Makaha Trailblazing: One and Done

See a mountain, try climb it.  Pretty much my hiking/life philosophy these days.  I've spent many a Sunday afternoons sitting at Makaha Beach both watching the kids play in the ocean and staring longingly at the mountains behind me, wondering when I would get the opportunity to hike them.  Last week Wednesday, the opportunity presented itself.  If it weren't for my hiking partner Mary, I'd probably never hike anything...thank goodness she is up for it all.

I'm pretty sure I have noted before my disdain for eating big meals before hiking...and yet somehow I did it to myself again this past Wednesday.  I enjoyed good conversation, coffee, and breakfast with three other moms and then met up with my hiking partner to squeeze in a hike before early school pick-up. Crazy.  First of all, I ate too much.  Second of all there have been zero trade winds.  Third of all, we were in Makaha where it was devil, desert, record breaking hot.  Needless to say...I was uncomfortable, and it showed in the many breaks I had to take trekking up this boulder filled trail that wasn't a trail, a few hundred feet above Makaha Beach.  Now that you know my condition, now for the trail condition.

Picture tall, dry scratchy brush that would be perfect for snakes and other vermin to hide/lay in wait to attack you...if we were anywhere but Hawaii.  Thankfully there are no snakes here so we took on the brush without so much as a second thought.  Then there were the rocks to navigate.  The rocks that got bigger and bigger until finally they could not be called rocks anymore.  They were boulders, small mountains really.  My knees quickly became very unhappy with me.  Then there was the matter of the Makaha sun shining down directly on us.  On this particular day it had the effect of making me feel dizzy, nauseous, and unmotivated...or maybe that was the oversized breakfast?

At any rate, my condition and the trail condition...not a great mix.  I will have to rate this Makaha trail as a one and done.  I made it to the double Hawaiian Flags without keeling over completely.  For this particular trail, that will have to be success.  I have read other blogs that describe this trail further up the mountain as majestic, an all day affair, and for highly experienced hikers only.  I believe it.  We only took on a very small portion of what I believe was the beginning of the Pu'u Kea'au trail and I was ready to give up hiking forever.  Some days the trail can really kick your okole (butt).  And other times you are your own personal hiking rock star.

The more O'ahu trails that I do, the more I am realizing that there are so many factors that go into enjoying and being prepared for the challenges a hike can present.  While I'm glad I finally satisfied my curiosity about the unknown mountain behind Makaha Beach, I did not give it the full readiness, time, and empty stomach it deserved. I suppose after a long passage of time, on a day with wind, and on a morning that I have not devoured a large eggs benedict, this trail might be more enjoyable and less treacherous.  Or not.  It could always be a beast.  And that's okay too.  If every trail were easy, the thrill and challenge of the trail would be gone and so too would my eagerness to try new trails.

I can't deny that the views of Makaha, the Wai'anae Mountains, and the beautiful blue ocean were wonderful to take in, I just wish I hadn't felt like throwing up.  I would love to recommend this trail to others but sadly, this post is less recommendation and more a warning to others not to hike on a full stomach in the mid day sun over gigantic rocks in Makaha.  😝

Makaha you are merciless but mesmerizing, drawing me in and tempting me with your broad hillsides, and sparkling ocean waters, and whispering to me to climb your mountain peaks.  I hope that in a year or so, I will come back to this post and laugh at my inexperience and will be typing up a new post on how I conquered the entirety of this mountain.  Or at least finally figured out with more regularity that eating large meals before hiking is NOT for me.

For the near future, I will stick to relaxing on the sand at the beach across the street from this trail.  I will always know that I wasn't afraid to at least give this mountain a try.  But for now, this hiking momma needs to stick to trails that require less.  After all, hiking should be relieving stress, not inducing it.

Mahalo Makaha for teaching me about limits, exhaustion, weak old knees, curiosity and time and food management.  Who knew a hike could teach all that?!