By Gary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.com
TO HIKE TO the top of Olomana ridge on the Windward side of the island is to experience a panoramic vista beyond compare. But getting there can be a true test of endurance.And for the occasional trekker like myself, I can only say that if I hadn't been part of a group that ascended the trail one overcast and humid Sunday recently, I would have very easily swallowed what little bit of pride I could muster between gasps for air, and headed back to my car two miles in to the six-mile round-trip hike.
The group consisted of two loosely dubbed "hike clubs." The all-female Club YaMaYaMa (Japanese for "mountain") was made up of charter members Jennifer "Sunshine" Schwartz, Tamara Stockman, Rhoda Hood and Kanani Miyamoto and male "guests" Virgil Kong, Bill Baughman, Avelino "A.J." Halagao and yours truly. Jonathan Wright and his club (if you can consider a total group of three a "club") of Baron Fujimoto and Blaise Haae had hiked Waimano Valley recently and looked forward to hiking with their new YaMaYaMa pals.
VIRTUAL VIEW
Sit atop Olomana and take a look around! View a 360° Quicktime VR panorama shot by Star-Bulletin photographer Ken Ige.
This hike is for the fit and experienced hiker, with a bit of fearlessness mixed in when scaling the last bit of rock face to get to the first summit. Starting through the forested gully, the ascent to Mount Olomana doesn't truly begin until after a grove of ironwood trees. After that, it's pretty much a steep incline up the northwest ridge. I admit I had to stop a couple of times on the trail, edging further back in the pack until I was at the very end, gamely attempting to catch my breath. I felt my lungs and heart were working double overtime, severely oxygen depleted in my fevered imagination. Weren't we were already thousands of feet above sea level?No, silly! We were only going up about 1,600 feet, so stop your whining! Look up occasionally, won't you, and see how the others are enjoying it!
Well, with the exception of myself and a friend of A.J.'s, everybody at least looked like they were having an easier time of it.
Halagao later said that "the hike itself is challenging -- not impossible -- but enough of a gnarly cardiovascular exercise that getting to the top provides a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. The hike is steep, the trails are all natural -- just dirt, rocks and trees (no metal stairs to heaven here) -- and climbing the lone rope gives you a nice little scare."
"Olomana that day was so humid and still, I thought my lungs were going to explode," said Stockman. "But once we got to the ironwood trees, I was a little better. But, from then on, it's like your body starts to go numb and it's just you and your thoughts all the way up. The rocks where you have to pull yourself up with the rope are always scary. I have to say, though, I was much better at it this time. The first time, I had four guys spotting me and telling me where to put my feet."
LET ME AMEND my list of hiker attributes to include no fear of heights when it comes to doing the Olomana trail. After scaling the rock wall, what little bit of vertigo you ever had kicks in from a severe drop-off on either side of the trail. At times, you're literally hugging the ridge's face with nothing but air on your right.But the vista on top of the first summit was worth the afternoon's worth of fatigue. It's a spectacular sight to experience first hand, one I would've felt more euphoric about if I hadn't been so darn winded. We hunkered down a bit as we refueled with water and snacks, taking in the breathtaking scenery. (One hiker, who will remain nameless, celebrated with another one of several cigarettes he had smoked along the hike, and damned if he wasn't one of the sprier ones! The guy could be the poster boy for healthy nicotine consumption!)
"The Olomana hike was awesome and the view is amazing," said Wright. "From the first peak, there is a 360-degree view of Windward Oahu. It was a heavily overcast day and a little muggy, but there was a slight breeze at the top. The only downside was the ants."Ah yes, the ants and other biting insects. Maybe it was the snacks we were munching on or our tasty, sweaty bodies, but soon the peak was swarming and crawling with annoying little buggers, so much so that the group dispersed in opposite directions, some of us heading down what was now the steep incline and others heading for the second of the ridge's three peaks.
Wright said the weather made the hike a little more exhausting than it actually was, "however, when we got to the first peak, it reenergized me and I was ready to go to the next peak," called Paku'i.
The first peak, Olomana, takes its name from the legendary and fearsome giant warrior who dominated the Windward side of the island in ancient times. The two other peaks, Paku'i and Ahiki, are named for the overseers of the ancient fishponds of Ka'elepulu, now called Enchanted Lake, and Kawainui.
"Going to the second peak was really amazing also," Stockman added. "(Our club) didn't get to go there the first time but Jonathan wanted to hike it, so a small group of us went. The third peak, from what I hear, is really hard to get to."The group that went to Paku'i didn't attempt the more difficult and precipitous hike to Ahiki. Only expert climbers need apply.
Our descent back turned out to be a real workout on the knees. And after passing the ironwood grove, I inadvertently broke away from the group to take what looked to me like an alternate route out and through a quaint rural neighborhood only accessible by a single rocky road, with small, weathered houses along it, surrounded by groves of lantana, taro and papaya, and the occasional chicken.
"One thing I really like about hiking is it's a time for me to do meditation," said Stockman, "just listening to my breathing and focusing on my surroundings. But when we're doing it as a group, it's definitely more of a social thing. Rhoda and I really enjoy our club and are very excited that so many people that we know can get together and climb a hill or whatever with people that they don't even know and get to expand their social circles."
"For me, hiking has many different meanings," said Wright. "I do it for exercise, to get away from buildings and be outdoors, to socialize with friends (and make new ones) and it makes me feel free and youthful."
"I've lived in Hawaii for about a year," said A.J., "and my favorite hike to date is still Olomana. The view from its highest peak is unmatched. You feel so close to the Koolaus, you can plainly see its majestic ridges. The waters of Kailua and Kaneohe Bay never looked bluer. And the Mokuluas look as if they are peacefully resting just beyond Lanikai Beach.
"I felt like a bird atop its perch, feeling sad for the humans below, that they cannot enjoy this view."
To get to Olomana ridge, park at the entrance to Luana Hills Country Club on A'uloa Road, just off H-1 heading toward Castle Junction.
Click for online
calendars and events.
