Three Corners to Mokuleia Trail – August 10, 2013

I've always wanted to get to Three Corners, a spot on the Waianae Summit which supposedly has one of the best views on the island.

The goal today was to start at the Mokuleia Firebreak Road, make a left at the Peacock Flats Junction, then onto Mokuleia till the HTMC campsite. We would then take the junction towards the Waianae Summit, make the left, crossover until Three Corners, then backtrack the way we came. However, with The Not So Great Hiker, plans adjust on the fly. Only because we can.

Joining the crew today was OAG- E, Proo, The Judge, Janice, Young Kumu, Ali, the The Not So Great Hiker and his trusty companion Kona Dog.

We started a little before 7am. The weather was bad, overcast skies and rain. We pushed it up the steep road and in 1 ½ hours we got to Peacock Flats. At the campgrounds, we took a break at a bench while it poured cats n dogs. We pondered what to do. That was short lived as we knew what we HAD to do, get to Three Corners.

As planned, we hiked further until we got to the Mokuleia trail and then intersected with the HTMC campsite. There, we took another break before heading towards the Waianae Summit. The hike from the campsite to the summit was only 5 minutes.

This part of the hike was poor planning on my part. I thought the trek on the WST would be 30 minutes or so. In addition, I didn’t have the track. I didn’t realize that Three Corners would be so far away. We got to a point where the fence line went down the mountain. Luckily The Not So Great Hiker had his trusty topo app, backcountry navigator or something. He realized that the WST went down and left. Though we were in socked in conditions, we could see the ridgeline would eventually make a left. After the minor problem solving, we hiked up and down following the fence line over many false peaks. The weather threatened rain, but only droplets came down.

At about 11:30 am, we hit what we assumed was Three Corners. After some discussion, all of us agreed. The view of Makaha Valley also opened up. It was spectacular! The Mokuleia side also looked pretty good. But the third corner, Makua Valley, was completely socked in. 

The Not So Great Hiker took an awesome picture of me going down the fence with the valley in the background

We took a long break waiting for money shots and we got a few. Now the question was to continue towards Ka’ala road or turn back. The Judge would make the choice for us, it was a go. We hiked for about 20+ minutes through a swath of uluhe. The view of Ka’ala road came into play and we discussed if we should go down. We weighed our decision. The pro was the blue line and a faster way out. The con was being detained by the feds. After some discussion, the choice was obvious, we needed to turn back.

Going back wasn’t too bad. I thought it would be demoralizing, but it wasn’t. The crew was motivated, especially since the clouds went away and we could see straight into Makua Valley. While going back, the fence line split, one part continued on the WST and one part appeared going down the mountain. We had another decision to make. E and I thought that the fence line that went down the mountain would connect with the Mokuleia trail. I even told the crew that I’ve been on this fence line, but I would be wrong. E and I were confident. The Not So Great Hiker and Ali decided to continue on the WST fence line to the HTMC campsite and onto the Mokuleia Trail. They would take the Mokuleia Trail and meet us at the fence line. 

The fence line we took went on forever. There were a lot of ups and downs, crap. However, the forest we went through was awesome. It reminded Proo of the Wahiawa Hills. We got to a point on the fence line where a trail appeared. It was obvious to me that it was some part of the Mokuleia trail, but it looked totally different from the Na Ala Hele portion. The first thought in my head was that we went too far and needed to backtrack towards the Na Ala Hele portion of the Mokuleia trail. But E called The Not So Great Hiker to see where he was at. After some discussion, we made a strong guess that The Not So Great Hiker and Ali were in fact coming towards us, so we went to meet them. In about 5 minutes, there they were and we took a break.

The Mokuelia Trail was in good shape for a trail that gets minimal use. However, it was apparent that someone did some work on this trail with fresh ribbons and removal of debris. The trail is nice, providing a great view of the North Shore. The trail is both graded and ungraded. The Not So Great Hiker guided us in the right direction. Young Kumu noticed a lot of native plants along the way.  

Near the end of the ridge, Janice found a bunker and was so proud of her accomplishment. We couldn’t get in, but could take a peek through an opening. It looked in good condition. We got to the part in the hike where we might have to go through farmland and could be easily seen by deranged farmers. Ali took out her phone and looked at her google earth app. to find a way around the farm houses. Ali and The Not So Great Hiker figured it out. They led us on a dirt road which had ribbons. These ribbons took us on a trail that led towards the Mokuleia Firebreak Road. I was impressed, not only at the navigation, but that someone had marked a trail that led to the Firebreak Road. After some hiking, we got to the firebreak road creating an awesome loop. Bad Ass, I tell you.

We walked the mile back to our car. Everyone appeared tired and worn out. I was so hungry. The post hike meal was at Kua Aina in Haleiwa where I met Ali, The Judge, and E. Kua Aina only accepts cash which sucked because I didn’t have any on me. I jaywalked across the street to the ATM to get cash. The burger was good and I scarfed it down like it was a mini.

This hike had it all to build character. Rain, summit walking, views, trespassing, looping, blisters, everything. The OAG legend continues.