Starting Out on a Rocky Path and Finishing with Serenity: Pu'u o Hulu and Wa'ahila Ridge to Mt Olympus

This week was a fun week for The Hiking Buddha.  Having been stuck at home for more than a week due to a new tattoo placed in a sensitive area, we were ready to get out and hit the trails.  There is a hike on the West Side of Oahu named Pu'u o Hulu.  It is a short steep climb that eventually leads to 5 different bunkers left over from WWII.  Definitely an interesting hike worth the time.  One of our neighbors has mentioned this as her favorite hike on island, and I've seen it pop up every now and then as an activity in the various hiking groups I follow on Facebook.  So, feeling like this would be a great little jaunt out of the house with the kids, I looked up directions in my trusty "Hiker's Guide to Oahu" and we set out. 

The West Side of Oahu is hot!  Having only done one other hike on this side of the island, I don't have much experience with the elements and what to expect on this side.  We parked on Kaukama Rd by the 9th street lamp and walked back to the trailhead, which is between the 7th and 8th street lamps.  This hike is straight up.  Following blue and pink ribbons over small rock formations up, and up, and up!  The boys were doing a great job scrambling up each section, I on the other hand, being the pack horse of the group, was struggling a bit.  So we took some breaks along the way for water and just to look out over the valley.  Every time we stopped, the boys would exclaim how beautiful the world is, and how much bigger they were getting than the valley below.  We kept going on until we got to a narrow section of trail with steep drops on either side that abutted an 8-10ft rock wall that needed to be climbed vertically.  Deciding that it was probably unsafe for me, alone, with my two boys to attempt this rock wall, we stopped here.  Posed for pictures with The Hiking Buddha and Little Brother Buddha, and carefully made our way back down the mountain to our car. 

When I got home, my neighbor, two doors down, who said this was one of her favorite hikes was outside, so I told her about our experience, to which she informed me that there is an easier trail a bit further up the road that takes you to the bunkers.  That is the trail that most people use.  So, for anyone wanting to do this hike, make sure you go on the easier trail if your children are with you, and feel free to do the harder trail when you are able to hike and only have to worry about you. ( I'm planning on heading to the easier trail sometime this week for a sunset hike, so stay tuned and I'll let you know how it goes.)

Feeling a bit disheartened, as the last three hikes I had attempted with Buddha ended up with turning around before reaching the final destinations, I started to verify plans for my weekend hike with my neighbor.  This hike was going to be the one to break my unlucky streak of not completing the length of the trails I was attempting.  My next door neighbor assured me she was definitely in on the hike, so we made plans to meet early and get on the trail so we weren't out in the heat of the day.

A quick side note about trail lengths in Hawaii.  I like to do my research before attempting any hike, check hiker blogs, hiking pages on facebook, guide books that I've purchased etc.  So the weekend hike I decided on is Mt. Olympus via Wa'ahila Ridge (you can get there from Kolowalu, which is a shorter leader trail, but ends up being pretty much straight up for a mile, and I was not in the mood for that kind of calf work). Having hiked Wa'ahila Ridge before, I knew where to go, and that the trail is only about 2.3 miles one way, the guide book that I use "Hiker's Guide to Oahu" says that the Olympus trail is 6 miles round trip, and talks about hiking it starting at Wa'ahila Ridge.  So, not knowing if that meant 6 miles total, or an additional 6 miles on top of the almost 5 for Wa'ahila, I packed a moderate amount of water and an abundance of snacks.  However, I will say that there are a few trails here on island that have many differing mileages depending on where you look.  I've found the best bet for an accurate answer is to ask people who've hiked it in person or through Facebook.

So, we reached Wa'ahila Ridge State Park at 0600 and parked outside the gate by someone's driveway, because the gate is locked until 0700, grabbed our packs and set out up the road.  When you get into the park, the trail is fairly obvious, you just keep going straight onto a wide dirt path.  The path is mainly uphill for this first little bit, then you come to a fork in the path with a sign pointing to the left.  For some reason many hikers continue going straight, which will still get you to where you need to go, it just takes a little meandering and wondering if you are lost.  So go left, which is downhill.  You'll follow the trail through pine covered tree roots still continuing down, then you'll come to the dirt path that you will follow the rest of the day.  Wa'ahila has a lot of up and down and a few boulder sections that need to be climbed over.  The steepest section has a side trail that is less difficult to the right.  There are a few trails that branch off, I'm not really sure where any of them go, just keep heading straight and eventually you will come to a large grassy clearing overlooking Honolulu and Diamondhead.  This was our first stop to put on our micro spikes and have a quick snack.  The first part of the trail from the car took us a little over an hour.

From here we kept going up the trail until we reached the "Don't go any farther" sign.  Here the path you take is directly behind the sign to the right.  The trail to the left is the other feeder trail, Kolowalu.  This is where the trail really started to get fun.  There are muddy sections that require you to use the help of ropes, or for us micro spikes (seriously the greatest purchase I've ever made).  There are a few rock formations that are a bit large that have to be climbed up and down along the way.  At one such section, I threw my hiking stick that I found with my sister on our hike up Haleakala two weeks ago, thinking it would stay on the trail below for me to retrieve when I safely got down. The stick, however, decided to jump right off the trail into the highly forested, extremely steep drop-off.  Well, apparently my neighbor is my best friend ever, as she spider monkey perched herself off the trail dangling over the drop-off to retrieve my walking stick, which we affectionately ended up naming Harry.

