Palehua Trail Clearing

12/10/17-
Camp Palehua: "We were lucky to have the Sierra Club O‘ahu Group helping us clear the trail up here on the mountain on Sunday! There is still some grooming to be done but this path will provide a little firebreak along the ridge and allow for laying fire hoses if needed. Thank you for all your hard work!"

Palehua Trail Clearing

12/10/17

‘Aiea Loop and Ridge Trail Leader Training

11/26/17- Outings Leaders in training braved wet weather to learn about the plants on the ‘Aiea Loop and Ridge trail.

Mahalo to author and professor John Hall for donating a dozen of his "A Hiker's Guide to Trailside Plants in Hawai‘i" books for our Outings leaders to utilize. They are very helpful!

Towards the bottom right you can faintly see the H3 freeway. Sierra Club and allies helped delay its construction for 30 years! It was the most expensive interstate highway ever built and connects two military bases.

A rare sight, the yellow ‘ōhi‘a blossom.

Jodi and Luke posing on ‘Aiea ridge trail, surrounded by uluhe (false staghorn) ferns and ‘ōhi‘a lehua trees, both native to Hawai‘i.

Alahe‘e- a native/indigenous tree that gets its name from its fragrant white flowers. It has a hard, durable bark and the leaves can be used to prepare a black dye.

All pau! 5 miles and Randy found a boot and two shoe soles! Remember to leave no trace while hiking, even if your shoes break.

Sandy Beach Clean Up

11/19/17- The Sierra Club O‘ahu Group hasbeen cleaning the highway along Sandt's Beach on the Ka ‘iwi Coast every quarter for the past 15 yeras! Here's Outings intern and Chaminade student HulaliKinilau posing next to the adopt-a-highway sign.

Wahiawa Botanical Garden Photography hike

11/18/17

Kuli‘ou‘ou Ridge Trail Building

11/5/17- Our small but mighty crew of 6 six hauled supplies to build 11 steps and 2 water diversions at Kuli‘ou‘ou ridge trail. Since the closing of Mariner's Ridge there has been a bigger impact on adjacent trails like Kuli‘ou‘ou, making trail maintenance so critical.

Smiling faces as the rain cleared up before our hike up Kuli‘ou‘ou. Mahalo to leaders Randy and Ed for scouting the work site and helping to bring up tools earlier in the week.

View on the way up Kuli‘ou‘ou Ridge Trail

We all carried wood, stakes, and tools in our packs as we headed up to the work site. The breeze and shade beneath the ironwood trees was a welcome part of the hike.

Our O‘ahu Group Coordinator Jodi carrying wood with Radha trekking in the background

Matt building a water diversion ditch to help prevent erosion

Service Project at UH Manoa Shidler College of Business

10/28/17- Volunteers Randy and Ben moving mulch to help maintain the native plant garden at UH Manoa. Photo by leader Susan Tom.

Mānoa Cliff Trail

9/20/17- Sierra Club Outing Leaders in training organized their first hike to learn about native plants on the Mānoa Cliff Trail. Mahalo to mentor Randy Ching for teaching us about the native and introduced plants commonly found on O‘ahu's trails.

Looking across the Mānoa Valley, which means "wide" or "vast"

Trio of native trees in the plant enclosure: koa, ’ōhi’a lehua, and kokio keokeo (white hibiscus).

Pālehua visit

8/23/2017- exploring sites to build new trails, protect Elepaio, and restore the native forest

Kuli‘ou‘ou Ridge

8/13/2017- Hike led by Colleen Soares

Likeke Falls

7/30/2017- Hike led by Colleen Soares. Photos and captions by Nate Yuen.

"A nice breeze kept us cool as we started the hike from Hoʻomaluhia Botanical Garden. We gained a couple hundred feet elevation and hiked towards the Pali Lookout contouring in and out of many gullies."

"It was a beautiful day as we hiked at the foot of the Ko‘olau Mountains overlooking Kaneohe."

"The views of the surrounding landscape was a sight to see, We came across ohia trees as we made our way through uluhe ferns that dominated the trail."

"Likeke Falls is always a delight to see! The man-made waterfall taps crystal clear water from the aquifer within the mountain."

Kealia Trail

7/15/2017- Fun in the Sun at Kealia Trail. Photos by hike leader Dan Anderson.

Pu’u Ma’eli’eli

6/24/17- “I had a great time hiking with the Sierra Club to the bunkers at Pu’u Ma’eli’eli. Many thanks to hike leaders Susan Tom and Curtis Kawamoto for coordinating and leading the hike. We had to take a photo under the old sign. In WWII bunkers were built at Pu’u Ma’eli’eli as part of a coastal defense system. Many bunkers were built around Oahu to defend the island" -Photos and captions from Nate Yuen.

"We hiked through christmas berry trees with lauae and other ferns in the understory. We followed the ridgelines to gain elevation and passed a number of bunkers as we made our way to the top."

"We were awestruck to see Kāneʻohe Bay from the highest point of Pu’u Ma’eli’eli. It was low tide and we could see all the islets, sandbars, reefs, and coral outcrops in the bay."

"The bunker provides a 180 degree view of the entire expanse of Kāneʻohe Bay from Mokapu Penninsula and Coconut Island in the south to Mo’o Kapu O Haloa and Mokoli’i (Chinaman’s Hat) in the north."

"We lingered at the bunkers for quite some time enjoying the cool breeze and incredible view."

"We were reminded to be quiet and in stealth mode when hiking through residentuial neighborhoods — the more silent and unseen you can be the better."

Judd-Nu‘uanu-Pauoa Flats-Pu‘u ‘Ōhi‘a

6/10/17- Photos from hike leaders Susan Tom and Curtis Kawamoto

MCBH Kāne‘ohe Bay

6/10/17- Service Project clearing wetlands of mangrove plants to create habitat for Hawai‘i’s endangered waterbirds. Photos from hike leader Dan Anderson