Keaau Ridge to Puu Ohikilolo, West Oahu

While my last experience hiking from Ohikilolo ridge to three corners made me despise West Oahu ridges for quite some time, I did not want to pass up an opportunity to do a one-way route from Keaau Ridge up to Keaau Middle Ridge with Baron and many other hiking buddies (Katie, Kaiser, Laora, Darren and Jenelyn).

Starting at dawn on a voggy day, we began our ascent on one of the many steep, perpendicular ridges that intersect Keaau Ridge.

We spent most of our time scrambling up on the makai side (side nearest ocean) of the ridge to avoid the heat that came with the sun rising over the Waianae Mountain range.

I always thought that the nearby ridge hike to Puu Kawiwi had a lot of scrambling on it, but this ridge surely exceeds that one three-fold… at least that’s how I felt at the time, haha.

Most of us had heavy packs, carrying 3.5-4.0 liters of water, and didn’t help us ascend any faster. Katie was trying to lighten he pack by giving away her gatorade. Silly Sally… lol.

About two-thirds way up to the Keaau intersection, the spine of our ridgeline became less prominent,

…which finally exposed us to direct sunlight.

Not that we’re gremlins or anything, but hiking on this side of the island on a voggy day can be torture. What little shade we found along the route was surely be welcomed.

In about an hour from the base, we intersected Keaau Ridgeline,

…and reached Puu Keaau shortly after. We took a short break here since there was some “shade providing” vegetation on it. Note Ohikilolo Ridge and Kaena Point in the background.

Though we felt so accomplished just getting to Puu Keaau, we were actually considerably far from our actual goal,

…which was to make the crossover to Ohikilolo Ridge (in background) and ascend to Puu Ohikilolo (not pictured yet).

We continued to traverse the dry, crumbly ridgeline,

…encountering unique topographical features along the way. Note Jen and Laora on the spine of the ridge, while Katie contours around the spur.

Here, we make our way up the bright red patch of dirt that could be seen in several photos earlier.

Gradually curving towards Ohikilolo Ridge and traversing our “last prominent peak” of Keaau Ridge, we were now able to see Puu Ohikilolo (pictured top, center).

Descending into a small saddle connecting the two ridges, we were subjected to some steep down climbing…

But thicker clouds began to roll in from the south, which made the last leg of the crossover more enjoyable.

And at the very end of Keaau Ridge, was this gem of a spur-like obstacle.

Though looking a little chossy on the approach, the rock still seemed climbable.

Several types of vegetation served as both crutches and hindrances along the way; e.g., the cactus next to Kaiser’s right hand.

Trying not too stack ourselves up on the more vertical sections, we coached each other through some of the more technical parts of the climb.

The last section where Katie was down-climbing can be seen in the background of the above photo.

Making our way onto the Ohikilolo Ridgeline,

…we were stoked to have made the crossover in ~5 hours. However, we were pretty exhausted… and I really needed to take a dump that I was holding for the past 2 hours.

Conveniently, the island’s most scenic toilet is located at the junction of the crossover… ;P

After a well deserved break and leaving our gear near Ohikilolo Cabin, we leisurely strolled up to Puu Ohikilolo.

The views from Puu Ohikilolo are pretty epic on a typical day, with far better air clarity and tradewinds. This is what it looked like the last time I was here, on an exceptionally clear day.

After taking in the scenery, it was time to head back to the Keaau crossover. After reaching the “last prominent peak” I mentioned earlier, was the terminus for Keaau Middle Ridge, at the time marked by three pink ribbons.

While discussing how where and how we’d replenish our calories post-hike, we quickly descended the middle ridge into Keaau Valley.

Despite or moderately quick pace, we still had time to appreciate the deeply incised ridges coming off of Ohikilolo. They were almost eery looking with the unusually low clouds socking in the their tops.

Following familiar trail markers, we ended up intersecting a dirt road at the base of the middle ridge…

Which would lead us back to our cars that we staged earlier that morning in the valley. Awesome adventure with an amazing crew. Much thanks to everyone who attended and made the day most memorable.

The particular route above was considerably long, hot and had many geographic obstacles along the way that could be fairly dangerous. If attempting, please exercise extreme caution and have the appropriate equipment / water to make it out safely. I’ve heard of several hikers getting dehydrated and/or getting heat-stroke while hiking in this area. If any of the obstacles are out of your physical abilities, please make the safe decision and be prepared to turn back. There are likely other shorter and/or safer routes that will have similar views of these ridges. Do your research and map which route works best for you. Have fun and happy hiking!

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