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Oahu Trails: Walks, Strolls And Treks on the Capital Isle
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About Oahu Trails: Walks, Strolls And Treks On The
Product Description Just minute from Honolulu's famous stretch of beachfront hotels, Oahu offers knife-edged cliffs, sparkling bays, verdant rainforests, and yawning beaches that stretch for miles. Oahu Trails features 45 walks and hikes that will appeal to everyone, with trips ranging from a quiet wander through the Foster Botanical Garden to a 14-mile adventure along the Upper Waimano Trail to the crest of the rainy Koolau mountains. Along the way, you'll discover Oahu's famous surfing spots such as Waimea and Sunset Beach, spectacularly strange plants like the rare white hibiscus, tempting swimming holes and tropical streams, as well as the colorful bird life of the Hawaiian Islands. About the Author Kathy Morey has authored or coauthored eight other Wilderness Press titles, including Hot Showers, Soft Beds, & Dayhikes in the Sierra, Sierra North, Sierra South, and 3 other books in the Wilderness Press Hawaii series: Kauai Trails, Maui Trails, and Hawaii Trails. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Trip 2 Maakua Ridge Loop Distance: 3 miles Elevation gain: 720' Hiking time: 1 1⁄2 hours Topos: Hauula Trail map: See Trip 1. Difficulty: Moderate, hiking boots recommended Highlights: Tunneling under dense vegetation and enjoying far-reaching views are real treats along this loop. Sections that require tiptoeing across a narrow saddle and thrashing through a slippery gully add a touch of adventure. Note that this trail is also called the Papali/Maakua Ridge Trail. Driving instructions: Follow the driving instructions of Trip 1. The Bus routes: Take The Bus route of Trip 1. Permit/permission required: None. Description: Begin as for Trip 1 but pass the hunters-hikers checkin station. Continue on the old road under papaya, guava, and avocado trees and along an understory of cayenne vervain, mare’s-tail, and a small daisylike plant. Deep in the thickets off the road, you may spot lichen-spattered old stone walls. Soon you come to another fork, this one marked, where you take the left branch to the Maakua Ridge Trail. You teeter along the bank of the gulch, looking out for holes where the bank has been totally undercut, and then cross the gulch to head off under guava and hau. You make a switchback turn, climb out of the gulch, and find yourself on a hau-clad slope. Around you, Christmas berry, swamp mahogany, pink-flowered clover, and vervain crowd in, too. A later switchback turn provides beautiful views seaward over Hauula town. Soon you see a spur trail down to a picnic shelter, seaward of which is a bench with a fine view. A little over 1⁄2 mile from your start, you make another seaward switchback turn and reach the beginning of the loop portion of this trip. Arbitrarily, this trip turns right (inland) and climbs past nonnative octopus trees and ti plants (the latter brought by the Polynesians) and native ulei and lauae (the anise-scented sweet fern). On another ridge, Norfolk pines stand stiffly at attention. As you curve inland, huge hala trees appear, and you may have to scramble over or under hala deadfalls. The trail is littered here and there with hala leaves and fruits. It’s easy to see how the Hawaiians could use the brushy-tipped hala fruits as paintbrushes. Purple Philippine orchids peep out of the understory; through the occasional openings in the vegetation, there are fine views over Maakua Gulch. It’s quite a change when you abruptly find yourself southbound on a narrow ridge in a tunnel of non-native acacia. There are glimpses of the ocean on one side and of Maakua Gulch on the other. The trail presently forsakes the ridgetop and begins a gentle descent southward, then curves across kukuifilled Papali Gulch. You cross a streambed under ti and mountain apple (distinguished by its feathery, shocking-pink flowers) and along ferny slopes. After you pick your way across an extremely narrow saddle, you swing away from Papali Gulch and traverse above Punaiki Gulch on slope
