Return to A Favorite: Sunset at Mauna Lahilahi

You know you are obsessed with hiking when your personal Instagram Account is filled almost entirely with pictures from your daily hikes. You know you are obsessed with hiking when you open a completely separate Instagram Account---just for hiking photos (you can check out my personal Instagram iheartkeanu or my hiking partner and I at haolegirlhikes).  Now I've come clean, that's where I'm at.  Two Instagram accounts.  I have a ton of photos, a big list of O'ahu hikes to check off my hiking "to do" list, and a blog that used to be filled with posts on baking cupcakes---now devoted to my hiking adventures and sometimes misadventures.  Happily hiking obsessed.

This weekend, our family revisited Mauna Lahilahi in Wai'anae. We first did this hike at the beginning of the new year, January 2017:

http://lifeoflarisa.blogspot.com/2017/01/new-year-new-hike-mauna-lahilahi.html?m=1

Since our first hike up this cluster of rocks, I have hiked it one other time (minus kids).  Saturday night Sunset was my third climb up.  Summer on O'ahu means higher temperatures and increased daylight.  It also means our weekends are now spent soaking up sun on the beach and less hiking during the mid-day. But I still want to hike!  In order to keep this mom content, we set out for a sunset hike.

As it turns out, sunset is the perfect time to climb Mauna Lahilahi.  Typically this rock feature is a hike that keeps you in a shadeless, hot, sunny, sweaty situation.  Sunset provided the opportunity to sweat a little less, not feel so hot, leave the hat at home, and drink/carry less water---everything less, sunset to Mauna Lahilahi is the minimalist hike.  This was exactly what we needed to get out of the house and not overdo it before our long group hike the following day to Ka'ena Point (north shore side).

Since the setting sun also meant darkness was imminent, we did bring flashlights as a precaution.  Mauna Lahilahi is so small however, we hiked down in less than fifteen minutes and never even needed to use our flashlights.  If we had taken any longer, it turns out we still wouldn't have needed our flashlights as it was a full moon---we caught it rising above the Wai'anae Mountain Range as we headed to our parked car.  A big bright beautiful sight (unable to capture on my phone).

But I did capture some good views of the stunning Saturday sunset.  If you are looking to ooh and ahhh out of town guests or just yourself, I highly recommend heading out to the westside and climbing/hiking up Mauna Lahilahi.  It doesn't require too much physical exertion or a high hiking skill level---just watch for those sides---there are steep drop offs, so wear shoes (not slippahs), hold onto to your littlest hikers, and take your time.

I promise you will be rewarded.