Hiking in Hawaii
The Manana Trail in central Oahu
Most people don’t really put hiking too high on their activity list when they think about things to do in Hawaii.
I know I (sadly) didn’t when I lived there.
Although it wasn’t a regular activity (again sadly) for me. My entire work crew did go hiking once (mandatory fun) the last time I lived there.
… and of course I brought my camera.
Most people who come to Waikiki Beach, and even some who are stationed at the military bases don’t realize that most of the middle part of the island is a literal jungle. Seriously, I have a friend there who does volunteer search and rescue, and it can sometimes take days to find someone who gets lost in the mountains and valleys of central Oahu.
As I said, this was one of those work gatherings where we all got together for a hike and called it “a long PT session”. Looking now at Alltrails this is supposedly a “hard” rated hike. But I don’t really remember it being that bad at the time. Of course I was in much better shape back then … thanks to PT 5 days a week.
I wish I could tell you the exact route we took, what I put in my pack, how it felt to ascend that mountain. But this took place almost 18 years ago, and I honestly wasn’t much of a hiker then. I was however just starting to get into photography at this point, and already owned a dSLR (Canon 20D) and a big white L lens (70-200mm) to go with it.
Remember a few paragraphs up where I told you that this part of the island is a literal jungle? Well, see for yourself …
It feels like you could easily disappear in those trees and never be found.
Of course those weren’t the only views. This hike takes place along a high ridge line, so you can see in several different directions as points along the hike.
I think in part of the view above you can see the Kualoa Ranch, where parts of the original Jurassic Park movie was shot after the main set on Kauai was damaged by Hurricane Iniki.
Of course the view provided a great excuse to stop and take a little break.
But then if you turned around and looked the other direction …
Even back then though, I also couldn’t resist taking pictures of smaller things that were right in front of me.
Eventually it was time to call it a day and head back to the car.
I’ve lived in Hawaii three times in my life, and I enjoyed every bit of each stretch. But if I lived there again today, I would definitely be up hiking in those mountains significantly more frequently than I did when I was last there.
Have you ever hiked in Hawaii?
Which trail(s)?
Til next time,
~ Todd
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