Moole Stream to Puu Lanihuli

After hiking up to Lanihuli from the Pali Puka, I had no desire to get to the peak again anytime soon. This is mostly because of the distance one has to travel up (or down) from Alewa heights, if hiking the conventional route that is. However, a shorter route (and far less dangerous than other shorter routes like Lanihuli Windward or from the Pali Lookout) does exist, and ascends from Moole Gulch. Thank goodness, because the views from the summit are pretty epic, haha.

We (Josh, Baron, Katie, Jen C., Jen L., Gary, Ryan’s and I) parked and began the hike at the same place as one would for the upper Moole Stream and Waterfalls hike.

However, we ended up contouring “right” around the 7th waterfall and hiking in/along the streambed for quite sometime afterward.

Before long we came to a clearly defined / marked swath on the “left” stream bank, on a perpendicular ridge to the actual ridge trail from Alewa to Puu Lanihuli.

It was pretty steep for most of the way,

…but we made good time up the ridge.

We probably made it to the top of the Moole junction within 45 minutes or so.

Though the trail to the summit was slightly more overgrown than I remembered it the last time I was here, it was still pretty well kept.

Ascending quickly, we occasionally turned back to appreciate the views of Honolulu, and even could see the Waianae Mountains off in the distance.

The Nuuanu reservoir, where everyone loved to go catfish-fishing, could easily be seen from this elevations as well. Ohia blossums weren’t too sore on the eyes either, hehe.

Reaching a clear summit, everyone was in good spirits, especially since it was time to pig out on some high calorie snacks in the presence of such an award-winning view. 🙂

Though Puu Lanihuli may be the apex of the hike for many hikers,

…several of us planned to hike a little further northwest on the Koolau Summit.

One possible reason, was to recon the topographical features of the Kalihi Saddle for a future extreme hike…

Which would make perfect sense, if one were to zoom in and analyze photographs of the nastiest, most eroded portion of the Koolau Summit Trail.

However, this was not the case… We were actually here to view some botanical pornography. Look at the face of that smirking dendrophiliac, lol j/p.

Next to Josh, I was probably the second most ecstatic to see these endemic lobelioids. Here, a lonely, small Kolii (Trematolobelia macrostachys) remains resilient to the high wind gusts from Windward Oahu. From what I’ve seen elsewhere online, this species is considerably rare on Oahu, and thought to have gone extinct on Molokai, Lanai and Hawaii Island.

Here, several clusters of Lobelia gaudichaudii were present, which are only found in small populations on Oahu. One of the two subspecies are currently listed as an endangered species, but it is supposedly difficult to determine the difference between the two unless they are flowering.

I was so happy to see these rare plants, that I almost forgot about the view… which is hard to imagine, but true. I’m pretty sure spectators could confirm that I was grinning from ear to ear afterwards. hehe. 😀

After having a few eyegasms, we headed back towards Puu Lanihuli to meet up with the rest of the group and head back down the same route to Moole we had ascended.

But not before snapping this shot of us traversing a small, but amazing section of the Koolau Summit Trail. Hiking <3. Amazing day which definitely me in the most high of spirits. Mahalo nui loa for coordinating Josh and Baron!

NOTE: Hiking to such remote areas of Hawaii can be amazingly gratifying, especially when encountering such rare native plants. However, please be mindful to their presence, as they thrive far better when not disturbed by people. Please do your best to be able to identify native plants, especially ones noted above, and not directly trample them if they are on or along a trail. Also please be responsible and inspect your gear / clothing for seed stowaways before entering upper reaches of watersheds, let alone before putting on your shoes at the trailhead. It is ironic that we often see the highest densities of non-native / invasive plant species within a few feet of hiking trails. Let’s enjoy the trails, while doing our best to minimally impact the environment. Stay safe and happy hiking!!!

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Aloha and mahalo nui for visiting… Come back again soon!

Related Posts: Pali Puka to Puu Lanihuli, 8 Waterfalls of Moole Valley