on, but there were ribbons at this point. We followed the pink ribbons which eventually led to a trail. The trail started to go uphill via switchbacks and eventually we hit a power line. This must be the old HECO power line trail. This trail went all the way up the mountain. It was freaking exhausting. For about 35 minutes, we hiked up the mountain until we hit the crest of the ridge and another power line. At this point, I was way behind Nate and encountered another hiker named Laredo. He is the security guard for the Haiku Stairs. He is in his 70s and has endurance like no tomorrow. He said that he hiked up the stairs this morning, went down Moanalua’s Middle Ridge, met up with the club and is hiking his way back to the stairs. Freakin’ animal!

As Laredo passed me, I could see the huge false peak I needed to get up. It was intimidating to say the least. I hit a number of rolling false peaks until I hit the summit of Tripler ridge (2,760 ft.). I took a short break to admire the views of the windward side. These views become common when hiking the peaks of the Koolaus, but never get old. I met Nate and we decided to take a left and transverse along the summit to our destination. It was at this point where hiking became the stuff of legends. The summit was severely windswept because of the high wind advisory. The wind must have been blowing at least 30-40 mph. I took my time on the narrow ridge, to the right was a 2500ft drop onto the H3. We passed a power line reaching two peaks Kaho’omoe’ihikapulani and Maunakapu (2,820 ft.). On Maunakapu you could see Moanalua’s Middle Ridge sign. That would be our return trek back. We took a trail going to the Haiku Stairs and Pu’u Keahi a Kahoe. The trail to the stairs was super muddy. I slipped on my ass numerous times. On a personal level, getting to the stairs was important for me. Last time, I did not get a picture at the top because it was dark and heavily socked in. Today was clear, just windy, so I could accomplish my goal. We got to the old radar station and the wind was unrelenting. Loredo was cleaning the east wing of the building. We decided to eat our lunch in the west wing of the old building watching debris from Loredo’s clean up fly all over the place. After lunch and some pictures, we headed back and took Moanalua’s Middle Ridge.

One thing alarmed me, the ridge was narrow. There were times where I had to crawl like a baby because I couldn’t keep my balance standing up. For about ½ mile, Nate and I walked hunched down preventing the wind from blowing us over on the narrow ridge. The walk on Moanalua’s Middle Ridge was nice. One day, I would love to take a group up the middle ridge to the stairs. My feet were sore and blisters started forming. We got down to the valley floor coming out near the Kulana’ahane state trail. We walked on Moanalua Valley road for what seemed like forever. At about the 6 hour 30 minute mark we finally got to Moanalua Valley Community Park and I had to sit down. The one thing about Nate and me, we rarely take breaks on our hikes, so we were standing nearly the entire time.

Nate and I talked about the hikes we wanted to do in the valley which includes Godek-Jaskulski and the Kulana’ahane state trail. I know this sounds repetitive, but today was one of the best hiking days ever. The Keahi a Kahoe loop is a must if you live on this island. It would be nice to do it with a group to make the hike more memorable.