I walk the ridge

So as you read the other day, my brother has come to visit us in Oahu!

So I immediately took him on a hike.

What better way to dive head first into a vacation on an island? Who needs drinks on the beach! If you follow me on instagram you’ll know I loooooove hiking (and taking pictures of my food. Who doesn’t??)

We chose the hike Awaawaloa via Wa’ahila Ridge.  To pick my hikes I use the app All Trails which lets you filter by nearest, best, keywords like “waterfall” or “kid friendly,” and length. This is *NOT* sponsored (although I wish it were, hmu B-] ) but it is genuinely my favorite way to find a hike. You can download the map so you can follow it even while offline or without phone service, see reviews that other people have written with tips and opinions, and go straight to directions to the trailhead via Google Maps. That might be my favorite part … I don’t usually get lost on a hike, just while trying to find the start!

The trail starts at Wa’ahila Ridge State Recreation Center. It definitely gave me Idaho camping vibes, it was an odd feeling! It looks as though you have left the island jungle completely. There is also a bathroom there which I was much appreciative of … drink that water folks! The start of the trail is easy to find, but very muddy. It hadn’t rained in a few days when we went and it was still quite squishy and slippery.

After just a short while on the trail, you’ll see it goes in two different directions, one off to the left and down some stairs, and one that continues straight ahead. They both end up in the same place, but the path straight ahead has better views. We went up that way which takes you under the power lines and then came back the other!

Dat view tho

The path shortly after goes pretty steeply down, so make sure you are wearing grippy shoes and be careful of roots that want to trip you. You’ll also be climbing down some rock walls, nothing too crazy though. We knew that this part was going to HURT when it was time to come back! An ascent is the last thing you want at the *end* of a hike!

After that it was a nice shady walk between ridges on a nice flat path. It was pretty cool to think that on either side was the cliff side of the ridge you were walking! For those of you scared of heights no need to worry, the foliage keeps you from seeing over the side. I did find out though that not only is my husband scared of heights, so is my brother!

It is shady most of the way but still, remember your sunscreen!

Every so often we encountered another ascent and descent to get over the peaks of the ridge which was nice to keep our blood pumping.

You’ll see this sign about 2-2.5ish miles into the hike, and you can either turn around, go left down the lower Wa’ahila Ridge Trail, or carry on ascending which is what we chose. Past this sign are some steeper climbs with rope assistance that in our opinion, was not necessarily needed but it was fun!

Basically Indiana Jones.

This path will take you to Mt. Olympus but to be honest, I’m not sure if we made it there or not! There is really nothing in the area that would indicate the peak, and it is definitely not the most amazing summit from what I’ve heard anyway. We arrived at a pretty nice view and decided to turn back as my brother was feeling a bit of jet lag. The trail did continue downwards and I would like to return at some point to see how much further it goes.

Ascending at the end and building calf muscles

This was a lovely trail with a nice mix of up and down with flat places to catch your breath in the middle.

What do you think, am I sister of the year for dragging my newly arrived brother hiking or the devil herself? 🙂

Let your light shine

If you have researched your Oahu trip at all or done a quick google search for “things to do” you have probably come across the Makapu’u Lighthouse.

It really is that gorgeous! This photo is not edited at all.

I highly recommend you make the trek up to the top of the hill. The path is paved, wide, and extremely accessible. We even saw someone in a wheelchair making their way up! It is steep at times but it’s definitely no ridge hike.

Brent and I put on our “hiking shoes.” In other words, our “slippers,” or flip flops. The hike is a ways from us, not exactly distance wise, but because of Oahu traffic! When we got there we were surprised at the amount of cars that were already parked at the entrance to the trail even though we shouldn’t have been. We got there sometime around 11 on a weekend which is when everyone has finally woken up, rounded up the kids or pets, and headed out for an adventure. It’s also when the sun starts to want to burn a hole through your head …

We ended up parking along the road where there was plenty of space, making sure not to leave anything important in the car of course. We started to wander up the trail and almost instantly started melting from the heat. Thank the Lord for sunscreen or we would have been crisps!

There are signs along the pathway that give information about different things like the crater in the distance (Koko Head), whales, the history of the lighthouse, etc. There is also a path near the first group of signs that will take you to Pele’s Chair, a rock formation on the side of the cliff said to be where the Hawaiian fire goddess created the island before moving on. It is possible to climb to the top of the chair, but please use caution! It is a hard rocky fall if you do happen to slip.

As you climb higher and higher on the smooth paved path the views get better and better. Parasailers circle the top of the ridge, kept up by the strong ocean breeze. The water is a stunning blue that stretches for miles, no filter necessary. On a clear day, you can even see a couple of the other islands in the distance!

We finally reached the top of the hike, where a lookout has been built. Part of it is wheelchair accessible. In the picture I am looking down over the left side of the lookout, and if you look down over the right side, higher up, the lighthouse is visible down below.

