Bumpy start, epic three day weekend

Happy New Year guys it's 2014!  This is my first official blog post of the new year.  So far this year it's been a pretty rough start.  I've been VERY LAZY with getting into the mountains and exploring.  Been sort of in a slump but, I've been surfing a lot.  With my mornings off during the week I've been body boarding Makapu'u, sandys, and sometimes north shore.  Winter has been pretty good and we are only in the middle of it.  Hiking was put on hold for a few weeks until this past weekend. 

I had my doubts on backpacking for three days because I haven't been in "hiking shape" but that got shut down when I completed it. First day we started at Poamoho trail.  Luckily Andrew could take Cory's car back down from the trail head.  Katie, Nate, and Francis joined in on this hike as well.  We hit the summit in no time with clear views of the windward side.  We took a short break and decided to turn left at the summit.  In about two hours of summit walking with no rain but plenty of mud we hit our first camp spot.  We put our heavy bags down and relaxed for the rest of the day.  Nate went out exploring and found some water just in case we needed.  He went exploring for a few hours while the rest of us waited for a sunset.  Too bad the clouds rolled in and we didn't have a really good sunset like we hoped for. 

As night fell we started to cook our meals.  Most of us opted for dehydrated meals, some had noodles.  An hour or so passed and the clouds cleared up.  Stars were really bright and I was really tired.  Some stayed up and took advantage of the night sky. 

The next morning we woke up to clouds but as soon as the sun came up the clouds started to move away and burn off the mountains.  It made for an epic sunrise and the day turned out to be a good one!  We left our first camp site and continued on the Ko'olau summit trail.  I felt as though my pack became really heavy since the first day.  I had a full bag of water and some of my clothes got wet so I'm guessing that's what was making my bag heavy. 

After meandering both on the leeward side and the windward side for about an hour we hit the castle junction.  Francis had to leave us because he had some business to attend to.  We had a relatively good break at that point and bid Francis safe hiking.  I took the ram rod position and led the group through most of the mud pits and the nasty leeward sections of the KST.  The leeward sections were choked with Clidemia and some shrubs which made leeward sections a nightmare.  I always looked forward to making it to the windward sides which were much more clear.  I'm sure everyone else was happy when we reached those sections. 

After about two more breaks and hours in mud pits and pushing through uki grass and branches we met up with the Koloa fence.  Fifteen minutes on the fence we found our next camp spot.  Luckily we were there really early.  Cory, Katie and I opted to hang out play cards and talk story.  Nate on the other hand is an animal and opted again to go out exploring... I don't know how he does it!  I was beat and just wanted to vegg out.  Nate came back before dinner time as usual and he showed us what he had found.  He showed us some cool bug and spiders.

Just before dinner we watched the sun set and saw a cool rainbow.  Chili mac and beef was on the menu for dinner for Katie and I.  Cory had some pasta and Nate opted for noodles.  After some hot food we were satisfied and played some catch phrase game.  I was horrible at the category celebrities but everyone had a good time.  After a few hours we were all beat.  We all knew we had to wake up early the next morning to get our ride out.

In the morning we packed and left around 8:30.  After an hour of hiking we reached the old Kawailoa cabin grounds.  The view was so clear we stopped and had a break there.  Nate showed us where there was water just in case we were in a pinch up there and ran out of water.  We continued for another forty five minutes and reached Laie summit.  Made it down Laie so fast I was so happy to see that grassy football field.

The full group doing the hike across the KST.  (L to R) Nate, Francis, Katie, Ryan, Cory
Photo by: Andrew

Beginning our journey on a well groomed trail.

The morning light was really warming. 

Taking a break and looking for bugs are Cory and Nate.  Francis is hiding in the tree, can you spot him?

Nate checking out the lobelia.  He is a plant and bug expert in my eyes.  If you ever get a chance to hike with him he will probably know everything you need to know on the trail plant and bug wise. 

Cory took one of my favorite photos on this trip.  That's me under the lobelia, pretending it's a hat!

Francis coming back from checking out the view.  The clouds were burning off the mountains this morning and making for some epic views looking into Punalu'u and Kahana valley. 

