From Hawaiian BU
I really have no idea what to title this thing, because technically, we were on five (5) hikes today that combined together allowed us to re-familiarize ourselves with some well-known trails as well as prep for future adventures. After yesterday's hike to Kalauao, I stayed up late hanging out with the Atherton students and went to bed at about 2:30. Got up at 6:45 and met my friend Alton for some football (my old Sunday tradition). Then made my way back to Atherton to meet up with Chinese BU. We were not sure what to do for today, so I figured why not hit up Tantalus and all the great trails there. I knew Chinese BU was in a serious hiking mood, and that he wanted to hit a waterfall or swimming hole. So I came up with a proposal to do Pu'u Ohia, connect to Pauoa Flats, spend some time at the Nuuanu Overlook, retrace back to Nuuanu Trail, connect to Judd Trail, then finish off at Jackass Ginger. Of course he was down.
We set up his car at the Jackass Ginger pool, then headed up in my car to Tantalus and the Pu'u Ohia trailhead. (One small tidbit before we continue: as I was driving down old Pali Road, right before the church on the right, to get to Tantalus, I saw this older man in his sixties or seventies walking on the street with a bamboo pole. More on him later) The hikes that extend around this area are some of the finest trails on the island, and my family used to spend AMAZING amounts of time investigating all the trails in the area. You could say it was where I was taught about hiking and the seeds of this urge were planted. I was very excited to visit the old stomping grounds. Chinese BU had never been on any of the trails, so he was eager to explore.
Both of us work for the YMCA, so naturally we talk about work when we hike. Chinese BU works with Middle Schoolers, while I work with College Students. We were sharing experiences hiking with our groups, and future places we could possibly take them. I told him that Tantalus is a great place for his kids, and that we can investigate more another time. I already took his kids up Pu'u Ohia before, and showed him the various side trails and where they lead.
We got past the Telephone Relay Tower and had our first glimpse of Nuuanu, and naturally we focused on Konahuanui. Yep, that's on the radar, and hopefully we can get to it sometime in the near future. We headed down towards the junction of Pauoa Flats and noticed massive amounts of the vegetation chopped off for no apparent reason. Anybody know why they do this? We passed the Manoa Cliffs Trail, and got to the sign with all the trails. This is like the meeting spot for all the hikers. Consider it Nature's Intersection.
Everyone that hikes these trails intersect at these various points all along this section of the trails in Tantalus. The trails are connected from various areas and lead to this central location, Pauoa Flats Trail. We met people that came from Manoa Cliffs Trail, Aihualama Trail (from Manoa Falls) Kalawahine Trail, Nuuanu Trail (our exit point), and from Konahuanui. Each them were parked in different places, but all met up here, just like a traffic intersection. It's pretty cool. I think Chinese BU was impressed with all the different options, and I know he wants to try each one.
The plan was to get to the Nuuanu Overlook, take a break, then head back down Nuuanu trail. Guess who we see at the Nuuanu Trail Junction- that same old guy I saw on Old Pali! And I was impressed! We got to the Overlook and took some pics there, and here came Chinese BU's "rush'em" mentality. He wanted to take pictures of the top of Lulumahu Falls, but that meant going up Konahuanui part of the way. I agreed, and we made our way up. We finally got to the spot from above the Falls, and took the pics, and headed back to the Overlook.
When we got back, we took a break and I looked at my phone. There was full bars of reception, something that doesn't normally happen when we hike. I made a comment about if we ever got in trouble somehow, we needed to get to the Overlook. Chinese BU said "from the Ninjas?" I said "yeah, the ninja pigs!" We laughed and headed back to get to Nuuanu Trail and the descent to the pool. Nuuanu Trail is probably the only trail connected to Tantalus that I have never done, I think because Mom and Dad's car were not at the bottom.
As we did this leg, I became more impressed with the old man. How in God's name did he do this so quickly? I'm not saying that he's not capable, but going up Nuuanu Trail ain't no walk in the park. I would say it's a good test for guys our age, but that old man made it up this thing in pretty quick order. The other thing that we came across was an actual pig! Chinese BU heard him first, and saw a black form in the bushes above us. I saw it's tail and it's okole. I think it heard us, but didn't see us. I told Chinese BU to run down the mountain past him. The pig made more noise , but it didn't follow us. Damn Ninja Pigs!
After connecting with Judd Trail, I was all spent and ready to get to Jackass Ginger. The pool was packed, but I didn't care. We were going for a swim, we deserved it. As I write this, I'm absolutely tired from this weekend of Hiking, and will probably sleep at least 10 hours, maybe more. If I don't answer the phone, sorry, it probably is not working anyway with all the moisture in it the past two days. A good day of hiking. If I remember correctly, I believe we are going to Olomana this coming Sunday. Oh boy, hope it don't got Ninja Pigs!
