Pali Puka to Lanihuli – September 11, 2011

Despite being one of the more extreme hikes on the island of Oahu, Pali Puka to Lanihuli was more of a mind game than anything else. Don’t get me wrong… the narrow ridgeline can be dangerous as hell, but minding what is in front of you rather than the 1000 foot drops on the side of you will be your biggest enemy.

The Pali Puka trail starts on the north end of the Pali Lookout, in the Koolau Mountains. You will enter the trail through a small bamboo grove adjacent the parking lot, and will quickly ascend in elevation.

The trail is well marked and kept, though is can still be intimidating since there are several steep drops just beside the trail.

Within 20 minutes, you’ll be at the Pali Puka, which provides an amazing panoramic view of Kaneohe and some of Honolulu.

The puka (or hole), is a great place to take photos and a break from the short, intense workout. It is also the place where the trail to Lanihuli begins…

After contouring around the steep rock face shown in the earlier photos, we immediately were welcomed by an insane drop off and narrow trail.

The view at this point is definitely “not too bad” as well.

You start to scramble up several crumbly rock faces, some of which ropes are provided…

Make sure to test safety-test any of the ropes on this trail as their failure to support your weight could be costly, or even deadly.

Several of the steep, overgrown, crumbly climbs do not have rope… so you need to be confident with ability to advance on these obstacles.

You will also need to comfortable doing a little bouldering to traverse certain portions of the ridge… Note Jenelyn traversing to contour around a large boulder on the trail (left). There is no shame in straddling the narrow parts, where the strong trade-winds can easily push you over the edge.

within ~2 hours of the Pali Lookout, we started ascending the ridgeline to the infamous, “W” (left). The notch just prior to the “W” was also a good place to take break (right)…

…as well as snap a stunning, near-360 panoramic view from Honoluu to Waimanalo.

After refueling, we started tackling the first notch of the W (Marcus and Wendy descending notch, above). There are areas where rope is present, but again, make sure that the ropes there can hold your weight. It is also good to inspect the anchor and rope condition as well…

…Many hikers do not realize that the sun degrades these ropes over time, and if used frequently, can easily can snap if not inspected/replaced on a regular basis (left). Descending from the 3rd notch is probably the most dangerous, where we actually had to jump off the right side of the ridge… then jump back over the to descend on the left (area pictured, right).

There is a short contour trail after the W, which leads back to the ridgeline to Lanihuli (Jenelyn, Jeremy and Randy; left). Again, the view going up the ridge line is breathtaking (right).

This part of the ridgeline is EXTREMELY overgrown and requires you to twist and contort your body through several bushes and small trees. It is also very steep, and you often be using bundles of grass as hand-holds to advance further up the ridge.

Once at the top, you can see the destination in site… the highest point on the ridgeline is where the Koolau Summmit Trail joins Lanihuli Ridge Trail.

View of Honolulu on the way to Lanihuli (right). Wendy, Marcus and Jenelyn posing for a photo (right).

Upon reaching Lanihuli, we were again treated to another panoramic view of the windward Oahu.

Being September 11, 2011, we also wanted to commemorate the people who lost their lives in the World Trade Center disaster… Marcus was patriotic enough to carry up the flag on the trail so we could hold it up proudly at the summit.

We soon started the descent down Lanihuli Ridge, which was cleared earlier that day by the Hawaii Trail and Mountain Club. Thanks HTMC!

On the upper part provides more gorgeous views of Honolulu, as there are no trees to obstruct your view (left). However, the further down the trail you go, the more abundant shade and trees are. Jenelyn, as always, inclined to climb something along the trail (right).

Since the HTMC just cleared Lanihuli Ridge just prior to our arrival, the trail was extremely muddy. I’m assuming now that it is more exposed to the sun, it will dry out and become somewhat less slick on the way down.

After a little over 6 hours from Pali Lookout (2 hours down Lanihuli from Summit), we reached the bottom of Lanihuli Ridge. We contoured right, around a barbed-wire fence line…

… and came out at the top of Alewa Drive, where we staged our cars earlier that day.

And again, we were treated to one last fantastic view of Honolulu… before heading out to stuff our faces with high calorie food, lol.

Pali Puka to Lanihuli is definitely an advanced trail, though was not as bad as it was made out to be by a few other posts I have seen. However, do not attempt it unless you confident with narrow ridges, steep drop-offs, loose foot and handholds, and your climbing/scrambling ability, while in the presence of high-wind gusts. The trail can be very dangerous in some areas, but getting over the mental dilemma foremost will help you through this trail. I would not recommend anyone do this trail, who have not completed similar trails in difficulty (e.g. Southeast Puu Ohulehule or Puu Kawiwi, etc.). Be extremely careful on this hike, and make sure to go with someone who has been on the trail prior, and/or others who are capable of hiking this type of trail. Among other necessities, you should bring 3L of water, first aid, significant length of rope/webbing, and gloves. Wearing long-sleeved shirts/pants are a must, as it is highly overgrown. Bring a lot of compact, high-energy foods as well, as you will be burning a 1000s of calories on this one. DO NOT attempt in high-wind or rainy/wet conditions.

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 and “Adventures with the Lost Trailblazers” photo gallery.