Olomana - July 27, 2009

Olomana was the hike to start my small kine vacation off with a bang. Five other people hiked the trail with me: Lei, Kala, Daniel, Chase, and my friend Kelven who was visiting from California. (Sorry, Kelven. I had to break you in. The gulch hike you did with me the last time you were here is nothing compared to ridge hikes.)

The last time I did this trail was with my friends Shanoah and Rio. This time I was more alert of the calorie burn while climbing to the first peak. It took Kelven and I about half an hour to top out on the first peak: brutal, but a workout worth having because the view at the first peak is beautiful.

Our crew made it all the way to the third peak and back with no problems. Props to Kala for completing it to the third. Bigger props to Chase for being a nut and not having a wink of sleep the night before the hike. Kelven gets the courage award for conquering his fear of heights along the third peak. And Lei -- well -- Lei has freak stamina.

My main intention was to get video footage of the hike because Olomana truly is one of the most dangerous trails on the island, but it's too damn popular. We passed several groups of hikers along the way. One group actually carried a bulky case containing high-defintion camera equipment to the first peak for a college project. College makes you do some crazy things. He better get an "A" for his project.

photo: D. Napoleon

Welcome back to Oahu, Koov.