Francis and Nate posing and getting ready for the Leeward side of the trail.  The Ko'olau summit trail on the Northern side mostly consist of contouring.  It was either on the Leeward side or the Windward side.  I'm sure if you have done these sections you know that most people love the Windward side because the Leeward side is choked with vegetation. 

Hiking with these views are very distracting.  Many of us stopped and took pictures. 

Here is Cory eating a snack and enjoying the view.

We reached our first camp spot well before sunset.  We hung out till sunset waiting to see if the clouds would go away but it didn't.  Rays were gleaming through the clouds making for an eerie beautiful sunset in the mountains. 

Boiling water was essential.  Nate's boiling method was with esbit.

  Katie, Cory and I used pocket rocket stoves to boil our water.  We opted for dehydrated meals.

Last remaining light from the sunset.

After dinner the night was still on the mountains, no clouds and a light wind.  It's rare to get this in the mountains so we opted to photograph stars at night.  The glow is from the city, light pollution.

Just before I took this picture we were socked in.  The clouds obstructed our view but, when the sun rose it started to burn off all the clouds. 

From this day on I didn't take too many pictures.  We were battling some DEEP mud pits and opted not to bring my camera out.  On the last day when we were heading out I only snapped a few pictures.

The last picture near the summit of Laie. 

The group that exited.  Picture courtesy of Nate. 

Due to where we stayed I won't disclose the where abouts of where we stayed.  It's always good to dual purpose our hikes.  We obviously had a great time up in the mountains but Cory is a scientist and he did a little research for the company he works for.  Nate checked out rare native plants and bugs during the down time.  We ALL were learning something whether it'd be bugs, plants, or finding our way through the mountains.  I'm not saying this is what you all should do but it is a great opportunity to learn about the island we live on when you hike.

Happy New Year again and hope to see you all on the trails!

Epic backpacking from Ryan Chang on Vimeo.



Here's what I also enjoy doing when I'm not hiking.  Just a short clip. 

Makapuu from Ryan Chang on Vimeo.

2013 had some ups and downs 2014 resolutions

The year 2013 had some good times and some bad times.

First of all my goals for 2013.  To meet new people, to get to know them and  not to judge them by the reputations others give them.  Second the find someone and make her happy.  Lastly to start this blog and upkeep it.  

I think I've struggled with the first goal.  Of course I could have done better but  I've met many new people that I now call friends.  I've traveled with people that I thought I didn't think I was close with.  In the end what really mattered is not how many people I met and became friends with but how many people I met and kept in contact with, who my true friends were.  Quality over quantity.  Near the end of the year I axed people that don't care to keep in touch or people that I've never met on social media.  I'm kind of starting the new year fresh and hopefully I get to meet more people and make more new friends next year.  

The second goal was to make someone happy.  At the beginning of the year and for many years before this I stayed single and dated around a lot.  I knew that this year I wanted to meet someone special.  I also knew what I wanted in a woman.  I met Katie an adventurous hiker and my partner in crime, she is the person that is now my girlfriend and she is really happy.  I would say that this goal is accomplished.  

Third is this thing that I am writing on now.  The blog... Ryanschang.  I still like writing on this thing and lots of friends and family continuously read and watch my videos.  I'm pleased how it turned out.  I will continue blogging until I feel that it's now longer necessary.  It's kind of cool to look back on what I did this past year.  

Of course there bad times... My parents after years got divorced.  Shortly after my grandpa passed away.  During the beginning of summer I moved to Kapahulu with mom because of the divorce.  We are slowly renovating the house and making use with what we got.  I got to see my grandpa before he passed and he was laid to rest at Punchbowl Memorial. 

There through all the hard times was Katie.  I don't know what I would do without her.  Through the bad the good.  This year I got to travel a lot.  I got to see places I've never dreamed of.  After meeting Katie we were off.  Trip after trip, Kauai, Maui, Kaho'olawe, and back again to Maui, and I got to spend Thanksgiving on Big Island with mama Ersbak.  Those were some serious good times! 

2014 is here... what are some of your New Years resolutions?

I haven't put much thought into mine yet but I have an idea on what I want next year.

1) Social media has taken a lot away from my "life".  I've already begun the steps of "cleaning" and deleting people that I don't talk to or don't keep in touch with any more.  I axed instagram and started over again.  Having over a "1000" friends is kind of hard to keep in touch with.

