In the past, "Sunday Funday" consisted of Yoga, a stop at the Farmer's Market, and a few hours relaxing at the beach. The past two weekends "Sunday Funday" was rained out. Spring showers put a damper on outdoor adventures. So, when this past Sunday, the weather was picture perfect...we hit the trail!
Kuli'ou'ou Ridge Trail in East Honolulu is spectacular! Our family has previously hiked Wiliwilinui Ridge Trail almost to the top and Hawaii Loa Trail years and years ago. Apparently we were saving the best eastside ridge for last. I was blown away by Kuli'ou'ou Ridge Trail. Maybe it was being housebound for the previous two weekends...or maybe it really is just that magnificent.
I didn't have too many expectations about this trail before getting started. I knew almost everyone who hikes on O'ahu has done this trail, I knew there would be a good view at the end, and I knew parking might be tricky---other than that, we were walking in blind.
This trail offers several different terrain and hiking environments as you climb just one of the many peaks belonging to the Ko'olau Mountains.
The first half of the trail is wooded and shady. There are numerous switchbacks to ease you into walking up the hill. There is a covered bench area we joked was base camp, as well as an uncovered bench look out spot about a third of the way up.
I would be curious to do this hike on a weekday to compare the amount of foot traffic, Sunday there was a lot...including the four legged kind. Dogs and their owners everywhere!
Once the switchback portion of the trail is behind you, the next challenge is roots and several steep inclines. Going up, not bad...it was the coming down that my knees are still complaining about.
After the roots, comes the stairs. Thank you Sierra Club for providing these! The stair portion wouldn't be so bad if you weren't already pretty exhausted from your several mile journey up to this point. In addition to the terrain and environment changes, we noticed that since we were so high up, there were also temperature changes. Despite our sweat and hard work, I was beginning to feel a chill!
During the stair portion, I took several breaks---to rest my weary legs, but also to take in the scenery. We were so up close to mountain tops I'd only ever been able to barely glimpse behind clouds before. You felt like you could reach out and grab the mountains.
At one lookout I was able to clearly see Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, and Kokohead---the ultimate panorama.
Once we triumphantly made it to the "end of trail" sign, the view was of windward O'ahu. If I close my eyes, I can still see it all clearly. From Rabbit Island to Waimanalo Beach Park, to the Mokolua Islands off Lanikai...it was all right there. Even the kids were impressed with the view---and they are hard customers to please.
We made good time going back down, all of us happy with the incredible view we had seen and the thought of a cool beverage and sub sandwich after we were done.
Although the thirteen year old gave me clear instructions to "do this hike when I'm in school mom", I think I might be able to coax the family into trekking back up Kuli'ou'ou Ridge again. The five year old didn't even break a sweat, so we'll have to return.
Kuli'ou'ou Ridge Trail---a thousand percent better than Kuli'ou'ou Valley Trail, and now in my top five of favorite O'ahu trails.
After: me and the hubby relaxing at Bellows. We definitely earned it!
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