Pu'u Papa'a (Kalaheo Hills)

Situated above the Aikahi Park/Kalaheo Hillside subdivisions is a little gem of a hike up a mountain called Pu'u Papa'a. This hike involved some (ok, a lot) of trespassing on private property, but what's life without a little risk? Jdizzle and I decided long ago that, at least where our hikes were concerned, sometimes it's better to beg forgiveness than permission.

This was a photo from our first attempt. My little guy walking along the H3 access road which leads to the "trailhead." 

There are a couple ways to tackle this trail. We decided to find the trailhead located at the Kaneohe end of Aikahi Gardens. The first part of the hike starts on an access road that runs alongside the H3 freeway, and then runs up the hillside. Pretty early on, you reach a junction where you can either go left (down the hill) or right (up the hill) and I will tell you that my impressive internal GPS was not to be trusted the first time we attempted this hike. Going left will take you to another hill which leads to nowhere. So go right. It's a long way up a rather steep hill but eventually it pays off.

This is the road you don't want to take. 

And this is where you end up when you hit the end of the wrong road. Dammit.

jdizzle and the cell towers

Now we're in business. Once you start seeing these signs and a chunk of buildings (which just scream "go away") you're headed in the right direction. Fried brains, anyone?

Proceed up the hill past all the signs warning you about dangerous levels of radiation, etc (best to take it at a run if you're nervous) and eventually you will see where you need to go - the Hawaiian Telcom building. Veer left alongside the fence. 

Be careful at this point - the ground is stable but if you tumble, you'll fall down the mountain.

The trail is obvious along the fence, but you'll still have to contend with tall grass and other offal of nature. 

A hop, skip and a jump behind the Hawaiian Tel building will the the top of the hillside - and this will offer your first unobstructed view of Kailua Bay, Nu'upia Fishponds and Kaneohe MCBH.

Ok, not totally unobstructed thanks to the telephone lines, but you get the idea. 

And next thing you know, if you turn left from here, you'll find yourself at a very cool hidden WW2 bunker!

Panoramic view of Kaneohe Bay (far left), Nu'upia Fishponds (center) and Kailua Bay (right)

We finally made it! (Standing on the bunkers.) Best hiking buddy of all time.

Our obligatory "zero fucks given" pose.

Special thanks to the talented artist who took time to paint this beauty! (Kinda reminds me of Pualani.)

We stood around and appreciated the view for a minute or two and decided it was time to continue along the mountain. We pushed on through the well-ribboned trail, though the overgrowth was something to contend with. The grass was above our heads and the kiawe trees (ouch!) hindered our progress, but even so, this trail was about as clear as it could possibly be. I was expecting it to be far more difficult than it was. There were portions of the downhill sections that were loose and pitchy, and it was easy for us to come to the conclusion that turning around and coming back the way we came were not an option. We would have to make this a one-way trip. The downside of this option, of course, is that we didn't know what to expect as we continued down the trail. No matter… we were up for trailblazing that day. Eventually, we happened upon another bunker!

Bunker #2. jdizzle was up for spelunking… I was not.

Bunker #2 is situated under an old microwave radar antenna. I have been staring at this antenna above my house since I was a little kid. Can I just tell you HOW COOL it is to see it up close?

Standing right up against it. Again… super cool.

Me and my best hiking buddy. And the antenna, of course.

After we took photos and called my mom to tell her to look up behind the house (she wasn't home… damn!) we started back down the mountain. Thanks to whoever placed all the orange ribbons along the trail, because it was pretty easy to find our way to the old water tank. Once we got there, we knew it was just a quick run down the hill to find our way back to the neighborhood. This is another part of the hike where we found ourselves trespassing on someone's property. Again, forgiveness versus permission. Luckily, we weren't spotted.

The water tank which runs smack in the middle of the trail, which led us back down the mountain.

And that was that! Quick hike on a relatively warm and grossly voggy day. Speaking of, can someone turn down Kilauea? I can barely take a deep breath!