After that bit of shenanigans, we continued on the trail.  The up and downs start to give way to mainly up sections of trails.  The path is so well worn in places that there are "trench stairs" that you can attempt to climb up, or generally avoid by taking a side path.  There are also a few lovely grassy clearings along the way, each one giving more beautiful views than the last.
As we continued on, the wind started to pick up quite drastically, at times it was so strong that it pushed me slightly off balance.  Luckily, in my opinion, Mt Olympus is one of the less scary ridge trails (take this with a grain of salt as so far I've only hiked 3 or 4 ridges), so we didn't feel uneasy about the blustering winds. 

The last big obstacle on the trail before reaching the summit clearing (a small clearing just before the true summit that most people use as their stopping point) is a super muddy, long, rather steep section of trail.  There are 3 different approaches on this section of trail, and 3 different ropes (two of which are actually tied together at the top, so please be careful if you are on the smaller two ropes, you don't want to over burden them and have them snap on you.  Also, always ALWAYS check the ropes before you trust them, and even if you deem them safe, try and keep most of your weight off the rope.)  We chose the left side, which had some worn in trench stairs, and continued up into the clouds.  When we reached the clearing at the false summit, the clouds were whipping over the side of the Ko'olau so quickly, it was unlike anything I've seen before.  On a clear day, Mt Olympus gives you 360' views of the island, from Kaneohe Bay on the windward side, to Honolulu, and all the way out to the tip of the island on the West Side.  Today was not a clear day, however the whispy, fast moving clouds, and gale force wind made it an equally amazing experience.  We stopped at the top for nearly an hour, eating snacks, taking pictures, venturing down the trail leading to the true summit a little bit, but finding that with the wind and the narrowness of parts of the trail that it was best left for a different day, and ultimately taking some time to meditate.

My favorite thing in the world right now is meditating after reaching the summit or turning point of a trail. Hiking is a fun activity that most people can do, however when you reach the top of a trail that has taken you hours of scrambling, slipping, climbing, trusting ropes, and many, many breaks to stop and rehydrate and give your calves a rest so you don't get the world's worst "Charlie Horse", you feel a certain sense of accomplishment and euphoria.  Or at least I know I do.  I call this the "Hiker's High" a term I've heard used by many before, and it truly is one of the most amazing feelings in the world.  Couple that with the majesty of the view and the elements and it creates the perfect moment for reflection. 

I asked my neighbor to sit comfortably and explained that the best meditation for the day would be one of new beginnings.  The full moon is this weekend, and with that comes closing of old paths and the opening of new ones.  So, for this meditation we focused on releasing the stresses that are holding us back currently, and focusing some self-love and compassion while we head forward.  We sat silently focusing on our breathing in the gray cloud cover while Buddha sat watching us for 4.5 minutes.  I'm not sure what thoughts my neighbor had, however I can attest that this was one of the most positive experiences I've ever had.  While I sat there I focused on my breath with new beginnings in mind and just let my emotions and drifting thoughts wash over me.  For the first time ever, I was comfortable sitting in silence with someone else during this moment of quiet, not worrying about if she thought I was a total fruit cake or whatever.  I also had extremely positive, affirming thoughts about myself, and my current struggles and goals.  It was a well needed moment of reflection.  For the last 30 seconds of our meditation, the sun lit up the clouds, not truly breaking through them, but causing a bright glow to settle around us, pushing the gray out and leaving only bright and pure white light everywhere.  When the timer finally chimed and we opened our eyes, what had been gray and windy with slight moments of rain before, was aglow with refreshment.  What a wonderful manifestation of the exact thing we were focusing on, pushing out the negative, gray clouds, and replacing them with love and positivity, the white glow. 

Feeling refreshed and ready to head back down, we put Buddha safely away in my pack and started back down the trail.  By the time we reached the pine covered tree roots at the beginning of the Wa'ahila trail, we were both walking numb.  It was a long day, up to that point it had been just over 7 hours of hiking (we also took a long break at the top of the mountain and a few breathers during steep sections of the trail), and when we finally reached the car I pulled my hiking shoes off in pure joy!  I love my hiking boots, but 7 hours and 45 minutes of walking will make anyone want to spend the rest of the day barefoot. 

Overall, according to my Fitbit, the trail from just before the gate at the Wa'ahila Ridge State Park is 11.11 miles.  So, be prepared for a full day of hiking when attempting Mt. Olympus.  We also did 222 flights of stairs (not actual stairs, just what my Fitbit counted) and it took us 7hrs 44mins.  I'm sure most people could do it faster, but I enjoy the journey and my time in nature, not racing to the end and back.

So, the lesson I took from this week of hiking with Buddha, take your time in reaching the destination, and even if you are feeling down or discouraged love yourself.  You'll be amazed at what you can accomplish when you just are kind with how you treat yourself in action and in thought.  There were many times where I just wanted to turn around and say, "that's it, 7 miles is good enough."  There were times on the way back down the trail where I wanted to sit and not get up again, but then I would be stranded.  The journey will be long, hard, and unknown many, many times in your life.  Love yourself!  Life is too short to rush through it just to reach the end. Also, taking the wrong path doesn't mean you are a failure.  The paths will still be there, there will be another day, love yourself and your journey now!

Until the next hiking adventure...