Moanalua Valley Trail

Or the Kulana'Ahane Trail, if you want to get fancy, which the Hawaiian Government did, several years ago when they decided this trail needed a name. It was my favorite hike we've done so far, because of the many different terrains that you traverse on this one hike.

I've unofficially become the hike planner, or stage manager of hikes, so I've been looking around a lot for new hikes of varying lengths and difficulties. We wanted something interesting that was an all day hike, so I chose this one. It actually would have been all day if we'd explored everything there was to explore, but my knee decided to give up on me around lunch time, so we headed back without reaching the waterfall or the summit. As it is, we hiked for about 5 1/2 hours. A six hour round trip with our lunch break and a couple of short rests for my knee to recover. I guess we'll just have to go back!

The hike starts with an old cobblestone road that leads to the remains of the historic Damon House. For a history lesson, read more here. After about 1 1/2 hours you reach the trail head, and then it is up and over, around, through mud, under trees, leaping across rocks, walking through the stream bed, and scrambling through forest and jungle. Not bad for a day's work. On our way back, Cher discovered a scorpion in our path that I had apparently blissfully stepped over, oblivious to its scorpion-ness a few seconds before. Joe would not let me go back to look at it, so I have no photo and no proof it existed. I did see a really cool worm, though, so I'll share a picture of that instead.

Part of the old Damon Estate

Lots of places where we had to go either under or through the trees.

Joe conquering the Damon steps...what's left of them, anyway

The path

Many bridges cross the old road. You can take the high road...

...or the low road

When I described it to my 4th graders they called it a hammer head worm. Turns out they were right!

Next time I'm climbing out to that rock

Where we ate lunch before heading back