Ka'ena Point - April 22, 2012

I finally got a chance to get out to Ka'ena Point with Chenay Borja and this place did not disappoint! There are two ways to get to the point, one from the west side and one from the north. We opted to go from the north side which starts at Mokuleia. If you have a four-wheel drive vehicle then you could drive your way all the way to the Natural Area Reserve, if not then you gotta take the shoelace express and walk your way to the most western point on O'ahu.

As you near the point you will come upon a fence with a sliding door which protects the native species that are only found in this area. Once in the Natural Area Reserve there are marked paths, please stay on the paths because the Laysan Albatross and the Wedge-tailed Shearwaters lay their eggs in the ground. There is also some cool native flora found within the reserve. If you get lucky you might even get to see some Hawaiian Monk Seals and during certain months humpback whales can be sighted off the coast. We stayed at the reserve for a good amount of the day, but left before sunset so I'm gonna have to go back there again and catch a sunset!

Photos:

very information sign. take time to read it!

the endangered 'Ohai (Sesbania tomentosa)

juvenile Laysan Albatross

flying Laysan Albatross

Video:

Poamoho Ridge - April 1, 2012

Poamoho is the best trail O'ahu has to offer. If you're lucky and get a clear summit you will be rewarded with one of the top views on the island. The trail itself is only about 6 miles round-trip and since it's a contour trail you gain elevation gradually making it a nice hike. Don't know what else to say about this hike but if you're on O'ahu, Poamoho is a hike that you must do!

In order to do this wonderful trail you need to obtain a permit from the Department of Land and Natural Resources. Also you need a four-wheel drive vehicle in order to navigate through the 6 mile dirt road to get to the trailhead: Na Ala Hele

David Chatsuthiphan got some sick photos from the same day: Unreal Hawaii

You can also check out Kaleo Lancaster's photos and solid video on that same day: Island Trails

Photos:

Makapu'u Tide Pools - March 18, 2012

Back in April me and my cousin Jordan decided to go and check out the Makapu'u Tide Pools. The trail down to the tide pools branches off the road to the Makapu'u lighthouse, its really rocky and plenty of the rocks are loose so we had to be careful and not send rocks flying down to the rocky coast below. The trail down is hard to follow but we just switchbacked our way down. And at the bottom there are some gorgeous tide pools. There are some other tide pools along the coast but caution is required because the waves are constantly crashing along the narrow coastline, the best rule to follow is to never turn your back towards the ocean.

Photos:

Video:

Makapu'u Tide Pools from Joshua Serrano on Vimeo.

Wahiawa Hills - March 11, 2012

Whenever you get an invite from Pete Clines for a hike, you expect one of two things. Something really dangerous or something beyond fun, either way it will be an experience that you will never forget! On this day we would be tubing down the north fork of Kaukonahua stream, so we all knew we were gonna be in for a good time. The group consisted of Pete Clines, Chenay Borja, Nate Yuen (Hawaiian Forest), Cory Yap (Aloha From 808), Jenelyn Castillo, August Smith, Dave Webb, and Elissa Thompson.

We met up at the end of California Ave. Followed a trail to the left of a couple of water tanks. A short ways in we turned left down a spur ridge and crossed a stream up to another ridge, upon reaching the spine of the ridge it split. We took the left one to the stream where Pete would string a rope across the stream so we would know when to exit the stream. We backtracked to where the trail split but this time following the trail mauka until it dropped back down into the stream. After crossing the stream we ate some snacks and blew up our tubes.

Once we were all ready we floated off down the stream. Some chose to walk since the height of the stream on this part was still low and we would bottom out and increase the chance of our tubes popping. Dave had a big chair and he probably had the most fun this day cause he could navigate more of the rapids safely. Floating down the stream we would have to walk every now and then but we mostly floated. Couple of our tubes popped along the way since they were the cheap ones but luckily we had extra tubes. This is definitely an experience that I will never forget!

Photos:

Pete setting up our finish line

crossing the stream

snack break after blowing up our tubes

bottomed out

floating along

Video:

Wahiawa Hills from Joshua Serrano on Vimeo.