I always put off doing this trail because it is dauntingly long to do it round trip and it is a hassle to have to take two cars and leave one at the finish point. Finally, I had a chance to carpool with others and loved the trail. It is well-groomed and relatively flat. We followed the hike with a great potluck in Waimanalo and a performance by amazing roller pigeons.
It was perfect weather for this 6 mile figure-8 hike in Kahana Valley, just a little overcast and so not too hot. The lower half of the “8″ is the Nakoa Trail. I don’t know what the other half is called, but it joins up at the middle of the loop of the Nakoa trail right by some old bunkers.
It was very muddy and slippery and there were many stream crossings, including one over a dam. There were more mountain apples along the trail than I’ve ever seen before. They were tiny, but perfectly ripe and juicy, and reminded me of the first time I ever tasted mountain apples on the Hanakapiai Falls trail on Kauai.
Having been awakened at the crack of dawn on Saturday by several annoying wrong-number phone calls, we got a very early start up the Koko Head stairs. Not early enough, apparently, as it was already quite crowded. A very nice extended multi-generational family of about 10 was making the climb, all wearing identical bright purple zinc oxide on their lips.
What happens when the women of Hike Club have the entire upstairs lounge at the Spaghetti Factory to themselves?
This was a pleasant loop hike, leaving from Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden in Kaneohe, following the Likeke Trail to the falls just below the Pali Highway and returning along the edge of the golf course to the back gate of the botanical garden. The trail was literally covered with mango, guava, and mountain apple, fermenting and sickly sweet. Flowers were in equal abundance, especially haleconia and shampoo ginger. Mosquitos were fairly plentiful too.
In case you thought the era of the WPA and great public works was over, Hoomaluhia is a fine example of our tax dollars at work. It was built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1982 to provide flood protection to Kaneohe. Not only is it gorgeous, but you can camp there for free and there are toilets and showers.
