Wow friends, my mind is still swimming from the amazing hike I had the other day with one of my closest girls, Baila. We hiked to an extremely high point where the Lanipo Mau'umae finger ridge meets what we refer to as the Mother Mountain, which is the main ridge that runs from the south to north shore.
Since O'ahu was formed by a series of active volcanoes, the ridge hikes are comprised of the pyroclastic flow which created steep and narrow mountains all over the island. From what I understand many trails were used by native Hawai'ians and Polynesians for centuries, then used by the US army for lookouts, infrastructure, and training, and now mostly used by hikers.
The Hawai'ian government keeps a lot of land untouched and even sanctions dozens of hikes all over the island that will take you to another world, yet will start less than 20-30 minutes from your own home. Hiking out here is beyond incredible.
Ripe strawberry guava along the way - yummm!!
Oh the ferns.....
To sum it up, this was a 6.6 mile (7.5 hours) there-and-back hike. The pinnacle reached the mother mountain and we were gifted a view of around 75-80% of the island. I have never had a view like that in my life so far and since I had been feeling a little studio rut lately, it was just what I needed to gain a little clarity.
Overlooking the Ka'au Crater just behind me and a gorgeous waterfall cutting through the ridgeline
[UPDATE: I featured this hike on my YouTube Studio Vlog right here with some amazing footage I took at the peak. ]
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originally published May 30, 2018