Capturing the Moment

  The ascent on the Diamond Head Crater trail is no joke. It'll get your blood pumping. The story of Waikiki, the most famous of places in the Hawaiian Islands, is an interesting one. You might find it hard to believe that this tropical beach vacation destination, was historically swamps and duck ponds, before being drained and filled in. Sand was imported to create a beach, and the hotels and resorts followed, as well as some of the highest priced real estate in the islands. However, through all the changes, one thing remained the same...at the end of Waikiki, a familiar geological feature loomed large, known now as Diamond Head Crater.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI0QXtm22DQ Today I explored a new part of the island of Lana'i. While there are two fancy resorts on the island, there are very few people that ever travel here. There is a small town of about 3000 people, who live near the top of the island in Lana'i City. It has a plantation ghost town feel mixed with a burgeoning artisan community. The island itself used to be the world's largest pineapple plantation under Dole, but now is mostly empty fields and untouched adventures. I've explored some of these hard to reach places by mountain e-bikes, but today it was time for a hike. We drove from Manele small boat harbor, up through town, to the Lana'i Adventure Center. It is nestled under the high forest, just past the fancy health retreat called Sensei Lanai. Here we met our hiking guides for the day, Jerryan and KC. We loaded up into some cool all terrain vehicles, which reminded me of Jurassic Park. Then we blasted up the ridge to the star...

  I was looking to do a bit of exploration today with my little hiking buddy (my 1.5 year old daughter.) I had heard several things about how good the view was from the Stowe Pinnacle hike, and stumbled upon the trailhead a few weeks ago, so that is where we headed. Dela and me are all smiles as we start out our exploratory hike at the Stowe Pinnacle Trail. It turns out there are two starting points. We chose the Pinnacle Meadows option as it was the first that we saw signs for. A section of the forest had been cleared, high above the town of Stowe for developement, but luckily the Stowe Land Trust swooped in, bought the land, and it has stayed a beautiful meadow ever since. A marker recognizing all those who helped fund the purchase and preservation of this land. I'm so glad it isn't another series of condos. The trail enters the forest past the meadow and eventually meets up with the Stowe Pinnacle Trail, coming up from the second trailhead. From here the trail starts to head...

  Continuing my series during the Covid 19 pandemic semi-lockdown, today Catalina and I explored the nearby trail to Sunset Rock, here in Stowe. Even though she is getting to be a much better hiker, I still carried her in the hiking backpack for about 4/5 of the time. She is rocking her new trail runners and as you can see by her outfit, the weather has turned cold. We woke up the temp in the upper forties today...and it is still August. It was quite refreshing though, as it means we can turned on the fire here at the Stowe treehouse and sip coffee in front of the heat producing flames. We'll see how it is when the temperature goes negative, but this is quite doable, and just downright pleasant.    To get to this trail we had to park right in the middle of the 'downtown' old town part of Stowe. The buildings actually butt right up to the base of the mountain where this trail starts. Cute little inns and b&bs dot the side road, while the church bells of the ma...

   A lot of people come to stare off into the vastness of the Grand Canyon. Many venture down one of the trails leading deep towards the canyon floor. Most turn back after a mile or two, and some might even make it down to a solid turn around spot like Indian Gardens. Even though I knew I would be here for almost two weeks I knew I wouldn't have much time for really big hikes. So with one of my extreme team campers from Catalina I ignored all the signs warning against hiking from the rim to the river back up the rim in one day, and off we went. Bright Angel Trail Head The Long Way Down   The Bright Angel trail is considered the premier hiking trail into the Grand Canyon. It starts on top of the South Rim in Grand Canyon Village, just behind the historic Bright Angel Lodge. Going from rim to river to rim is warned against for very good reasons. The total elevation change is around 9,000ft down and up over the span of 16 miles. You can find water along the way at ...

  The last few days have been windy and rainy here in the Hawaiian Islands. I have seen numerous waterfalls cascading off the cliffs deep within the Ko'olau mountain range thanks to the heavy rainfall. I've also been in an exploratory and adventurous mindset recently. So with the afternoon off I set out to find some waterfalls close to home.   I had my sights set on a trail heading deep into Nuuanu Valley, the next valley over from my home valley of Pauoa. As I drove on the outskirts of the jungle towards the trail head I passed a few parked cars on the side of the road. I saw a trail leading into the jungle and a official trail sign as well. So I pulled over and decided to check it out. The Judd trail, which this turned out to be, connects to a ridge line hike that can lead past Manoa. But it also provides a short forty-five minute loop hike through very interesting forest. I actually liked the very beginning part next to the road the most. Here a running stream tum...