** NOTE **
Trails are listed below solely as a guide and do not imply right to public access or safe hiking condition. HTMC accepts no responsibility for accuracy of the data listed below.
Length: 9 miles round trip
Hike difficulty: intermediate
Type of hike: graded ridge
Locale: Northern Ko'olau Range above Pupukea
Access: Request permission from the Army
Hazards: deep mud holesDirections to trailhead: (from Honolulu) Get on the H-1 freeway heading west. Near Middle St. keep left on Rte 78 west to Aiea. By Aloha Stadium bear right to rejoin H-1 to Pearl City. Take the H-2 freeway to Wahiawa. As the freeway ends, continue on Rte 99 north bypassing Wahiawa. Pass Schofield Barracks on the left. After the road narrows to two lanes, dips then forks take the right fork to Hale'iwa still on Rte 99. Rte 99 becomes the Kamehameha Hwy By-pass which eventually intersects Kamehameha Hwy (Rte 83). Proceed up the north shore and go around Waimea Bay. At the first major intersection after the bay, turn right onto Pupukea Rd. by Foodland Supermarket. Drive to the end of the paved road at Boy Scout Camp Pupukea. Park on the side of the road before the camp.
Hike directions: Continue on foot along a dirt road past the Boy Scout camp. Climb over a gate and stay on the main road beyond two junctions, the first on the right (a locked gate to the Pa'ala'a Uka Pupukea Rd.) and the second on the left (the start of the Kaunala Trail). Reach another junction near a stand of Norfolk Island pines. Advance straight ahead and pass through a gate. Remain on the road until you arrive at a fork. Take the right fork onto a somewhat overgrown abandoned dirt road which becomes the Ko'olau Summit Trail (KST). Tramp along the KST to a junction marked by a large wooden sign. Bear left to reach a helipad and scenic lookout or continue on the Summit Trail. Ahead, at another junction, go straight and climb a peak to a scenic overlook of Kahuku and the extreme northern tip of Oahu and the terminus of the Pupukea Summit Trail. Otherwise, turn right on the KST bypassing the peak. The KST beyond the peak has been cleared recently of strawberry guava. Enjoy the improved section until it ends about a mile from the summit of Malaekahana Ridge.
Hike description: The Pupukea Summit Trail is a good introduction to the magnificent Ko'olau Summit Trail. It ends at a peak with a nice lookout. Built by the CCC from 1934 to 1936, "The Ko'olau Summit Trail is a graded footpath that winds along the crest of the Ko'olau Range from the end of Pupukea Rd. to the end of the Kipapa Ridge Trail."*
REFERENCES
* Ball, Jr., Stuart M. THE HIKER'S GUIDE TO O'AHU. Honolulu: University Of Hawaii Press, 1993.
P.Rorie 3/99