Kaau Crater Rim Loop – November 6, 2011

Combining valley, waterfall, ridge and summit hikes into one, Kaau Crater Rim Trail is by far one of my favorite trails on the island of Oahu.

There are a couple different routes you can follow to hike in Palolo. (1) You can either go up to the summit via the valley trails to the waterfalls on the east side of Kaau Crater and to the Koolau Summit, descend the same way; (2) Go UP the previous described and descend on the ridge trail at the south of the Kaau Crater; or (3) Go UP the previous described and travel around the crater rim (in either direction) at the top of the waterfall and descend as described in (1) and (2). I’ll post a map of this later, but today we (Jennifer Liu, Reanne Solomon, Seth Eason and I) decided to do option (3).

Located in the back of Palolo Valley, the trail starts at the end of Waiomao Road (left), after a watershed drainage reservation gate (right).

Five minutes onto the trail, you’ll notice a large water pipe, of which still appears to be functional.

You’ll be hiking adjacent this pipe for most of the valley trail, approximately to the first sizeable waterfall.

There will also be several stream crossings as you advance up the trail. The rocks can be slippery, so be prepared with appropriate footwear (see previous entries Luaalaea, Naniuapo and Waiakeakua Falls or 8 Waterfalls of Moole Valley about felt-bottomed footwear.

About 30 minutes into the trail, you will reach the first waterfall. To main trail bypasses the base of the falls, but there is an obvious side trail down if you want to access it. If you haven’t noticed it prior, the water on the Waiomao side of Palolo Valley is red-brown in color, and not because of the sediment or pollution, but because of the residence time of the water in Kaau Crater. The bog in the crater is filled with grasses/shrubs and high in tannins, and is also the origin/headwaters of the Waiomao Stream Fork.

Getting back on the main trail take you to a couple of assisted rope climbs / scrambles which contour around the first falls.

Me fooling around practicing extremely unsafe hiking behavior and I understand the potential consequences of my actions.

Within 5-10 minutes of leaving the top of the first falls, you should reach the base of the second sizable falls. The trail contours right around this falls; careful as trail is steep and often has shifty footing.

At the top of the contour, you can either climb over the large boulder or go around it…

However, going around the boulder will require you walk next to the edge of the falls. The safe route is to climb over the boulder, and walk through the stream.

Approximately 5 minutes later, you will reach the base of a long series of stepfalls…

…about a 1000 ft elevation gain of them, to the lowest point on Kaau Crater Rim.

You will have to cross the stream a few times, so again, be prepared with appropriate footwear. Ropes are present adjacent the stream channel.

At the top of the stepfalls, you can either go left or right on the crater rim. We decided to go the conventional, most direct route to the summit.

After a short, silly dance… it was time for some snacks. Above, sour patch kids, granola/energy bars/blocks, snyders honey-mustard pretzels, dried li-hing strawberries, fruit snacks, and 5-hour energy in the shade.

As you ascend up the east crater rim, you’ll notice that trail is composed of dirt, and when wet, can be slick/muddy (left). Micro-spikes / cleats are best for traction in this environment, but there are ropes there to assist you if you prefer not to use them (right).

The rim trail can also be narrow in places, and very windy. Be cautious with your footing and inclement wind gusts (not shown above).

Make sure to appreciate the views behind you as you go up the trail, as you have a clear panoramic view from Kahala to Honolulu Harbor.

The trail can get steep near the top, but it will be all worth it once once you get to the Koolau Summit Trail…

Both views towards Honolulu,

and towards Kaneohe are amazing (Seth celebrating, left). It was also Seth’s birthday hike, so the girls showed him some love (right).

Within a few minutes, we headed northwest on the Koolau Summit Trail (KST) towards the west side of Kaau Crater Rim.

There are a couple power line towers along the KST between the east and west crater rim trails.

I can only imagine how heavy that length of cable must be, and how much engineering it must have taken to suspend so many miles of cables over the Koolaus.

A short while later, we followed the swath down the west crater rim. The entrance for the trail may not be apparent, depending on how much the uluhe ferns have grown since the last people have hiked on it.

Just make sure to follow the rim down and you’ll be fine.

Panoramic view of Kaau Crater from the west rim.

As you approach towards the low-point in the crater rim (after another large power line tower, near where you started the loop), you will encounter another fork. One will lead you back to the series of stepfalls, while the other will lead to south on the the ridge trail you towards Honolulu.

You’ll hike on this trail another 30-45 minutes, where the ridge trail will end and descend left through a thick patch of strawberry guava.

At the bottom of the trail down, you will join up with the main valley trail at this tree branch, shaped like a “U or V…” or “L” if you’re Reanne. lol. 😉 This tree will be next to one of the stream crossings…

You’ll obviously head downstream to return to your cars. Before leaving Palolo Valley Korean Temple, you also might want to visit the largest Korean Temple outside of Korea. You also may likely want to eat a juicy burger and fries, and have a beer with your hiking buddies after your done. Today’s menu was from The Counter.

Palolo Valley and Kaau Crater Rim Trail is an intermediate trail and has many types of hikes combined into one. In addition to typical hiking gear/preparation, also be prepared for stream crossings, a muddy trail, rope climbing and scrambling. Most of the trail is not difficult, but can get more challenging (length/time/danger) as you move from earlier described routes (1 – 3).

To see more photos from this adventure in a Photo Gallery, Click Here.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. Thanks for visiting and come back again soon!