Hiking on Oahu on the Malaekahana Pools Trail

The Malaekahana Pools trail is out on the North Shore of the island. The launch point of the hike is at a community park on Po'ohaili Street, located an eighth of a mile past the entrance road to the Mormon Temple in Laie.

Driving directions from downtown Honolulu: Take the H-1 freeway westbound. Exit H1 to take H-3 toward Kaneohe. Exit H-3 on the Likelike Hwy/Kaneohe exit. Take Kahekili Hwy toward the North Shore. Kahekili will transition to Kamehameha Hwy after a few miles. Continue along Kamehameha Hwy until reaching Po'ohaili Street. A key landmark at that point is the "Laie" community sign. By city bus, take the Kaneohe Circle Island route (Bus #55). Exit along Kamehameha Hwy near Poohaili Street (ask the driver and he will alert you). The great thing about the bus is the cost is just $2 one-way. Great deal!

The first half hour of the hike is along a dirt road. Along the way you will pass several small mom-and-pop type farms. I couldn't determine what exactly was growing in the fields; neither could anyone else. String beans, perhaps.

The road, wide and smooth at first, narrows and becomes muddier after about 15 minutes. At a mile, you will pass the starting point of the Laie Trail, marked by a metal gate and a sign. About 5 to ten minutes past the Laie Trail sign, veered left off the road and begin heading directly toward the mountains up a fainter, quite muddy four-wheel drive road.

At about the 30 minute mark, the 4WD road will be behind you, and you will begin your ascent of the ridge over several eroded red-dirt sections. No longer on flat ground, the pace may slow somewhat. Earlier along the mostly level road sections, you will move quickly.

After the red-dirt segments, the trail climbs past a stand of ironwoods, through several thick groves of guava trees, and over two uluhe fern-covered slopes. After 80 to 90 minutes of trail time, you will reach the highest point of the ridge you will climb today--about 1,200 feet elevation or so. The trail continues on to the Ko'olau summit but this is very rough and only minimally cleared. A green sign marks this junction.

The remainder of the hike is down a quite steep, muddy trail to the Malaekahana Stream. Fortunately, guava trees (God couldn't have made a better tree for trailside handrails) are abundant along the way. Be prepared to slip and fall once on you 15-minute trip down the grade. Practice good hiking safety--go slow!

After the descent you will reach the gently-flowing stream. Guava- populated walls of the shady gulch tower several hundred feet above. Look for a reasonably comfortable rock and hunker down with my sandwich and water bottle as steam visibly wafted from my body into the sparkling mountain air.

Head upstream to see what is there. About a hundred yards mauka, a small waterfall cascades into a 10-foot wide pool. If you like, take a dip in the pool.

My favorite part of the hike comes as I make the return trip. Views of Laie and the coastline fronting it are delightful. In the winter time, waves in the six- to eight-foot range or higher will pummel the visible shoreline. Enjoy the sight of white-topped rollers, the nearest a good two miles and a half away, spilling in to shore along your entire range of vision. At exposed sections of the ridge, a pleasant breeze will blow gently. To the right, the Laie Ridge, crowned in the middle by a gathering of Norfolk pines, rises from the valley floor to the summit. You can make a pact with yourself to return to hike that trail in the future.