Poamoho-Schofield Waikane - November 11, 2017 

Even though rain was in the forecast, E wanted to do his birthday hike up Poamoho and exit Schofield-Waikane. I was thinking about bailing not because I didn't want to hike, but because I had the Van Nolasco Half Marathon on Sunday. The Judge was thinking the same thing, but he had it more difficult. He would need to be out by 3:30pm to work the UH game, and get ready for Van Nolasco. 

I arrived at E’s house at 5:45am. E was meeting The Judge at the top of Wahiawa Heights to stage cars. I took my backpack out of my car. It was heavy, about 38 lbs. Erik's brother arrived at the house to take us to the Poamoho trailhead. He was supposed to drive the truck back to Wahiawa after dropping us off. 

On the trip today was E, Proo, The Judge, Kel, and I. This was The Judge’s first backpacking experience in a while I guess. The weather was pretty good considering it said rain in the forecast, however it was really socked in. I had some trouble adjusting to the weight of my pack. My shoulders were sore. I think my pack was loose. Going up Poamoho was basic, we knew we probably wouldn't get a view, plus we had lots of time to kill. We had to play it by ear. 

Instead, we looked at the native plants once we hit the preserve. There are so many native plants in the area, it was something I didn't notice before. We hit the summit to a windy Poamoho, no view like we thought. It was actually a little cold. It was a little past 10 am and we were going to check out the snail enclosure, but instead we went towards the cabin. 

Getting to the cabin from the Poamoho summit was quick, a little under 20 minutes. We unpacked and ate a lot of food. We ate saimen and hot cocoa. Nothing beats it!!! We talked a lot, it felt like hours. I felt so good to be away from everything for a while. There is a lot of stuff going on right now in my life and it's preventing me from enjoying life. I guess it is really busy. If you don't have a chance to chill and lay back, you'll get swallowed up by life. That part, hanging out at the cabin and wasting hours was great. At about 6pm, we started to make dinner. Erik had his MRE, he had pasta and chili mac. Those two were so delicious. It is a real winner. I was full. 

We sang happy birthday to E. I'm glad he had time to enjoy it with friends. I think that's all he wants ~ to have a good time with friends. It was enjoyable and something to remember. 

We went to bed early around 8pm. I was out cold. I remember waking up during some parts of the night, but didn't stay awake too long. This was probably the best sleep I had in a while. We woke up about 5am or earlier. I like to wake up early because it takes a while for me to get ready. E made breakfast. We had granola and mashed potatoes. That was tasty as well. We left at 7:18am. 

The hike from the cabin to Pauao was so fast that I couldn't believe it. It literally took us 23 minutes to get to Pauao. It was raining cats and dogs at this time. The rain was intense. I was happy because I put my poncho between my shirt and jacket. This made my core warm and I felt warm throughout the entire hike. 

Pauao to Schofield-Waikane was fast as well. The fenceline took us almost to Schofield-Waikane. The fence terminated about 30 minutes before we reached Schofield. However, that 30 minutes took a while because the trail was overgrown. Once on Schofield, we thought we would get out early. It was only 9am. I think we wanted to get out early because it was raining so hard. 

Schofield-Waikane also had a fence that went on for at least 2 miles. Because it was raining so hard, run off chutes produced waterfalls. It was cool to see. Although the fence provided for a quick hike, the uluhe still could possibly connect and in the future the trail could be hard to pass unless cleared. 

Schofield-Waikane is always though, it is not a trail that gives off any beauty. The trail is like Laie, only worse, poorly built, and longer. My legs got really tight. We got to the Schofield-Waikane trailhead in a little over 3 hours at about 12 something. It was still raining. But I was relieved that there were no thunderstorms as the forecast said. That would have been bad. 

We finally finished on Wahiawa Hills around 1pm. It's weird how changing in the rain is a tough thing to do. You have to rush.

The Judge had to go to work and take Kel home. E, Proo, and I went to Teddy's in Wahiawa. I wanted to pay for E's lunch, but only had $30. Since my bank card got compromised last week, they had to cancel my card and I'm still waiting for my new one. The burger was so good. I finally got my Teddy's order down. I get the smallest burger and fries. It seems to hit the spot and prevent me from becoming too full. We really reflected on trying to figure out how to manage the Kalalau trip. We have a lot of newbies, so it will be interesting. The newbies will be so amazed at that place, but we experienced hikers have the responsibility of planning the trip so it becomes something special.