2) Find another job that would supplement the YMCA or start something new and fresh.  I've applied for an internship over the summer and hopefully I land that position... If I don't I'll probably buckle down and go to school after summer time.  I need to finish something right?

3) Not sure what my last one should be... need more time to think.

Those are some of my resolutions and hopefully I can complete them in a year.  Happy New Year everyone!

 

Neighborhood Christmas Lights

Over the past few years I've always been on the hunt for Christmas lights around neighborhoods.  Every year I always seem to take new people trying to perpetuate the feel of the Christmas spirit through going to see Christmas lights. 

It's not your ordinary Honolulu Downtown Christmas light show.  I like to take in the views created by everyday people trying to stand out and be creative with their own homes.  Two homes had lights synchronized to the music!  It was amazing!  The usual happened at Hanapa'a St.  This year was a little dumbed down though... they didn't go all out like the past years... hopefully they put up the rest of the decorations before Christmas ends.  The houses in Kaneohe near Castle high school had their usual stuff up.  If anyone has anywhere special they'd like to share please let me know!  Would love to check it out before the year ends!  Merry Christmas!

You'd be able to see this tree from miles away.  They decorate their tree every year in Kahala.

One of the more impressive displays which often gets overlooked.  This display is in one of the valley's in East Honolulu. 

Katie accompanied me this year.  She was impressed with the Christmas spirit people have here. 

Several houses behind the mall in Kaneohe had inflatables and lights adorning their yard.

The entire front side of the house was covered in lights.  The driveway on the right side of the house (not shown) has a canoe with lights strung up.  Check out the grinch on the boat being pulled by dolphins!

People let us on their property to take a picture in their gazebo.  Such aloha spirit in the community!

The next few shots were on Hanapaa St. in Kapolei! 

The famous Heineken tree!

The same house with the Heineken tree had a driveway down the length of the house adorned with Christmas decorations. 

The other half of the driveway looked like this!

This was probably my favorite decorated house.  It had music and a station to tune into to listen to.  Cars were stopped on the road just to watch.  We were there for a good half hour!

There is a street in Waikele just like the one in Kaneohe.  I think next year if they keep it up they might be one of the more popular streets.

This one is pretty original.  A fully lit up mustang with santa and rudolph in it! 

This last house also had an electronics show with music!  This house actually coordinated with neighbors and the neighbors houses were in sync as well!  At least four houses were in sync and also that street light was in sync as well!

Mele Kalikimaka 2013 from Ryan Chang on Vimeo.

Big Island 2013

I've only been to the Big Island twice.  This would be the third time visiting the island.  This time around I wanted to get a grasp on what is in and around town. 

Thanksgiving was spent with Katie's mom down in Puna, just south of Hilo.  Just south of Hilo means forty five minutes away!  I had to get a grasp on how "big" Big Island is.  Everything was at least and hour away for us, what we wanted to explore was volcano, Kalapana, Kohala and south point just to name a few places. 

Katie and I flew in Tuesday night to Hilo airport.  Right as we were getting on the escalator Katie's mom Carol was down there waiting for us.  We drove with her and her boyfriend Jim down to grab a bite.  I decided on Panda's for something quick and Katie and mom went to Jamba Juice.  After dinner we headed to target for some groceries and supplies for the weekend. 

It was a really long drive back to the house.  When we got home all I could hear was coqui frogs, something I might not ever get used to.  They are so loud and it's hard to sleep with them blaring throughout the night. 

The next morning we took a drive down to Pohoiki to check out the surf.  It wasn't happening so Katie and I decided to hit up Volcano National Park.  We got to check out Halemaumau crater from the Jagger museum and we took a drive down to chain of craters road.  It was unbelievably hot.  At the end of the road we took a 15 minute walk down the road to meet where the lava met the road and closed it off.  For miles all we saw was hot rugged coast line.  Because of the extreme heat and hazy conditions I vowed never to come back!  I don't get how people would wanna do Halape, I give them credit for backpacking such a long distance in the blazing sun. 

