Monday - 5/31/11 - Memorial Day
Courtney, Amanda and I all decided to go on a hike together for Memorial Day. This hike is called Pu'u Manamana. Also known as "Crouching Lion" or "Death Ridge" or "Devils Horseshoe" or "Crouching Lion Death Plunge". Any of these last three would be accurate descriptions of the hike to it's fullest. I must confess that I have only spoken to about 10 people who have actually done the entire loop. Many people go up to the 'Crouching Lion' (which is a rock) and then come back down. Needless to say on the loop that we went on (and that I have previously been on) the 'Crouching Lion' was at the very end of the loop. The hike took us 9 hours even though it was only 4.5 miles. Many factors contributed to that time of nine hours which I will explain soon.
The terrain of the hike is arguably the most diverse on Oahu. You start the hike climbing up roots at a 45 degree angle then you start rock climbing followed by random trees that are connecting the ridge together so you can continue your ascent. There was a rough patch when there was a lot of foliage crossing over the hike that made it pretty painful and irritating on our legs. During the hour of hiking up and around too much foliage we encountered a lot of mud. In fact there were ropes in certain places so that we could actually get up the mudslides successfully. After we had surpassed most of (what felt like) the endless foliage we came out on the real ridge of the mountain. Literally nothing on either side of us for about two hours. This is when your rock climbing skills really came into play because there was no forgiveness for a missed step or a bad slip. We had to choose our steps carefully and that we did!
About 45 minutes up the hike (even before anything out of the ordinary) we said a little prayer, just to ensure our safety. I do not want to go into too much detail, but that prayer (and Courtney) saved us from calling a helicopter to come get us. Seriously.
Let me preface this; my dear friend Amanda is scared of heights and I convinced her that this hike was not that scary (because the first time I went on it, I had no fears...I wasn't allowed to be scared because I was with two boys) Anyway! I told her it wasn't that bad last time I went and so she decided to come along! I was so excited to be with Courtney and Amanda! Even I did not realize what was in store for us ahead. To sum it up without going into too much detail, soon after we got out on the bare two-foot rocky/sandy/gravelly ridge, Amanda had a panic attack. At that point I started to feel like crap for putting her through this experience, but as we kept going and going, and the ridge continued to only get less and less forgiving, I began to understand that I had put my friend in serious danger. I felt like one of the most horrible people, but I just kept praying and praying. There was one point when she is rock climbing down the side of a rock face and all that is below her is Courtney and a 45 degree loose rock ridge. This is when panic attack number three occurred. Courtney just kept telling Amanda to trust her feet as she held Amanda's hand for most of the rest of the hike. Many times we were all three holding hands and slowly, but steadily (to make sure we made it home before sunset) we made our way down the mountain. After stopping to take a look at the 'crouching lion' rock and then finally getting our feet back on solid (wider than 2ft) ground, we began hitchhiking back home from our epic, unforgettable adventure.
The hike can be summed up in this short little video that I made! This is a more lighthearted version of the nine hours up on the mountain:)
The terrain of the hike is arguably the most diverse on Oahu. You start the hike climbing up roots at a 45 degree angle then you start rock climbing followed by random trees that are connecting the ridge together so you can continue your ascent. There was a rough patch when there was a lot of foliage crossing over the hike that made it pretty painful and irritating on our legs. During the hour of hiking up and around too much foliage we encountered a lot of mud. In fact there were ropes in certain places so that we could actually get up the mudslides successfully. After we had surpassed most of (what felt like) the endless foliage we came out on the real ridge of the mountain. Literally nothing on either side of us for about two hours. This is when your rock climbing skills really came into play because there was no forgiveness for a missed step or a bad slip. We had to choose our steps carefully and that we did!
About 45 minutes up the hike (even before anything out of the ordinary) we said a little prayer, just to ensure our safety. I do not want to go into too much detail, but that prayer (and Courtney) saved us from calling a helicopter to come get us. Seriously.
Let me preface this; my dear friend Amanda is scared of heights and I convinced her that this hike was not that scary (because the first time I went on it, I had no fears...I wasn't allowed to be scared because I was with two boys) Anyway! I told her it wasn't that bad last time I went and so she decided to come along! I was so excited to be with Courtney and Amanda! Even I did not realize what was in store for us ahead. To sum it up without going into too much detail, soon after we got out on the bare two-foot rocky/sandy/gravelly ridge, Amanda had a panic attack. At that point I started to feel like crap for putting her through this experience, but as we kept going and going, and the ridge continued to only get less and less forgiving, I began to understand that I had put my friend in serious danger. I felt like one of the most horrible people, but I just kept praying and praying. There was one point when she is rock climbing down the side of a rock face and all that is below her is Courtney and a 45 degree loose rock ridge. This is when panic attack number three occurred. Courtney just kept telling Amanda to trust her feet as she held Amanda's hand for most of the rest of the hike. Many times we were all three holding hands and slowly, but steadily (to make sure we made it home before sunset) we made our way down the mountain. After stopping to take a look at the 'crouching lion' rock and then finally getting our feet back on solid (wider than 2ft) ground, we began hitchhiking back home from our epic, unforgettable adventure.
The hike can be summed up in this short little video that I made! This is a more lighthearted version of the nine hours up on the mountain:)
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