Beyond the Sandbox: Nu'uanu

Snapshot of a peaceful walk

DATE: 11 June, 2010
TOTAL TIME: 3.5 hrs
DIFFICULTY: Easy
PARTICIPANTS: "Loafer" Mike and me
REHIKE VALUE: 8

Now THIS, this is what hikes should be like! This trail makes the Aiea Loop look like a retarded kid's crayon scribble. One word: AWESOME!!! Two words: TOTALLY AWESOME!!!

Mike and I at the Nu'uanu Valley lookout

Pine trees accompany my stroll through the switchbacks

Nu’uanu – Judd has pretty much everything. Stream crossings, shady walks, pine forest switchbacks, windy bamboo forests, spectacular views, Ko'olau type ridge walks, hairy uphill scrambles, false summits, AND A FREAKING WATERFALL WITH DEEP SWIMMING HOLE TO END IT ALL!!! To be fair, the ‘waterfall’ isn’t exactly a waterfall, just a wide area of water gushing over rocks. Talk about variety though. The ambience changes about every half mile or so and there was just nothing boring about it. Views of Nu’uanu Valley from the turnaround point were pretty nice. From there were three trails; the one we came from, straight towards Konahuanui (the highest point on the Ko'olau range), and one paralleling the original route hugging the ridgeline with continuous views of the valley. We took the one hugging the ridgeline and it looped back to the original route.

Initial stream crossing

Great reward from minimal effort

Navigating a part of the Honolului mauka trail

The only complaint I had was that the high ridge portions weren't long enough. Beyond that, this is the perfect hike. Not that long (about 5 miles), shady, a double loop, and after a dip in Jackass Ginger, you only walk about 100ft to the car. Highly recommended. You’re just going to have to see it to believe it.

Interesting fact: The name Jackass Ginger was coined by a bunch of kids in the early 1900s that saw a nearby donkey and ginger plants. Kids...