I really have no idea what to title this thing, because technically, we were on five (5) hikes today that combined together allowed us to re-familiarize ourselves with some well-known trails as well as prep for future adventures. After yesterday's hike to Kalauao, I stayed up late hanging out with the Atherton students and went to bed at about 2:30. Got up at 6:45 and met my friend Alton for some football (my old Sunday tradition). Then made my way back to Atherton to meet up with Chinese BU. We were not sure what to do for today, so I figured why not hit up Tantalus and all the great trails there. I knew Chinese BU was in a serious hiking mood, and that he wanted to hit a waterfall or swimming hole. So I came up with a proposal to do Pu'u Ohia, connect to Pauoa Flats, spend some time at the Nuuanu Overlook, retrace back to Nuuanu Trail, connect to Judd Trail, then finish off at Jackass Ginger. Of course he was down.
We set up his car at the Jackass Ginger pool, then headed up in my car to Tantalus and the Pu'u Ohia trailhead. (One small tidbit before we continue: as I was driving down old Pali Road, right before the church on the right, to get to Tantalus, I saw this older man in his sixties or seventies walking on the street with a bamboo pole. More on him later) The hikes that extend around this area are some of the finest trails on the island, and my family used to spend AMAZING amounts of time investigating all the trails in the area. You could say it was where I was taught about hiking and the seeds of this urge were planted. I was very excited to visit the old stomping grounds. Chinese BU had never been on any of the trails, so he was eager to explore.
Both of us work for the YMCA, so naturally we talk about work when we hike. Chinese BU works with Middle Schoolers, while I work with College Students. We were sharing experiences hiking with our groups, and future places we could possibly take them. I told him that Tantalus is a great place for his kids, and that we can investigate more another time. I already took his kids up Pu'u Ohia before, and showed him the various side trails and where they lead.
We got past the Telephone Relay Tower and had our first glimpse of Nuuanu, and naturally we focused on Konahuanui. Yep, that's on the radar, and hopefully we can get to it sometime in the near future. We headed down towards the junction of Pauoa Flats and noticed massive amounts of the vegetation chopped off for no apparent reason. Anybody know why they do this? We passed the Manoa Cliffs Trail, and got to the sign with all the trails. This is like the meeting spot for all the hikers. Consider it Nature's Intersection.
Everyone that hikes these trails intersect at these various points all along this section of the trails in Tantalus. The trails are connected from various areas and lead to this central location, Pauoa Flats Trail. We met people that came from Manoa Cliffs Trail, Aihualama Trail (from Manoa Falls) Kalawahine Trail, Nuuanu Trail (our exit point), and from Konahuanui. Each them were parked in different places, but all met up here, just like a traffic intersection. It's pretty cool. I think Chinese BU was impressed with all the different options, and I know he wants to try each one.
The plan was to get to the Nuuanu Overlook, take a break, then head back down Nuuanu trail. Guess who we see at the Nuuanu Trail Junction- that same old guy I saw on Old Pali! And I was impressed! We got to the Overlook and took some pics there, and here came Chinese BU's "rush'em" mentality. He wanted to take pictures of the top of Lulumahu Falls, but that meant going up Konahuanui part of the way. I agreed, and we made our way up. We finally got to the spot from above the Falls, and took the pics, and headed back to the Overlook.
When we got back, we took a break and I looked at my phone. There was full bars of reception, something that doesn't normally happen when we hike. I made a comment about if we ever got in trouble somehow, we needed to get to the Overlook. Chinese BU said "from the Ninjas?" I said "yeah, the ninja pigs!" We laughed and headed back to get to Nuuanu Trail and the descent to the pool. Nuuanu Trail is probably the only trail connected to Tantalus that I have never done, I think because Mom and Dad's car were not at the bottom.
As we did this leg, I became more impressed with the old man. How in God's name did he do this so quickly? I'm not saying that he's not capable, but going up Nuuanu Trail ain't no walk in the park. I would say it's a good test for guys our age, but that old man made it up this thing in pretty quick order. The other thing that we came across was an actual pig! Chinese BU heard him first, and saw a black form in the bushes above us. I saw it's tail and it's okole. I think it heard us, but didn't see us. I told Chinese BU to run down the mountain past him. The pig made more noise , but it didn't follow us. Damn Ninja Pigs!
After connecting with Judd Trail, I was all spent and ready to get to Jackass Ginger. The pool was packed, but I didn't care. We were going for a swim, we deserved it. As I write this, I'm absolutely tired from this weekend of Hiking, and will probably sleep at least 10 hours, maybe more. If I don't answer the phone, sorry, it probably is not working anyway with all the moisture in it the past two days. A good day of hiking. If I remember correctly, I believe we are going to Olomana this coming Sunday. Oh boy, hope it don't got Ninja Pigs!
Where we started
The Relay Station on top, continue to the left
The main sign listing all the trails
Pauoa Flats sign
The Nuuanu Overlook
Konahuanui...sign?
Upper Lulumahu Falls
Nuuanu Trail Sign
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