Dupont-Ka'ala - June 9, 2014 

This is probably one of the best hikes I've done since Koloa Gulch in November of 2013. This hike had it all - exploration, views, danger, bushwhacking, cardio, more views, prayer, hiking out in the dark with critters, and ending with 10 Pueo owls. It all starts with Proo, she went on a church retreat to the St. Benedictine Monastery awhile back. There, she met wonderful nuns or sisters who told her about a trail to a cross. That cross is on a ridge which connects to Dupont. 

Dupont is off limits. The start of the trail is well within farmland boundaries with owners who do not want hikers there. There are even signs that say no hikers are allowed. Security patrols the area and keeps a tight grip on loiterers.  

To connect the two stories, Proo asked one of the sisters if she could hike on the cross trail. After approval, we did some quick research on a Friday night. We saw that the cross trail connects to Dupont. Based on that information, we felt that we could do it. Proo set the hike on Monday and with good weather in the forecast it was a go. 

Joining the hike today was Proo, E, Chenay, Laura, Francis, and I. With strong hikers in the group with good temperaments, we had a feeling it would be a good hike. 

The staging of the cars would be difficult as our planned route was to hike from Waialua to Waianae. E and I decided to be the main stagers and drive our cars to Waianae for the staging. Chenay and Laura would meet us at Waianae and I would drive them to E's house in Wahiawa to meet up with Proo and Francis. I miscalculated the time factor getting to Waianae Valley road. I thought it would take 45 minutes, but it took an hour for me to get there. E frowns about people who are late and I felt bad. But we needed to move on. I drove the 4 of us back to E's house to meet Proo and Francis. We had to wait till 8:45 am to leave because we couldn't get to the monastery before 9 am since mass was going on and we needed the approval from sister.

This monastery is a real treat. They have all the amenities like a hotel. We met sister CC who from first impression is an amazing person and a big time personality. She said a quick prayer and wished us the best in our adventure. Proo led us to the cross which took about 1 hour. Going up was a sweat shop because of the heat. After a break at the cross, we continued on the ridge and immediately started to bushwhack. Chenay and Proo led the charge. We followed what seemed like an old trail, and then some pig trails, and then we made our own trail. Hour after hour passed and we were slowly making progress. Erik and I took turns next as we pushed through strawberry guava and up the ridge. 

Chenay had her backcountry app and used it to guide us. The app did show that Dupont was the neighboring ridge on the left. We had to backtrack a few times when the trail got too rough and somewhat impenetrable. However at some clear openings, the views started to open and it was magnificent. On Chenay's topo, Dupont was so close, Proo took the lead and beasted it through the dense forest. After 4 hours of bushwhacking we met up with the Dupont trail and everyone felt some relief. 

We started hiking at a quick pace up the trail. It was steep. After gaining some elevation, we encountered another obstacle. A 35 foot down climb down a narrow ridge. We all made it safely and continued to traverse over a narrow ridge. Some parts were rocky, some parts crumbly. When the trail started to greatly incline, it was also majorly overgrown. The blackberry thorns and uluhe shredded everyone up. There were also a ton of native plants, too bad I can't identify them. E helped me with some of them. But once I get well versed in native plants, I'll come here. 

The climb up was so steep, it was exhausting. I could feel my legs getting tighter and tighter. Eventually we hit what hikers in the community call "the bus stop", named because it looks like a bus stop. This part also had two old radars. After playing around in this area, we hit concrete steps with metal wire handrails and continued up the mountain. We progressed until we hit the end of the trail sign and Ka'ala road. Everyone seemed so happy. 

I got somewhat paranoid on Ka'ala road because the military gets mad at hikers on their road. Just then, Chenay spotted some Koli'i a native plant and type of lobelioids which blooms only once every 5-10 years and then dies. The plant blooms hundreds of flowers which drops its seeds in the area, so more plants can reproduce. We must have seen a dozen in bloom at the Ka'ala summit, a rare occurrence indeed. Although they are not endangered, they are restricted to only certain parts of Oahu. We've seen them on Ka'ala and Poamoho. But this is the first time, I seen them in bloom. The blooming period is from April-May, but its June already leading me to think my research was wrong. 

The view from Ka'ala near sunset was just MONEY. My pano says it all, we were all grateful for such a good hike. It was 6:15pm when we left the summit and entered the Ka'ala bog. We booked it down the mountain before sunset, so we could get to the boulder section before dark. After tackling the boulder section with minimal problems, the sun set before we hit three poles. 

We put on our head lamps, but mine was so crappy and didn't hold the light up that it was almost useless. We lost the Waianae Kai trail for a bit, but eventually figured it out. That was the great part of the crew, no one appeared flustered or frustrated at any of the problems or obstacles we encountered. The mental makeup was really important on a hike like this. When someone struggles mentally, it really brings down the group. It was near 10:00pm when we exited the trail. We were all so happy for each other and said our goodbyes. E drove us back to the Monastery in Waialua. Proo called the security guard and he opened the gates for us. On the road, we saw 10 small Pueo's. They were perched on the dirt road startled by the headlights of the cars. We were in awe!!! It was a sight I will never forget, such a special moment! 

The post hike meal was a Zippys where we couldn't stop talking about the great hike we just went on. It will truly go down as one of the greats.