Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Following the fence

For Veteran's Day weekend we planned some backpacking.  Unfortunately we couldn't go because of the weather.  Instead we did an over night stay in the Waianae mountain range the weekend after. 

Saturday morning Katie, Andrew, Jay and I met at Cory's house.  Andrew was our designated driver so he dropped us off and picked us up the day we came out.  We started on the Mokuleia trailhead around 7 and trudged our way with our 25lb packs on our backs.  Garvin also met up with us on the trail head, he had brought lots of fruits, I was envious of the fruits but wasn't with his pack weight!  We followed the fence line all the way up to a place called Three Corners.  From that point you can see Mount Ka'ala, Makaha valley, Ohikilolo Ridge, Kea'au peak, Makua Valley and the North Shore of Oahu.  It was probably the best view on the entire Waianae mountain range.  We stood up there for a good thirty minutes, ate snacks and left. 

On the ridge line there was a fence we had to follow to our destination.  A cabin tucked near the Kea'au peak on Ohikilolo ridgeline.  From Three Corners to the cabin was a crumbly, craggy, fencey ridge.  We negotiated about 5 notches to the cabin which was extremely dangerous with huge packs.  If we had day packs it would have been considerably easier.  We reached our destination a little after 3 pm.  Another group of our friends headed up a different way because they had their dog Tango in tow.  They beat us to the cabin! 

We unpacked and rested at the cabin.  Did a little exploring and stayed up near the landing pad to watch the sunset.  There was also a moon rise we got to catch just before sunset.  It got dark quick and a lot of us were tired.  We made some hot meals sat around drank some whiskey and beers.  Most of us crashed out early but some stayed up to watch the moon. 

The next morning we woke up before the sunrise.  Lots of us captured it on cameras some hiked up to Ohikilolo peak.  I stayed in the cabin stayed warm because it was so cold.  After the sunrise we slowly packed up and made our way down the mountain.  We got picked up on the West side and ate at Chili's for post hike meal.

 Mid morning checking out the view.  

Jay pointing out where we need to go.
The view.  Ka'ala on your left with Makaha valley below.  Ohikilolo, the ridge we need to be on. The right side valley is Makua Valley. 

The view of Makua valley.

I thought the KST was a beast.  Check out Ka'ala in the back.  This is part of the WST.

Dropping down into a notch.  Lucky the fence was there so you could hold onto something. 

Once we reached the cabin we relaxed and soaked in the view. 

Will, Amanda and Tango the dog met up with us. 

Tango didn't have a problem conquering dirt eroded sections!

The group enjoying the sunset.  Pictured from left to right, Garvin, Will, Katie, Amanda, and Cory.

The sun went down and the goofballs came out.  Oh wait... the sky changed colors! 

Happy to be here... and warm!

The sun went down and the moon came out.  The colors in the sky still lingered after the sun went down.  

The moon was full that night.  This was our view for the evening... EPIC!

The next morning the sun rose.  

The outhouse with a view in the back of Makua valley. 

On the way out we spotted a few of these native snails. 

These were about the size of your pinky fingernail!

We followed the fence line all the way to the coast.  BTW it was HOT!  







Following the fence from Ryan Chang on Vimeo.

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