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Puu Ohulehule

Posted: December 2, 2009

I climbed to the summit of Pu’u Ohulehule to see some of the most scenic views of Kaneohe Bay and the Koolauloa Coast of windward Oahu.

Puu Ohulehule is the pyramid-shaped peak that towers 2,265 feet over the windward valleys of Waikane, Hakipuu, Kaaawa, and Kahana.   The climb to the summit is dangerous and is not for the faint of heart — ropes are necessary to scale the last 350 feet to the top.

Our adventure started at the end of Kahana Valley where we hiked up the road, descended to the stream, and crossed the dam.  Alien trees dominate the lower portions of the valley where buttonwood, java plum, and silver oak thrive.

Not long after veering off onto a side trail we crossed the stream a number of times and made our into the valley.

The middle of the valley was burnt by fire — the scortched area was not large and fortunately did not engulf the entire valley.   Many koa seedlings have subsequently germinated and will hopefully replace the large trees that burned.

Our route continued to the back of the valley where we hiked through groves of native koa trees and uluhe ferns.

When we reached the far wall of the valley which separates Kahana from Waikane, we began the climb up a side ridge that leads to the top of the saddle.  Nikolaj Nordkvist climbs up one of several ropes that assist hikers climb the muddy and slippery ridge. August Smith and Drew Erickson follow behind.

The sphinx, a rock formation about 10 feet long and 8 feet high on the ridge, is always a welcome and propitious sight when I climb this ridge.  It marks just about the half-way point up to the Waikane Saddle.

The ridge climbs relentlessly and meets up with the Waikane Saddle through native forests of ohia (metrosideros polymorpha) and uluhe ferns(dicranopteris linearis).

The summit of Ohulehule looms overhead at the Waikane Saddle where Nikolaj examines large hapuu tree ferns.   At this spot back in August 1999, a helicopter picked up 2 Danish girls who were trapped at the top of Ohulehule for 8 days — who were found by members of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club.

Using ropes, we climbed 350 feet over steep rocky cliffs to the top of Ohulehule.  While the climb was terrifying at times it was also exhilarating.  When I first glimpsed the view from the top I was mesmerized — shades of blues in the sky, ocean, and bay contrasted against hues of yellows and greens on the land.   We could see the offshore island of Mokoli’i (Chinaman’s Hat) on the northern edge of Kaneohe Bay and Mololi’i fishpond along the coast.  Nikolaj examines a patch of indigenous ieie (Freycinetia arborea) which grow like vines on the cliffs of Ohulehule.

Drew explores further down the ridge where ohia trees (metrosideros polymorpha) become dominant.  Due to rain over the past few days, would could see muddy run-off along the shores of the bay.

We lingered for quite some time exploring the ridge, enjoying the views, and looking for berries.  August combs the ridge for thimble and ohelo berries before descending back down the ropes the way we had come.   What an exhilarating climb!

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SOURCES

Native Hawaiian Plants, University of Hawaii, Department of Botany