Friday was our big “Ironman” bicycling trip. We didn’t do a whole Ironman’s length worth of biking, but we did ride on part of the ironman route. I was most nervous for this ride. It’s completely exposed, there is a ton of cross wind, and the stopping increments weren’t great. I don’t think I mentioned this but I was on an eBike for it. They are really helpful, however, I did my best to have it on the lowest to none setting.
We started at this King Kamehameha statue in Kapaau and made it all the way to the Pololu Valley Lookout. Our leads were fun and helped discuss the routes.
We saw some uniquely Hawaiian things at our rest stops.
The ride was really windy and uncomfortable for a bit, thankfully if I was going to be blown over it would’ve been to the side of the road and not into traffic. Once you make it through a rough patch, it’s not as bad. I made sure I was well hydrated and snacked the whole time which makes a huge difference.
After this we went back to the hotel and enjoyed a farewell dinner.
Saturday we had one more hike along the coast and then farewell snacks.
It was quite the week of adventuring! I was bummed my in-laws couldn’t have made it. We made the most of the trip, but I am done with Big Island for possibly ever. Although, that’s what I said after trip 2. Life’s funny like that.
I found myself with a free Sunday so I asked a friend if she wanted to get outside with me for a low key hike nearby. Maunawili Ditch trail is your basic walk through the woods and was just what I needed today. It was shaded and made for a great midday jaunt. It’s a multi-use trail, we found horses at the end, we encountered a mountain biker and other hikers. The hike starts at the same place as another hike I did recently. I didn’t take many pics on the trail, just enjoyed the company and movement. But here are a couple to give you an idea!
Brian and I had a whole Saturday with nothing to do which is quite the unusual event. After weighing our options we decided on an adventure to the North Shore. We started at Green World Coffee Farm which I’ve heard a lot of great things about but since I don’t really like coffee didn’t feel the need to check out. Brian loves coffee so we stopped. I got a iced mocha, a newly found coffee ish love of mine, and it was delicious. Brian got a blueberry latte for kicks and wasn’t a huge fan of blueberry. We also had a coconut turnover.
I would imagine they have tours or discussions normally as they had a coffee plant garden out back and a grinder inside but we didn’t experience that part.
Next stop was Laniakea to try to find turtles… and we didn’t see any (a miss for a second time…womp). Then to the Pillbox hike. It was a pretty steep ascent but very dry so it was easy. Overall I was unimpressed, not really a great view and the hike wasn’t very picturesque… but glad to knock another one off the list and gets some activity in.
Then we started our foodie tour… first stop a garlic shrimp truck. Giovanni’s is the “famous” one, however when we tried to go they were closed that day… so we ended up at Hono’s which is also highly rated. They are in a food truck plaza? I guess? You could pay $2 to park, it was pretty full by the time we got there and it was opened/closed as people left.
The options were garlic or spicy garlic… I asked how spicy it was and they said medium. Well, for the record, medium to them means get ready to cry… it was SO HOT. The flavor itself was delicious if you could get past the fire. Whereas Brian got the plain old garlic and I thought it was meh. Also, by the time we ordered it was so busy it was going to take 45minutes. There are some small stores nearby so we went and visited HE>I which is a Hawaiian based store who’s branding is centered around God is greater than I. I bought a sticker for my water bottle and an awesome shirt with mountains, water, and sun.
Stop two was a Mahuka Banana Bread. I bought banana bread and some cookies. I a little regret this stop-I didn’t realize these guys are the ones often at our local food markets and I ended up with too many desserts from the weekend. Oh well! On our way into the parking area, we had to wait for a peacock to cross the road… yup. A peacock.
Then, last foodie stop, was Ted’s bakery which is a famous pie bakery and reminds me of the Pie version of Mike’s pastries in Boston. I bought the Chocolate-Haupia cream pie, lilikoi cream pie, and chocolate chip macademia nut cookies. My favorite was the lilikoi cream pie.
I am very grateful Brian was willing to chauffeur me around to these places. We then meandered around the island back to home and relaxed the rest of the day, we earned it!
O’Hana trail is very close to me, but it’s not necessarily a noteworthy hike. It’s meant to be a mountain biking trail and we definitely encountered 8-10 mountain bikers on our journey. The whole loop was 6.5 miles and I have the blisters to show it! It was also 855ft elevation, not nothing! Nicely spread out over the entire journey. There was one ok view and it felt like walking through a jungle for most of it.
Simply put, this trail mostly just “does the job”. I think in any other situation this trail would be great, but it kinda gets trounced by the more spectacular hikes. However, the pluses are proximity, low mud, and length without being super tough elevation. Good to go and bang out if you just need a low stress hike for fresh air. Between this and biking the day before, I am wiped!
Time for the monthly KOSC hike! This time I had two people attending and Brian came as well. We started around 3pm and had a really pleasant hike. This one had it all… we saw a ton of Humpback whales, a Hawaiian Monk Seal, Hawaiian Albatross (Mōlī), huge wave swells (15+ ft), two sea arches, blow holes, restrooms, parking, and we timed it perfectly for sunset! It’s the sister hike to Ka’ena from the north side; both end at Ka’ena point but follow different sides of the coast. Very similar feeling to hiking the New England coast.
