Sommer had to work this past Saturday (April 9, 2011) and I had to go to an Eagle Scout project that afternoon, so Kai and I headed up to the Nu`uanu Pali Lookout for a short but kinda crazy hike up to the Pali Puka. The Nu`uanu Pali is famous for the Battle of Nu`uanu where Kamehameha forced Kalanikupule's troops up Nu`uanu Valley where some 400 warriors were jumped or were pushed over the cliffs. The Pali Puka is known as a secret spot where Kalanikupule and his men monitored the Kailua and Kaneohe coasts for Kamehameha's invading forces. It's a perfect spot to monitor the Windward shores in secrecy.
We started off from the Nu`uanu Pali State Park and headed past the bus parking lot, over the rock wall, and straight up the ridge.
The trail is pretty straight forward...straight up the ridge. Sometimes you're under the relative safety of surrounding shrubs and trees, sometimes you are struggling up narrow muddy paths or scrambling over bare slippery rock faces.
The steep climb quickly leads to amazing views.
For many parts of the trail you are right up against the pali and the 1000+ foot drop to the windward side.
Before you know it you come up to a towering rock wall.
Below the wall, just to the left of a very narrow section of the trail is the Pali Puka.
Kai and I spent about half an hour at the puka resting and waiting out some passing showers. It had rained heavily a couple of days before and that made for a slick and slippery trail. We didn't see any hikers on this trail or the Pali notches on the other side of the valley.
Once the rain had passed we made our way down to the lookout.
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Kai took video of nearly the entire way down. You can see those videos on our Youtube channel. More pics from this short and steep hike here.
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