Hahaione to Mauna Oahi – March 13, 2012 

With my wife going to her new job in Kahala, I figured I could do a hike in Hawaii Kai and meet up with her for lunch. Or even better, complete a hike in Hawaii Kai where she would have to pick me up at trails end and then go for lunch.

I had a plan today, make it plan a and b today. I wanted to do either Hahaione to Tom-Tom or Hahaione to Mauna O Ahi. Regardless of which route I took, I needed to get picked up, so I thought...

The lesser known Hawaii Kai hikes always enamored me for some reason. Just finding these trails becomes fulfilling. You could also hike with the Hawaii Trail and Mountain Club (HTMC) or Sierra Club as they do some of these hikes on their annual schedule.

Hawaii Kai is home to some of Oahu's greatest intermediate hikes. As a beginning hiker, once you graduate from doing easy trails like Manoa falls, Maunawili falls, Diamond Head, Makapu'u Lighthouse, Aiea Loop, and other simple trails, you'd want to try the Hawaii Kai trails like Hawaii Loa, Wiliwilinui, and Kuliouou. This is exactly the progression I took (along with other intermediate Ko'olau and Waianae hikes), and there is no better way to get yourself prepared for more difficult hikes than completing the progression I've just listed. I digress, Hawaii Kai offers other trails lesser known to many hikers. These trails should only be hiked by experienced hikers who know the ridges of Hawaii Kai or at least have some sense of the topography in this area. 

I dropped my kids off at school and drove to Hawaii Kai. Hahaione Street branches off Hawaii Kai Drive. At the end of Hahaione Street, a vacant lot appears, this is the start of the Hahaione trail.

After hiking for a few minutes a 3 way junction appears right before your eyes. What to choose? Being logical, going left will take you to the west ridge, middle to the middle ridge, and right to the east ridge. I wasn’t sure what the correct ridge was, so I went left. After some hiking, there appeared to be a waterfall chute, it would look nice during a flash flood. I’ve got to check that out sometime.

Going left, well that wasn’t working, so I went back to the junction. After some reflection, the center junction appeared to go up the mountain, so I went for it. For 30 minutes, I contoured and meandered throughout Hahaione valley. I had some doubts. The trail even went towards Hahaione Street for some time. I stayed true to my hiking instincts and in a little while, there were ribbons heading up the mountain. The jaunt up the mountain reminded me of Wailupe, short but unrelenting. I had to take so many breaks. Eventually, I climbed steeply towards the summit. There was this massive rock formation that looked impossible to climb. Upon further inspection, there was a route to the top. I took my time, be it that I was alone. The rock faces had plenty of foot and handholds, so I had very little problems; however a beginning hiker could have some difficulties on this section. I hit the windy summit taking a break and admiring the views of Maunawili and Waimanalo. Going down looked intimidating, there was a rope to assist. I took my time and felt for footholds, but there were only a few in the area. I eventually made my way down.

I texted my wife to see if she was still working, but she said she left work already. I made a decision then and there to not do Tom-Tom and try finding Mauna Oahi. The big problem was that I had no idea where Mauna Oahi was. From Kaleo, Rich B., and Dayle T. post, my research the night before yielded me some clues. 1) It was in between Kuliouou and Hahaione. 2) Mauna Oahi and Hahaione can be considered one of the same ridge.  I walked on the Ko’olau Summit Ridge Trail for about 30 minutes, navigating rock faces. This part of the KSRT is difficult to navigate. The trail comes and goes and can lead hikers astray. There are also many sub trails, either pig or HECO trails. As part of Hiking on the Ko’olau Crest 101, the rule of thumb while on the southern portions of the KSRT is always staying on the windward side of the mountain. If you can see the windward side, your fine – if not, turn around and find the windward side.

I passed a power line and found a trail leading down the mountain. I wasn’t at Kuliouou yet, so I knew that this must be Mauna Oahi. I took the trail leading down the hill. It was well defined. So I put my micro spikes on and started running down the hill. Going up this thing would be a huffer and puffer, not to mention slippery because of the ironwood pine needles covering the ground. Going down is easy and quick. As I ran down the ridge, I could see that Hahaione Valley was to the left and Kuliouou Valley was to the right. This is it! Also, maybe I can get to my car? At a point on the ridge, there appears a junction. Going right I assumed takes you to Kuliouou and going left I assumed will take you to Hahaione. I was right! In about 20 minutes, I join the trail that I thought was the east ridge earlier in the hike today. Confidence booster! My knowledge of understanding ridges has just made some progress today. I didn't even have to catch the bus back to my car!

I walked back to my car and went for lunch down the road at Encore Expresso. The sandwich I ordered was turkey and bacon, it was average to say the least, but tasted so good after a short but intense hike. Total hiking time was 2 hours and 50 minutes. A quick but fulfilling hike.