Can you spot the seal?
There was one very slightly sketchy part, but that’s it. It was straightforward, easy to navigate and walk. It is not shaded at all, but honestly if you go prepared (water, sun shirts, sun screen, sunglasses, hat) it’s not bad at all. It’s not like sweltering… it’s really hard to explain. You’ll have to come see for yourself!
You can still see rail ties from the train tracks that existed for the Ka’ena point train until a tsunami took them out.
It was great to get out and get some fresh air and experience nature in Hawaii. I had been sick with a head cold and stomach issues last week, so I had been a couch potato for a while. Brian really enjoyed seeing this trail, he really loved it actually.
I came down with a small cold so I’ve had low energy the last few days. I wanted to get this post in, but might update it later. Jess and I actually did this hike Sunday last week. It was very green sands beach esque. It’s a long hike along the coast with the final destination being a “park” and a bird sanctuary. There were roads for off-roading vehicles. (just like green sands)
We saw a lot of wildlife… birds, whales, and a Hawaiian seal. Can you spot the seal?
A lot of reviews for this hike complain of “much of the same the whole way”, the whole way being three miles out and back. But how can you complain when the landscape is like this?
I was thoroughly entertained by Jess’ company, the wildlife, tide pools, etc. It was definitely very hot and dry, so wearing a sun guard shirt, sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, and bringing tons of water was the right call. It was still very enjoyable despite being in the sun. We weren’t uncomfortable, but you can tell the sun was strong. It’s kinda hard to explain.
When you get to the point, there’s a sandy “park” where all the birds are and you can see down the west side of the island. This part of the ocean is where we took our whale watching tour, so maybe these mountains look familiar? As I mentioned, we did see some whale tails with the binoculars! Parts of the ocean cliffs reminded Jess and I of the East Coast.
It was really enjoyable because there wasn’t anything too tricky. We timed it so we’d get back around sunset. Unfortunately I’m bad at geography and didn’t really realize we wouldn’t see the sunset, but here’s what we did see
After, we went to Hale’iwa Joe’s, a highly recommended restaurant on the North Shore. We found out why! The service was excellent and the food we had was delicious. 10/10 recommend. Although, I do understand having just hiked 6 miles may play a role in the taste… we were lucky and able to sit right away outside at a table for two. Not sure if it was our timing or luck! But we were happy.
I want to start off by saying normally I’m scrambling to blog on Sundays but I am super proud of myself for blogging on Saturday!
This bay probably looks familiar, it’s Haunama Bay (The one Erin and I snorkeled a while back). There’s actually a hike that goes up and around the rim of it and down toward the right of this picture. It’s unlisted on the AllTrails app, which I find very curious, but most of it is technically on an access road that’s supposed to be off limits. We encountered a lot of other people enjoying the route and no one there to stop us so… on we went! In the next picture, you can see us walking on the access road and behind us is a great view of Koko crater and the neighborhood of Hawaii Kai. I will tell you we vastly underestimated this hike, this was the first of two steep ascents. Luckily it was cooler and we had some wind, but I did have to stop for more reasons than to take a picture or three.
Eventually we reached the “top”. You could keep going, but I think it ends up going to an out and back point, and we didn’t have a lot of time so we turned back to do a loop. Well, the next thing we know we’re walking down this near vertical pitch. Thankfully the rock was dry and super grippy aside from some loose gravel here and there. My knees were definitely feeling it by the time we finished descending! (this is looking back up from whence we came).
Then you walk along the coast and get to the right side of Haunama bay (looking outward)
What goes down must come up…It isn’t a very long time before you find yourself ascending another practically vertical pitch to get back up to the high ridge again. Here’s a girl descending what we just finished ascending. That brown patch is where we came from and where I took that above picture.
This was a sleeper hike… meaning I way underestimated the intensity. It ended up being 3.75 miles and 900ft elevation total! Idk what I was thinking, my friend sent me her route and stats and I must’ve glossed over them… I think because I thought we were just doing the rim and the loop was on the same elevation, but definitely not the case!
We did see a couple whale spouts while standing out there! I think if I did it again I’d take binoculars and dinner and sit and enjoy for a bit.
I told Brian he might need to find someone else to go with to do this hike, that’s how much I disliked it. But, I can be convinced of a lot… so who knows.
This is a really great shot of Koko Head. You can see a brown path going to the top… those are the Koko head stairs. I’m really nervous to do them because they are intense and really, really hot. My friend said that she’d go with me and we could take our time and just go as far as I’m comfortable. I will definitely try it sometime.
