Camping

Although not the most well-kept of trails we visited during our Kokee 2012 camping trip, Honopu Ridge probably had one of the most rewarding views. The trail starts along Kokee Road, slightly north of the Awaawapuhi Trail, with enough room for a few cars to park at the unmarked trailhead. After settling into our (Baron Yamamoto, Josh Serrano [of the 808 Goonies], Steve Decker, Katie Ersbak, Suzette Padden, Clayton Childs, Jenelyn Castillo and I) 12-bunk cabin in Kokee, we quickly packed up our hiking gear to investigate the nearby ridge. The first section of trail was fairly open...

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] The last leg of our ~20 mile backpacking trip was to hike from the Holua Campsite, out of the Halemauu switchbacks to our staged vehicle at the Halemauu Trailhead (~4 miles). The last time I hiked out of here I had one of the worst backpacking experiences of my life, where I had to "drop-a-deuce" off of a cliff and in the pouring rain, with only a soggy wad of TP to clean up. Determined not to reach an all-time low again, I waited until the last moment to go to the bathroom before setting off on the trail... after watching the sunrise, eating...

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] Although we were socked in the clouds for most of the afternoon, once the sun set, the fog burned off and opened up to a open canopy of stars. Within a few hours, the moon rose in the east and lit up the landscape like it was daytime. These kinds of events make me appreciate my life so much more. Shortly after sunset, the crew brought out the benches from our "mess hall" / dining room to create amphitheater seating for the light show panorama. Though the temperature was dropping quickly into the 40s, we were able to see the milky way and several...

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] While most of the crew warmed up in the cabin and got a chance to rest their feet; Baron, Aaron and I went on a scouting mission to find a lava tube near Holua Cabin. I hadn't been to the lava tube for almost 7 years, and even when I was there, I remember we had a hard time finding the off-trail entrance. However, by following some worn out lava rocks and faint foot prints in the fog, we found one of the two entrances to a short (yet amazing) adventure. After heading back to the cabin to rally up the troops, we hurried back to the small opening...

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] Hiking from the Paliku to Holua Cabin was probably one of my favorite parts of this trip. The landscape for much of trek was reminiscent of what I remember seeing in the movie, "Total Recall..." at least the first one that mostly took place on Mars, and not the more recent one with Colin Farrell on Earth (which was underwhelming in storyline to say the least). What the hell happened to Kuato and the rest of the mutants?! Lame. But nevermind, on with the trip recap... After an inebriated nights sleep on the padded bunks of Paliku Cabin, we set foot...

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] With several months of planning invested, the epic Haleakala 2012 backpacking trip was executed flawlessly by the Lost Trailblazers et al. (Baron Yamamoto, Aaron Toma, Katie Ersbak, Troy Takara, Reanne Solomon, Jennifer Liu, Jenelyn Castillo, Justin Ugalino and I) on Maui... I've never laughed harder on any other camping trip in my life, good times. Being the third time I've backpacked into Haleakala, I felt somewhat obligated to help plan this trip... along with hiking buddy Baron Yamamoto, who was determined to reserve the 2 of the 3 cabins...

[Part 1] [Part2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] Less than a week prior, I received a late night text message from fellow Lost Trailblazer, Jenelyn Castillo, "Maui for Martin Luther King weekend (14-16)? Haleakala perhaps???" Though I LOVE camping at Haleakala, I basically responded that it could drop to near freezing temperatures... as the last time I camped in the crater "during the summer," it was ~ 38 degrees at night. Consequently... East Maui Waterfall Marathon / Camping trip FOR THE WIN!!! After some accommodation coordination by Jenelyn and her Maui resident friend Miro, we were set to camp...

[Part 1] [Part2] [Part 3] [View Gallery] Joshua Tree National Park is located 140 miles east of Los Angeles, and borders Nevada, Arizona and Mexico... The National Park Service (NPS) is responsible for regulating visitor park resources, including centers, permitting, facilities, activities and campgrounds (Modified Map from NPS above). The park is well known for it's large rock features and recreational climbing, mountain biking trails, campgrounds, unique desert ecology, and rich history / culture. Joshua Tree is named so because of all the Yucca brevifolia (Joshua Tree) which...

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] Yosemite National Park is one of the greatest spots in the Western US for hiking, climbing, backpacking / camping, or even just site-seeing. Barely remembering Yosemite as a kid, it was imperative that I returned to the national park to redeem my lack of memories there during my Fall 2011 stay in California. Though many of the trees are evergreen, Yosemite in the fall still has quite a few perennial trees... Reds, oranges and yellows, from the ground to the sky give you a sense of aesthetic warmness... which is exactly the opposite of the air temperature,...

Lowe Trail and Echo Mountain are well known mountain trails in Altadena, CA. For those of you who are not familiar with this city, it is just outside of Los Angeles, north of Pasadena. The first of my California adventures this year; friends Luke and Merilee (new LA residents) and I packed for a short over-nighter on Lowe Mountain. The trailhead starts at the top of Lake Avenue, in the mountains above north Altadena. You can either take the main trail up to Echo Mountain (east "switchbacks" route), or do the more direct, steep route (west route) at the bottom of the photo. Most of steep,...