While exploring the windward side, we came across one of the prettiest vista’s I had seen on Oahu in a long time.

The start of the hike is relatively mellow but the gradient increases rapidly.

As you continue, the trail splits several times. Most trails eventually end up in the same place, but a few seem to just vanish in the woods. If you are going UP, then you are probably heading in the right direction.

Some areas can be pretty overgrown and you may lose track of the trail for a moment. Keep an eye out for trail markers.

The hike begins at sea level, but you will quickly gain altitude (Some estimate nearly 1000ft in less than a mile)

It will felt like our legs got get scratched by just about every species of flora the archipelago has available.

Within 10-15min you should reach the ridge, at which point you catch your first glimpse of this mind-blowing view. To be quite honest, you could end the hike here. We only decided to continue a little further to see how the perspective changed and try to line up a shot for sunset.

Any scenic lookout is a good excuse to stop and take a breather. Sometimes I will just pretend like I’m taking pictures when I’m really winded so people don’t think I’m so weaksauce.

The trail got more and more steep as we continued. It was time to get that rear in gear!

I’m always looking for my next resting spot… Thankfully she’s patient enough to wait for me.

I was blown away by this view the first time I saw it. I always knew Oahu was beautiful, but the Island still surprises me.

Might as well keep going while we still have some daylight available.

A few strategically placed ropes made a world of difference in certain areas with particularly loose sediment.

At a certain point, our hearts were about to explode, so we picked a tree to rest under. To me, it really seemed like a view I would expect from one of the lesser populated islands (like Kauai). It was awesome.

We should’ve brought our hammocks.

For the truly adventurous who like getting lost in the wilderness, the trail goes on and may even be used to access Kahana valley and other adjacent trails. As the sun was dropping quickly, we would have to save that for another day…

Sorry for including so many shots of the same thing, but they were all beautiful to me. My photos are often like children, I could never choose one over the other…

We decided it would be wise to begin making our way down while we still had a little light. Things can get real dark in the canopy of the trees, even before the sun has fully set…

WORK IT!!!

As we taking a few more shots, I captured the moment we heard something big moving through the brush. There are pigs everywhere up in these hills, so we took the commotion as are cue to get out of there.

The ridge provides some really uniques views of the Bay

On the left is Kualoa Ranch Ridge, in the center is Moli’i fish pond and to the right is Chinaman’s hat.

The trailhead is located in a very residential area, so please be extremely courteous and discreet if visiting the site. There is no public or street parking that I know of in the area. We had permission from a resident who lives in the general area to park on their property. The hike is pretty short, (for some it may only take 30 min to reach the same tree we rested under) so parking a little further shouldn’t cause you too much exhaustion.