Hiking Up to History...the Ka'iwa Ridge Trail

The plan was to wake up before the butt-crack of dawn and do a "sunrise" hike but due to misinformation, Mar and I woke after sunrise.  It was still early and cool enough in the morning to do the hike so we quickly got ready and headed out.  We set off on the Pali Hwy towards Kailua.  I don't know which streets Mar took to get to the Lanikai but we drove past Kailua Beach Park and got onto Mokulua Drive.  A turn onto Kaelepulu Drive took us into a residential area border by the Mid-Pacific Country Club. 

After finding a legal parking spot along the street, we hiked up the road to the unmarked trailhead, whose only identifying feature was a trail adjacent to a fence that scaled up the ridge.   This is the Ka'iwa Ridge Trail.  The first section of the trail was a tough and steep hike up on red dirt.  Stands of trees along the way helped my ascent fortunately but I was seriously out of breath and was huffing and puffing.  

Atop the ridge, the trail consisted of firmer loose gravel, lava rock, lowlying scrub, and grass which was comforting since it felt more solid.   But the exposed ridgeline whipped the ocean breezes all around us...just check out my wild hair!  The distant cloud cover was dramatic and protected us from harsh rays of sun.  After the first section, the trail ascended the ridgeline gradually.  My pictures cannot do the view from along Ka'iwa Ridge justice...it was breathtaking and marvelous! 

The historical points along the trail are two World War II concrete bunkers or pillboxes.   We briefly stopped at the first bunker then headed up the ridge to the second bunker where we chillaxed and took in the views of the surrounding area...Kailua Bay to the north, Waimanalo Bay (the area where my paternal grandparents used to live) to the south, Koolau Range to the west, and the Mokulua Islands off the coast of Lanikai to the east.  I wanted to do a jumping pic while atop the second bunker but my cousin wasn't to sure how stable these 60 year old structures were so no go.  Besides...I wouldn't want to be the reason the bunker tumbled down the mountainside...hahaha! 

Alas, all good things have to come to an end and I was starving so we headed back down the ridgeline to the red dirt portion of the trail.  You would think going back down would be easy but the fine red dirt was a bit slippy.  A man we were following on the way down slipped on the dirt...fortunately he fell back onto his bum instead of forward.  Some rope intertwined between the trees were of some help on the way down but still the trail was difficult to navigate.  Back onto the pavement, I could not help but be relieved that I didn't take a tumble down. 

The hike was fabulous...what a great start to my day!