olomana
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Ahiki and Pakui

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Konahuanui

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the long rope

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Ahiki and Pakui

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Pakui

Coming down the Pali Hwy towards Kailua, we took a left on Auloa Rd and parked on the side road immediately on the left.   From there we headed towards the triple peaks of Olomana (Olomana, Ahiki and Pakui).  We passed a friendly guard at his post and continued along the road until reaching the sign which marked the start of the trail

Because it had rained recently, the lower part was somewhat muddy in many places.  We climbed through the lower exotic forest without any views until we broke out onto the ridge.  From there we headed right and began climbing a bit steeper through an ironwood grove and tons of christmas berry.  The forest thined out a bit and we needed to do a little rock climbing here and there but there were ropes and pegs whenever it got a little steep.  A little further and we were at the top of Olomana!  The views were incredible from here.  You could see from Makapu'u to Kualoa!

After a short rest, we continued down the first peak (Olomana) and back up the second (Ahiki).  We were about to decend the second peak but someone was climbing up the rope so we sat down and took another breather.  The person climbing up was none other than Patrick "Paka" Rorie!  After exchanging pleasantries we headed on down the long rope section towards the third peak (Pakui).

Going up the third peak was the trickiest part of the hike because you have to actually do some rock climbing.  But it was really fun!  I'd much rather do that than bust up my knees!  When we finally got to the top we realized just how hot it was that day!  No winds, just muggy and sticky.  I wondered if we could actually connect to Lanipo from here...

Date:  November 11, 1998
Time Duration:  5 hours
Difficulty:  Blue
Danger: Blue

Notes:  The first part of the hike is a little boring, but once you get to the part just below the first peak, it gets really fun!  It's different than other hikes because there's a lot of rock climbing mixed in and you have nice views the rest of the way to the end!  The views from the first peak are just as good as those from the second or third, but you just have to go all the way because you'd just feel...incomplete if you didn't!  The long rope coming down the second peak isn't bad at all.   Even climbing up the third peak wasn't as bad as the stories I had heard.  But if you have a fear of heights, you probably will feel quite a bit uneasy.

I'd recommend doing the hike on a day with moderate winds, maybe about 15-25mph.   It was calm and muggy and it made the hike so hot!  Our shirts were drenched in sweat right from the start!  Although the others did, I didn't get too thirsty, so I'm thinking that it was more the humidity than a difficult hike.  But, this is one hike everyone should do, at least to the first peak!