Kapalama Loop Trail - 6/23/2018 Saturday

We started via a bypass from Na Pueo Park in Alewa Heights. After walking below a water tank, we descended down a bit and walked along some fences on our left. At the end of the fence, we caught the start of the kapalama loop trail going counterclockwise on the east ridge. We didn't intend to go on the east ridge first. I actually wanted to start from the west ridge since I read it's hard to find it on the way back. We didn't find it on the way in either, so east ridge it was.



The ridge walk is pleasant with views of Nuuanu, Liliha and Kapalama nearby; downtown, Waikiki, and Pearl Harbor in the far distance.









The loop is supposed to be 7 miles round trip. 4 miles into it, we still hadn't seen any junctions or sharp turn to the left. After exploring a couple of non-paths, we got a little muddy and lost. We decided to trek back the same way we came from. Unfortunately we missed the junction to the bypass on our way back too. We continued on the trail, passed a private property sign, noticed the fences had barbwires on them, which weren't there when we started the trail and saw some markers that were new to us(we should have been on the bypass by now and not still on the trail), we then realized that we were at the start of the west ridge. After turning back, luckily Taylor spotted some pink markers on the other side of the fence, and we realized we were on the wrong side of the fence(no pun intended). So we backtracked to the end of the fence and saw the steps down to the bypass. Yay! We are not gonna die here on our second hike on the island.

Based on many reviews on alltrails.com, the trail on the west ridge back is overgrown and not well maintained. I would rate this hike as difficult and not moderate. Parts of the trail were covered with pine needles. It got slippery especially with descending. There are also many ups and downs with all the peaks. We went on a clear day. I can imagine if it rained (as it's very likely since it's in the rainforest), the trail can get even harder to manage. On the plus side, there are many tall trees, so the trail is mostly covered in shades and breezes make it more bearable in the hot weather.

I feel somewhat incomplete since we didn't do the loop. Maybe we will go back one day. We will know exactly where the west ridge starts this time :)





Comments

Taylor said…
The new growth on the evergreens at the top of the ridge are amazing! I've never seen such lush, bright green growth on any evergreens on the West coast or in the Midwest. So cool!
1:38 PM
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