Kuliouou and Sandy Beach

Another hike today. This time we hiked Kuliouou which is on a ridgeline in the Koolau Mountains. All of the hikes have been different so far. At first the hike earth-wormed its way up the mountains. Imagine walking in one direction, a sharp turn, and then walking back the direction you came from. The hike got progressively greener as we climbed higher and higher, and again we saw pine trees in the middle of Hawai’i. The only difference this time is that it was almost a whole forest of them. Once we passed through the pine tree section we started to hike along the ridgeline. Not much to see at first, but eventually there was this really cool knot of trees that reminded me of walls to a fortress and acted as a doorway to the next section of foliage. There were three point on the hike where we had to brush our shoes because the foliage was so different that the seeds and oils from the other plants and trees could destroy the next set.

We finally made it to the top in a little over an hour – a little less painless for Josh than me (I still hadn’t recovered from Olomana). The views from the top were by far the best yet. You could see both east and west sides of the island and I was able to locate some of the islands and beaches I’ve been to. It was also pretty sweet to see these clouds rush up the side of the mountain…an event not offered to me in the hills of Michigan. Anyways, Josh and I decided to run down the trail to get more of a workout in which caused us to lose the trail once or twice, but we were still able to make it down in about 20 minutes.

Next we headed for Sandy Beach. I’m guessing this beach wasn’t named for quality or quantity of sand it contained but rather for the sheer amount of sand found on and in every inch of your body. Let me explain…the surf, current and undertow at Sandy’s (as it is affectionately known by locals) is extremely strong – stronger than me ;) – so the waves are really big. This coupled with how close they break to shore makes for some really nasty, powerful shore break. This kicks out tons and tons of sand which navigates itself to every crevice of your body – no matter how covered. Actually the shore break is pretty violent; it has driven many people into the ground knocking them unconscious or stunning them – it almost drowned my aunt and grandma years ago. But if you are a strong swimmer and smart enough, you should be fine. The first time it hit me I got jacked up. The break twisted me in every direction and I was really disoriented, but I just held my breath and waited until I came to the top. The trick is to either dive into the break just before it crashes down on top of you or be far enough out to float through the wave before it breaks. Sandy Beach is a haven for boogie-boarders and body surfersers. I rode a few waves and got tossed around by even more. I thought it was a load of fun but I still feel like I am rocking in the wave as I write this 5 hours later.

Josh and I laid out on the beach and caught some sun. For some reason I am 5 shades darker than Josh and he is really trying to catch up – we are always competing I guess. My aunt isn’t as lucky. She has got a pretty bad heat rash so she has to be a vampire and stay out of the sun. She had to sit under an umbrella today and won’t be able to make our snorkeling trip tomorrow. Hopefully it will clear up soon because she leaves Sunday. Mahalo for reading. Be safe. Justin

P.S. Miss everyone back home.

P.S.S. Don’t be afraid to leave responses. I want to know who is reading J