Kane'ohe Exploration: Friendship Gardens to Kapaa Quarry



One year ago I became vigilant about getting out of the house with my family every weekend to hike.  It's been a great year.  At the beginning of our family hiking journey, I would spend time looking up Blog posts, Yelp reviews, or Instagram hashtags to find easy hikes for us to accomplish each Saturday.  My plan for easy hikes was twofold, one, I wanted something short and simple so the kids wouldn't complain too much about hiking, and two, I knew I was not in the kind of shape to tackle anything too physically demanding.  Now, over a year later, what started out as easy family Saturday hiking, has turned into a whole new outlook on life, an ever increasing adventure spirit, and a leaner  nature loving me.  August is my hiker-versary, and to celebrate I took the kids back to an easy trail we did last August---Friendship Garden Trail in Kane'ohe.  



The first time I did this trail I was just trying to get through it.  We initially took it on because it is a short trail, only a 0.4 mile loop.  That first time we made it to the first big look out, took our pictures and turned around and headed back to the car.  I was sweaty, winded, and thought I had really accomplished something.  Now, a year later, we headed back to Friendship Garden, made it to the first big lookout...and kept going!  22 ropes, many ups and downs along hot, exposed mountain ridge lines, through overgrown prickly grass, past several AT&T phone towers, winding through forests of fern, bamboo, and tons of uneven rock to our end point of the day, Kapaa Quarry.  A year ago, we literally turned around because we were scared of the ropes.  And this past Sunday, we took on 22 separate rope sections (no gloves...that was an oversight).  



And the views?  Not too shabby.  Once again I was reminded of how beautiful Kane'ohe Bay is.  From our hiking vantage point we could see Chinamans Hat, Kane'ohe Bay, The Mokulua Islands off Lanikai, Rabbit Island off of Makapu'u, Olomana Peaks, and the Ko'olau Mountain Range.  This is now one of my favorite hikes.  It really offers something for every type of hiker.  It is challenging enough for those looking for something past easy, it is not so long that kids can't participate, it works on upper body strength when using the ropes, it appeals to your senses with the wide variety of plants and fruit along the trail.  And the views! I'm so glad we went further!




You may be wondering, what are the drawbacks?  There are a couple, but, nothing an adventurous spirit can't handle.  There is very limited parking.  When we arrived to do this hike a year ago, we got extremely lucky---the two designated parking spots directly in front of the entrance to Friendship Garden were wide open.  This year however, those two spots were taken, several "not parking" spots were taken along the road and I was beginning to think we couldn't do our hike due to a parking issue.  I decided to drive a little further down the road and found a large lava rock wall with one car parked beside it and what looked like room for about three more cars to fit.  I carefully looked for signs warning me of towing or ticketing possibilities---there were none to be found, so I pulled in and we were ready to start our hike.




Other drawbacks may be the heat.  We did choose to go at mid day, never my favorite plan, and the heat was definitely contributing to some frustrations along the trail between my kids and between me and my kids---arguing over water is never my idea of a good time. But, the heat can be alleviated with thoughts of after hike treats, or just going in the early morning or late afternoon.




I would definitely do this hike again and recommend it to anyone looking for views, a challenge, and something different.  How often can you say that you hiked to a quarry in Hawaii?  For me that was what kept me going when the trail was starting to get me winded, tired, and cranky.  For most of the hikes that we do, the end view point is the ocean or sweeping views of our Ko'olau Mountains.  This hike had those awesome views, plus more.  I usually don't think of a quarry as being beautiful, but seeing it as our end view changed my perspective.





After all our ropes, climbing, a few minor slips/falls (the five year old), snack and water breaks, when it was all said and done we only hiked about 3.5 miles, not the longest hike in the world, but it does tend to seem longer when part of the hike is ropes.  With three of us in the group (my husband sat this one out to do homework for school) and two in the group being kids, the rope portions took some extra time of me managing where hands and feet should safely go.  It was a lesson in patience for me and a lesson in listening and climbing for them.



We explored the heck out of this hillside portion of Kane'ohe.  We burned some calories, sweated out some toxins, and of course made our way to a treat after our hard work and efforts.  Cold, refreshing Boba lemonades from the new Tea Time Taiwan in Kailua...and a little something extra special for the boys who really showed true grit on the hike.

















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