This hike was definitely challenging to navigate. A lot of reviews said that, but based on the map it looked pretty straight… the problem is it crosses the stream a couple (? Few?) times. There weren’t great markers and LOTS of stray paths. Some of the markers were the same colors and plant leaves… which left you questioning leaf or trail marker? There was one point we were hiking up a cliff face and my gut said it didn’t feel right because reviews had said their 8 year olds could handle it. I was right, and we backed down and found an alternative, much easier path.
Anyway, this was another nice walk through the jungle essentially… a really beautiful bamboo forest to start.
Eventually you get to the stream and trace it all the way up. This hike is NOT recommended during rain and I can see why… you can easily get trapped.
I ended up using my spikes toward the top, and I would highly suggest boots… we were crossing the stream a lot.
We made it there around 4pm on a Friday and there was hardly anyone there. We parked at this pull off off the highway… they were doing filming in the area so the parking was limited which could’ve kept it quieter. Also, you need to buy a pass for this hike… it’s limited to 100 a day or something. It was a whopping $2.50 and no one checked us for it, but I rather go with the integrity route.
It was a great hike, it took an hour and 15 minutes ish, 1.7 miles round trip, only 300 ft elevation. There were four other people there and they were swimming… I’ve heard bad things about the bacteria in these ponds, so I haven’t done it yet.
After this we made a stop at the Honolulu Museum of Art to pick up some pallet straps to reuse for this project. Stay tuned!
Finally, we stopped at La Casita restaurant to try to find some good pupusas. The pupusas were just OK, but the horchata was delicious and the empanada was as well. We would like to try their other food. This all started after a discussion about trying to find Arepa’s in Hawaii, which it turns out there aren’t any… so now we are pursuing (and succeeding!) at making them at home. I first tried arepa’s in Venezuela. They are delicious.
Sidebar conversation related to this afternoon… Leading up to this, I was very reluctant to drive. Growing up, my mom was very fearful of driving, and even to this day my parents are very particular about parking and where they drive. So sometimes that creeps up on me… we were going to three spots I had never driven before, one I had to take a left and then another left on a busy throughway, one was in the city… and I was going to ask my friend to drive. But I know, if I keep doing that, I will scare myself into never driving anywhere. Well, long story short, I told my friend this before we left, and she encouraged me to drive, and I did and of course everything went fine… in fact incredibly smoothly. Both lefts, navigating this tiny parking lot, and driving the H1 through Honolulu. It was a great confidence/anti fear builder! Funny anecdote about the tiny parking lot in the art museum- I parked in the museum director’s spot (at 5pm on a Friday, mind you) and the parking attendant got SO UPSET. So I had to move immediately. Meanwhile, this parking lot is 5 spots big and there were 8 cars trying to park in it… We all agreed afterward that he had definitely been chewed out for not leaving that space open previously and couldn’t let it happen again. How about next time pick a bigger parking lot to execute this in? Or get permission? Strange… Hawaii is strange.
There is a crater on the Marine Corps base called Ulupa’u crater. It faces out toward the ocean, and inside is a setup for various training exercises. To use the hike there are a few logistics involved, including getting a key and radio and signing waivers. I tasked my friend Jess to coordinate this because I thought there was a chance I wouldn’t be able to. She did great!
We did it for sunrise. We set off in the dark.
We thought it might be tough to get everyone up in time, but we did! There was a bit of scrambling and a few steep parts. But you can see all of base and over to Lanikai.
There’s the golf course we played with my parents, and pyramid rock beach and North Beach.
We got to take our husbands.
You can kinda tell how steep it is here. There are ropes the whole way.
I would not want to do this when it was slippery! Thankfully we had perfect weather for it and it’s been dry.
It was certainly challenging and Brian and I were the last to get up, but we did! I unfortunately don’t have a selfie of just us, but he was there and I was thankful he went slowly with me. There were a TON of gnats through some of the higher elevation wooded parts… the noise was deafening trying to walk through them. We covered our mouths with shirts and ducked low, it helped…
I don’t know if I’d do this again. We’ll see. I’m glad to have gone at least once!
Manoa Falls is a very touristy waterfall hike. It was closed for a bit and redone to try to prevent erosion. It’s really easily accessible, not much of an incline, and beautiful. However, definitely not as breathtaking as one that you’d find buried deep in the jungle like the last one I went to, Waipulani falls. I think the touristy feel takes some of the awe away. None the less, great little adventure to get some fresh air after what felt like weeks of rain.
OK, I take it back, you do feel a bit like you’re walking through the jungle…
But the path is mostly gravel and well kept bridges.
As you get closer you can only see the bottom tier.
In some of the pictures you can see people at the base swimming… you can, but swim at your own risk of infection with whatever diseases… I’ll take a pass. There are signs saying you shouldn’t, and with all the heavy rains I especially wouldn’t.
Parking is $4 for Kama’aina or military. The parking lot is small, but there was an additional one further. This trail connects to a large network of trails in the Tantalus area that I’ve yet to check out. Total was 1.7 miles round trip and 400 ft elevation. I think for a quick hit up of a waterfall without getting too dirty, it’s great. If it were me, I’d choose Likeke or Waipulani or even Waimea before I came to this one.