After contemplating life at a high altitude for a while, we decided to climb up the narrow dirt path to the actual mountain top. There are several concrete structures up there, a couple being World War II pillbox bunkers, an old out of use water tank, and what I assume are two of the old lighthouse keepers’ homes.

Don’t venture too far in – they reek of urine and trash

The hike takes you along the ridge line and then back down to the look out point. It’s very short, very easy, and not too scary.

I don’t necessarily recommend doing it in your beach shoes though!

We wandered around beneath the look out trying to get to the lighthouse itself, but the pathway along the cliff has been gated off and is not accessible to the public.

I had noticed on our way up that there were several people in a large tide pool off the side of the cliff, so on our way back down we decided to try and get down there too! Read about that adventure >>>here<<< when it gets posted.

After we got back down to the car we were utterly pooped and just dripping in sweat. Luckily we were surrounded by beach! We spent the rest of the day relaxing under our umbrella at Sandy Beach nearby.

Have you been to the Makapu’u Lighthouse?

Conquering a classic

Another weekend together, yay!

You know what this means ….

A whole day of adventure!

While Brent would prefer a day on the couch snacking and playing Clash of Clans *eye roll* I prefer going going going until we crash and burn. And Brent for the most part puts up with it. 😀

Pictured below is an Oahu classic … Diamond Head crater. Another extinct volcano that has left us with more island and a great hike. Yes it’s crowded and hot, but you can’t come to Oahu and not hike this landmark!

If you are staying in Waikiki, there is actually a handy dandy pathway that brings you straight to the hike. If you are driving from elsewhere, try to get there early in the day (also so you don’t die from heat stroke!) so that you can park for free right outside of the entrance tunnel.  The park is open from 6am-6pm but the last hiker is let in at 4:30pm. If you don’t find a parking spot right outside of the entrance tunnel, you *can* park inside of the park but it is an absolute mess with too much waiting around to be directed to an open spot. It also costs $5. Hikers only are $1 each. Remember your cash! This is another one where Fluffy and Fido will have to stay home. Service animals only!

The hike is a pretty easy one on a paved pathway complete with hand rails.  The path is made of switchbacks which end up at the bottom of a small flight of stairs into a lit cave. Since this hike is such a popular one, forget going at your own pace. You’ll need to flow with the people around you.  P.S…. it might sound cute and instagram worthy to come hike Diamond Head in time for sunrise but just forget it … everyone else has this idea too!  There are plenty of other places to do a sunrise hike.

After you exit this little cave (tall people duck!) feel free to clutch your pearls and gasp in horror at the sight of yet another flight of stairs. This one is 5x as long (ish) and looks incredibly daunting! Don’t be too alarmed though. If you need to, you can take a break along the stairs (just make sure you let people around you!) or just go slow.

Once you get to the top you’ll need to duck yet again as you enter a pillbox (partly underground concrete bunker) from WWII. Since this is one small part of the hike where you are finally in the shade, many people stop inside the pillbox which unfortunately blocks the path for everyone else. If you need a break – be considerate and make sure you are out of the way.

And – FINALLY – you are at the top!

#freethenips

That’s Waikiki!

Getting a picture with someone that’s a foot and a half taller/shorter than you is hard.

There are a couple other pillboxes at the top of the extinct volcano as well, there’s another one at the right of the trail in the picture.

The hike down is just as crowded, but it is pretty entertaining to listen to everyone’s conversations around you. You can’t help but listen – they’re so close! The people behind us were in their 60s, talking about all of their traveling adventures including a broken ankle in Italy.

When you finally get down to the bottom, nearly dead, there is a glimmer of happiness. A shave ice truck!

It’s a great way to cool down after!

I don’t know what I was thinking, but I didn’t eat breakfast before this hike so by this time I was starving. We decided to try something else new and go to Marukame Udon. This is another Honolulu icon with it’s handmade udon. You can even see them preparing the noodles behind the counter. The line is *always* out the door but don’t worry – it is cafeteria style and the line moves very quickly.

I can’t look …. I need more of this now!!! This is the “limited edition” egg drop udon (top) and the curry udon (bottom).

Grab your tray and a white plate for your add-ons, pick your type of udon, whether you’d like it hot or cold (not available for all) and what size, regular or large. We got the “large” bowls and we could barely finish them, and we like to eat …. a lot! (We have gone more recently and just shared a large bowl which was great too.) The add-ons include tempura tentacles, tempura shrimp, tempura asparagus, fish cakes, inari, musubi, and much more.

We picked an inari and tempura Portuguese sausage.

No saving seats! Don’t worry though, just like the line, seating becomes available quickly as well.

Which would you rather do? Slurp some noodles or conquer a volcano?