Adventurous Hawaii Hiking on the Makapuu TomTom Trail

One of the fantastic hikes on the island of Oahu in Hawaii is the Makapu'u-TomTom trail. This actually is a combination of two trails: the Makapuu trail and the TomTom trail. The former starts at the Makapuu Lookout along Kalanianaole Highway between Sea Life Park and the Sandy Beach. From that point, the hike begins and follows the ridgeline of the Koolau Mountain Range for about 2 miles. The latter trail, TomTom, descends steeply from the summit crest of the Koolaus down to Waimanalo. To sum up, this is a fantastic hike.

My wife Jacque and I joined hike coordinators Grant and Joyce Oka, plus about two dozen other members, for the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club (HTMC) hike of the Makapu'u Tom-Tom trail in the early part of 2008.

We met at 8:30 at the HTMC clubhouse in Waimanalo and we were shuttled over to the trailhead by the Makapuu Lookout in two trucks. Mrs Turner and I launched with the last group, setting off on the trail at a little past 9.

The weather on our hike day was overcast and blustery. Actually, this was a good thing because given hot, sunny conditions, this trail can be a scorcher. The one thing about hikes out on the Makapuu side of the island is that when rain is pelting down on Oahu, chances are good that trail conditions will be pretty decent because this end of Oahu tends to remain pretty dry.

The HTMC trail maintenance crew had worked on the route the weekend prior to our hike, so the way was easy to follow and navigate. Good job by the crew.

In about an hour, we had negotiated the rollercoaster collection of puus (hills) to arrive at the top of the biggest climb of the day, which is the hill that tops out right about the building that used to be used for the state's witness protection program.

Along the way, views were fantastic, and the ocean below was abroil with white-topped ocean-born breakers rolling toward the rocky, rugged shoreline far below.

Part of the route passes through what once was a Nike Missile site. Now, the area is used by cell phone companies as an ideal location for its cell repeaters

Beyond the former Nike site is a steep seeming suicidal descent where a long blue cable has been placed, more for peace of mind rather than necessity. I have heard of many first-timers on this route who have been spooked by this downclimb, but we had been here before and knew that it "only looked bad" which is a mantra we like to repeat to ourselves when we are confronted with seemingly spooky sections of trail.

By tradition, the lunch spot for this hike is a copse of ironwood trees at the top of one of the many puus along the route. We arrived here about half past 11, albeit a little early for lunch but we sat down to eat anyway. Other hikers we were with did the same.

After lunch, we continued on, making a big descent to the upper reaches of Kamilonui Valley and then the final climb of the day to the powerline-pole topped hill that marks the topping out point of the TomTom trail.

We had a fun descent of TomTom, with Grant and Jacque entertaining us with stories of falls off trails they had taken-Grant off of Moanalua middle ridge and Aiea Ridge and Jacque off of Olomana's third peak.

Happily, I will report that no one fell off the Makapu'u TomTom trail on the day we hiked it. And if you choose to hike this route, if you take the necessary precautions, you will not fall off either.