We made our way back up to the mountain and took a quick hike on the Kilauea Iki trail just to see the crater from a different view.  It was nice to hear so many songs from the native birds, something you don't hear on Oahu very much.  After that we headed to Thurston lava tube.  It was dark and damp.  It's a pretty cool feature if you want to do touristy things. 

After volcano we went back to the house to spend time with mama Ersbak.  She got us some fresh lau lau for dinner and we watched black fish.  Black fish was a good documentary on how orca whales are kept at sea world. 

Next morning was Thanksgiving!  We had a quick bite to eat and headed out the door.  The first thing we did was check out lava tree state park.  The park had cool features where the trees were burned from the inside out.  The landscape was nice like a park but had weird black rock formations where lava had burnt the trees.  After the park we headed to Hilo town to pick up Jenny and Christian at two but we had lots of time to kill.  I had brought my bodyboard over so I wanted to check out a local break.  We headed to Honoli'i beach.  It was breaking small but really clean.  I jumped in anyways because this was the only day I would get to surf.  After a quick surf session we headed up a little ways to Akaka falls.  It was really sunny already so I couldn't get good pictures.  Maybe next time I come back I'll hike to the base of the falls. 

We picked up Jenny and Christian and headed back home for the Thanksgiving festivities.  Mama Ersbak had a bunch of friends over helping her cook and prepare.  We had a turkey dinner with stuffing, mashed potatoes, salad, yams, and apple cobbler.  It was delicious and reminded me of home.  After dinner the tryptophan in the turkey made me kanak!  I was feeling so drowsy but stayed up to watch some chasing mavericks with the family. 

The next morning we woke a little late and ate some left overs.  The plan was to head up to Waimea to check out a hike.  We drove up the coast for hours and finally hit the trail head.  The trail is closed because of the earthquake that damaged the trail and made it dangerous.  On the trail though there were many hikers we ran into.  Our goal was to hit a water slide made by the people that made the flumes in the mountains.  We hiked for a half hour and were rewarded with an amazing vista.  We followed the trail on a contour that was cut in the mountain.  After following that for a while we dropped down into a flume and walked through the tunnel.  We hit the slide and there were a few locals there chilling.  Christian and I slid down the slide a few times.  There is nothing like it on any of the other islands besides wet n' wild but you didn't have to pay $50 to have fun on a water slide.  After hiking we hit up a little strip mall in Waimea to eat some burgers for dinner. 

We decided to hit saddle road and try make it up to Mauna Kea for sunset but it was too late in the day that when we got to the visitor center it was night already.  Unfortunately it wasn't cloudless so we couldn't see any stars.  We headed off the mountain and back home.  We all were very tired and we knocked out pretty early. 

Saturday morning was mine and Katie's last day.  We wanted to explore down south.  Before going out and exploring mama Ersbak and Jim treated us to breakfast down in Kalapana.  We ate a big breakfast and checked out Kalapana.  We walked down to the new black sand beach.  I really wanted to jump in because there were waves there but I didn't know how the rip and current was.  There was no one out so I decided on not going in the water and taking pictures.  After breakfast we headed up to volcano and down south.  We stopped in Punalu'u and checked out some turtles.  We hit up south point after where Christian jumped off a 35 ft cliff.  It was nuts because it was pretty high but safe kind of jump because it was over hanging the ocean.  There was a ladder to aid in climbing back up too!  I decided not to jump because I didn't feel well.  I think the vog was affecting me and making me feel a little weird.  After that we headed back home.  Mama Ersbak made us a really delicious chicken fajita.  It was so good I passed out second night in a row! 

Sunday morning came too fast and we had to leave already.  I enjoyed my stay there, next time more exploring or maybe backpacking Waimanu again.  Till next time!

Looked at Pohoiki and the surf. 

Up at volcano national park we checked out some steam vents. 

We took a drive down to chain of craters road where the lava met the road. 

We got to see some cool lava formations and plants growing out of the rock. 

The strange black formation that Katie is sitting in used to be a tree.  This was at lava tree state park.

The closed hike we decided to do.

Forty five minutes into the hike we were greeted with this vista. 

The trail goes onto this contour.

Sliding down this flume was a real treat after the hike. 

The last day we hit up south point. 

Big Island 2013 from Ryan Chang on Vimeo.

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.