Rock Climbing at Makapuu Crag (July 4, 2011)

After doing two long hikes in a row (Kamiloiki Ridge to Makapuu Tomtom and Moanalua Saddle to Haiku Stairs), I was in no mood for any long hikes on the 4th of July… Luckily, I was invited to go rock climbing at the Makapuu Crag by fellow Lost Trailblazer Jennifer Liu.

Hosted by Angie and Lance, and their friend Craig, we met up at 715am at the upper parking lot of Makapuu Lookout. The crag is only 10-15 minutes away from the parking lot and consists of several problems, ranging in skill level/difficulty.

Since Angie and Lance were familiar with Top-Roping (as opposed to lead climbing or bouldering, etc.), we started setting up for a warm-up problem. Lance attached the anchor while we help align the rope below (left). Within minutes, he was tackling a rock face (right).

He topped out with no problem (left). Jen also found another route which she conquered fairly easily (right).

View of Manana (Rabbit Island) and Kaohikaipu (Turtle Island) Islets from the top of the crag, and Jen topping out on another route.

Angie doing another fun problem in front of an inspired audience, Lance belaying.

A few different fun areas on the rock face. Forgive my technique… I’m only a beginner, haha.

Jen easily topping out on another problem, and subsequently giving a celebratory Boddingtons toast to the offshore islets. Please exercise caution while consuming alcohol on hikes or any other physical activity. Alcohol can dehydrate you and affect your balance, as well as exhibit poor decision making.

Rock climbing at the Makapuu Crag is a fun activity for people of all ages. Many of the problems / routes are not too difficult, however, there are ways to make them more challenging (You can also check out more problems at Mokuleia Crag). It is fairly safe, as long as you have an experienced belayer and someone to instruct you on safe climbing technique. Your experienced person should provide you with a secure anchor (often a combination of webbing/carabiners attached to epoxied U-bolts in the rock), two harnesses (for climber and belayer), a belay device, a significant length of climbing rope (> 2x length of climb), rock climbing shoes, chalk/bag, and a whole bunch of knowledge about climbing and belaying. Makapuu Crag is fairly crowded on most days, with several climbers/belayers on the different routes, but today was fantastic since we were the only ones there. I think everyone was too busy securing their spots to watch the fireworks and BBQing… as for us, we were anticipating watching the Maunalua Bay fireworks display from Koko Crater (see next entry, Night Hiking Koko Crater).

To view more posts on climbing CLICK HERE, or look at the “Climbing Photo Gallery”. To view this location on a Google Map also known as my “Adventure Map“, Click Here. For more adventures of the Lost Trailblazers, either look at my other blogposts or “Adventures with the Lost Trailblazers” photo gallery.