Bolohead Ridge to Mt. Kaala to Three Poles – January 22, 2012

I haven’t heard of Bolohead Ridge until just recently reading Island Trails, and along with the name, was the phrase… “Bolo is lolo.” For those of you who aren’t familiar with these local pidgin terms; “Bolo-head” is typically a person who is “bald-headed,” and “lolo” is usually descriptive of a person who is “crazy.” It was obvious that I had to investigate the name’s origin, as it was bothered me why Kaleo would say something so perplexing about a ridge.

Starting early at the end of Waianae Valley Road, we (Baron Yamamoto, Laura Carothers, Clayton Childs and I) headed towards Mount Kaala.

We jumped onto the “C-Rider Falls” trail (marked by pink-sprayed bottle caps),

…and eventually junctioned with yellow markers which would lead us to “Bolohead Ridge.”

Once out of the forest and onto the ridgeline that is bolo, we were welcomed by loose footing and crumbly rock…

…and of course, narrow sections of trail (or lack-there-of).

The first geographic obstacle was a 40-foot, chossy rock face.

Much of the handholds were loose, though a rope assisted us where safety was lacking.

Once past the rock face, we followed a short fence-line to the second geographic obstacle… “the most lolo of bolo,” lol.

Unfortunately, the vegetation on the ridge was far more dead / brown than shown in photos from Kaleo’s write-up, and climbing up was a pain in the ass. We made it ~ halfway up when Clayton (in front) volunteered to free-climb the rest of the way and secure a rope from the top for the rest of us. Thanks Clayton!

Once at the top, we were pleased to find fluorescent-green webbing, left by some hikers who had completed the ridge recently, after Kaleo’s crew. With everyone descending the “Bolohead Feature” safely we continued up on the ridgeline towards Mount Kaala.

The following section of the hike was extremely hot and dry…

…and it was not surprising that the grasses here were dying (note the amazing view in the background).

Despite the heat and brown vegetation in the previous section, we soon found ourselves in a wetter and greener landscape as we approached closer to the summit.

Native plants and animals became more apparent, like this Lobelia sp. (left) and young Hawaiian succineid tree snail (right).

Once we reached the summit, we encountered the boardwalk which directs you to the radar/satellite station.

The station is surrounded by a tall, barbed-wired fence… which would make it difficult to enter, in addition to being illegal.

However, walking around the fenceline provided us with amazing views from Mokuleia, to the North Shore and Honolulu…

Though the visibility was slightly voggy today, conquering bolohead and reaching Mount Kaala was still an accomplishment worthy of a “Boddingtons toast,” haha.

After relaxing in the warm afternoon sun and snacking on all sorts of caloric foods, it was time to head home.

We descended via the Waianae-Kaala Trail / Three poles…

…which lead us back to Waianae Valley Road, and back to our cars.

Great hike with a AWESOME crew!!!

Mahalo nui loa to Kaleo and the Island Trails crew for pioneering “Bolohead Ridge to Mount Kaala.” A challenging, but excellent hike for experienced hikers. I also have much appreciation to Waianae Steve for maintaining and marking system of the trail networks in Waianae/Makaha Valleys. As Kaleo and many others who have hiked bolohead advise, it is not a trail and not for beginner hikers looking for a thrill (if a trail at all). If you do decide to tackle the beast, please be prepared with proper equipment and sufficient food/water to last a grinding 8-9 hours of hiking. Stay safe and happy hiking!

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!