Puu Kaua and it’s “Gorilla heads,” or gnarly teeth-like features have been eluding us (Baron Yamamoto and I) for almost a year now… as we failed to summit Kaua and traverse the teeth from both the northern (Kanehoa) and southern (Palikea) directions some time ago, but after reading Kaleo Lancaster’s write-up of a well-planned out, successful attempt, I had much hope to finally complete the route.

We (Jenelyn, Gary, Baron and I) began our journey at the Puu Kaua loop trailhead, just off of the Honouliuli Contour Trail in Kunia (the junction was well marked by a double flag). From there we intersected another fork which either lead to two routes to the Waianae Summit. The left fork tops out just short of Puu Kaua (for a clockwise loop), while the right fork hits Puu Kaua summit (for a counter-clockwise loop)… see map at bottom for more details.

We started to ascend a steep ridge line, just after this sign about native species conservation in the area, posted by the Oahu Army Natural Resources Program (OANRP).

Strawberry guava and other non-native plants dominated the forest here… but just before the top, native plants became more abundant.

Since the ascent is mostly a straight shot up the ridge, getting to the top can be quick.

Without taking much of a break, we started our descent along the fence line towards the toothlike “Gorilla Heads.”

Quickly reaching the first of two geographic obstacles before the teeth, we took a moment to appreciate the view while unpacking our webbing.

The first obstacle is steep elevation change, marked by a break in the fenceline. We ended up looping the webbing around an Ohia tree near one of the fence posts and descended on the left side (left). I believe Kaleo guys descended on the right side here, but I think either way will do. Minutes afterward, the second obstacle is another break in the fenceline, with a slightly steeper grade than the first. Looping our webbing around a secure fencepost, we continued down to the base of the larger tooth (right).

Though the ascent appears pretty gnarly, it is not as bad as it looks here.

There are some loose holds, but there are also several other ones that are more solid that can be used to progress towards the top. Though the grade is not as steep as it appears in the picture, there are some areas where vertical climbs are required. The crux, or most difficult part of the climb, is near the top where a large, vertical boulder must navigated to reach the summit.

In my opinion, the descent on the back side of the larger tooth was much more difficult than it’s ascent. A lack of solid footing and loose dirt being thrown at our eyes from the strong wind gusts were some of the challenges which slowed our progress.

The two obstacles prior to the teeth can be somewhat be seen on the right, while the grade for the ascent/descent of the first tooth can be seen on the left.

The ascent up the second tooth was not difficult and only require some minor scrambling,

… and descending the backside of the smaller tooth was not much more difficult. This section above in which Baron and Gary are descending is notable moment for us (Baron and I), as we had bailed out here when approaching the teeth from the other direction (Puu Hapapa via Kolekole pass) due to time constraints, amongst many other safety issues we had not anticipated.

After exchanging “High-5s,” we began contorting ourselves through ridiculous tangles of bushes towards Puu Kanehoa… which had not gotten much better or more clear from the last time we were here. haha.

Unlike Puu Kanehoa (peak in foreground), the following small peak is much more open, and provides epic views of Waianae Valley, Central Oahu and even Honolulu! Baron posing, as he did the first time we were here.

Jenelyn celebrates by doing her usual jumpshot, over Waianae… with Puu Hapapa under her left knee.

Feeling accomplished and getting all the jumping out of our systems, we were ready to leave the Waianae Summit, and made our way to the nearby Kanehoa trail junction.

The junction is apparent at first (left), but gets ridiculously overgrown at several points on the way down.

Roughly half way down to the “Honouliuli Contour Trail,” we reached a junction that we had not recalled on the way up a year prior. However, I was lucky to have had some dialogue with Kaleo about this, where the right fork down they took did not lead to anything that sounded familiar to me… and the photos I showed him of the Kanehoa trailhead didn’t look familiar to him either. Though I understood the logic of going down the right fork, he also said that way had plenty California Grass and was “crazy itchy,” haha. Therefore, we headed down the left fork and faint trail that soon opened up into familiar scenery,

and the junction with the Honouliuli Contour Trail.

Crossing the contour trail, we continued down the ridge line through the Cooke (or Norfolk) Pines.

Though Baron and I weren’t familiar with this area, we did a bunch of homework using topographical maps and the old Stuart Ball books prior to hiking today…

Which lead us to what I believe is the “Mongoose Theater,”

and a reservoir that was easily visibly by satellite imagery/topo maps at the base of the ridge. Clear sailing from here. 🙂

Mahalo nui loa to Kaleo and crew for their help in navigation and documentation of this route. Your assistance in our completion of the section of the Waianae Summit was invaluable. Aloha.

The Puu Kaua to Puu Kanehoa loop is a challenging, but moderate length hike. I believe it took us < 7 hours to finish the route indicated by the mapped, "solid line" (see below). Significant length of webbing/rope were needed to descend from Puu Kaua to the "Gorilla Head" teeth, but we did not require them afterwards. Access to the Puu Kaua or Puu Kanehoa Trailhead may not be straight forward to get to, and may require using the Honouliuli Contour Trail. Stuart Ball's older edition, "The Hiker's Guide to Oahu," may be a good resource to acquire if interested in doing this route. Good luck in your research and stay safe!
Here’s a “approximated” map of our route (solid line), with some nearby junctions (dashed lines).

Aloha and mahalo nui for visiting and come back again soon!

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