Waiahole Uka-Manana – March 16, 2013

Last time I was here, two words described the hike: unfinished & lost. The unfinished part was because the crew crossed over and went all the way to Manana, while I did an in and out. The lost part was that we were lost for 3 hours trying to find the damn Waiahole Uka ridge. In addition, the crew was socked in all the way to Manana creating disorientation.

A few weeks ago, I received a message from Ted inviting me to Waiahole Uka-Manana again. I jumped at the opportunity. However, the list of hikers that will be attending was very intimidating. The list was Ted, Ly Zel, Steve, Robin, Heather, Laredo, & Merv. Not only can these people hike fast, they can sustain the pace for a long period of time, which got me worried. I didn’t want to hold up the group. I knew I could do this hike, but the question is, would my body hold up at a blistering pace throughout?

The plan today was to start off on Kuolani-Waianu counter loop, then find the Waiahole Uka ridge, take a left and do the very long crossover to Manana. Then of course go down Manana (maybe in the dark). Last time, the crew (which included, Ted, Steve, Ikaika & Merv) took 15 hours to do this hike. This time we were expecting a shorter hike. Ted predicted 12 hours with the possibility of finishing it in 10. I laughed saying that wasn’t possible, but in hindsight it can be done. Of course today we had Laredo, who has done the entire Ko’olau Ridge (Pupukea-Makapu’u).

Heather hooked us up with the staging of the cars. Instead of some sad soul(s) leaving a car at the Waiahole Uka trailhead, Heather asked one of her family members to drive us to the trailhead. That was a big help. The last thing you would want as a hiker is for your car to be the only car at the trailhead for over 10+ hours.

We met at the Manana trailhead at about 5a, then Heather’s sister drove us to the Waiahole Uka trailhead. We had some drama (not within our crew, this crew was the bomb), which I won’t get into and started the trail.

The pace, as I predicted, was blistering. We hiked so fast on Kuolani-Waianu that we hit the Waiahole Uka ridge in about 45 minutes. Crazy! Waiahole Uka is a ridge that is steep, the climb is similar to the HTMC Ohulehule route. I was dying trying to keep up with everyone. The thing about these hikers is that they take minimal breaks. My cardio strategy was to take a bunch of steps up the mountain, stop, take a few breaths, and go. Usually when I take a break, I sit and catch my breath, but that would not be the case today.

We hit Waiahole Uka terminus in a little over 2.5 hours, crazy time! After a break, we headed towards the sugi pines. So funny, last time I bragged that this was the only place to see the sugi pines on the island, but a few months later Ted saw some at Mililani Town Center, lol.

The weather was humid, I went through over a liter of water at this point. Waiahole Valley is beautiful! Initially, the trail on the KST crossover was narrow, but got wider after a while. The swath, to my surprise, was very good. Someone did some great work and/or this crossover is getting some traffic.

Usually I’m very aware of my situation on a hike. I always keep track of the time, monitor the route, focus on the narrow sections, identify the landmarks, etc. But this time, my mind went in and out. Maybe it was because we were hiking so fast and I was focused on keeping up with the crew. Though I was in the back for most of the hike, I did keep up pretty well.

About ½ way into the crossover or about 2.5+ hours already (5 total hours into the hike), we got to the Waiahole Bowl and eventually a notch. Steve thought that the Waiahole Ditch goes under the notch, he might be correct, the ditch appears on topos. After the notch came these two fuckin’ low lying saddles, which meant we had to descend, ascend, descend, ascent, fudge!!! A great deal of elevation was loss, gain, loss, gain, oh my! This part of the hike took a major toll on the crew. The amount of strength and cardio needed was ridiculous. One thing good for me was that my legs didn’t cramp during these exhausting climbs.

After the double saddles, we had to go up and down a few rolling hills, before we hit, “the turn”. The turn is both critical and obvious. To explain it a little better, we were on the KST going uphill, but a short contour trail appears to the right at a very small meadow. The trail is distinct and leads to a ridge. The ridge is kind of spongy and getting up it is a little tiring because it’s so soft. Eventually, you’ll end up back on the KST.

After the turn comes “the corner’. The corner is when the KST makes a right turn. The corner is also the end of Waiahole Valley and a great break spot. The view is amazing! It rivals the view on the Waimalu Summit. We took a break at “the corner”, then continued on towards Manana. Merv said it would take 30 minutes from the corner to Manana. Finally, we hit Manana! 9 hours into our hike. Super fast!

We said our good-byes as the fast hikers would start their race down Manana. Of course I would be in the back and most likely Marvin would join me because I was his ride home. The hike on Manana had constant ups and downs. But I didn’t care, I just wanted to finish. Plus these ups and downs weren’t as bad as the double saddle section, which was still fresh in my mind for some reason.

Hill after hill of Manana, my legs were tired, but felt so strong. After 12.5 hours we were done and I drove us to Palisades Drive Inn for some food. I bought a salad, cheeseburger, fries and a huge ass coke. I finished that meal and still wanted more. Marvin bought chicken fried rice, but he wasn’t hungry and only ate a little bit.

I dropped Merv off at his house, then made the long drive to Kapolei. I looked at my hiking gear. I always dread the after hike cleanup. Taking my hiking gear out, soaking my clothes, rubbish out of my bag, shower, downloading and posting pics, etc. Doing all this after a long ass hike adds insult to injury, but it must be done.

This hike was awesome! Not very many hikers in the hiking community would do a crossover section like this one, mainly because there are many sections on the crossover that can be confusing, and in socked in conditions, be difficult to navigate. I suggest at least get a track for it or go with someone who knows the route. It would make things much better.