Schofield-Waikane - July 10. 2011

*for this hike get permit from the military at Schofield's East Range

I did two important things on this hike. 1) I completed my first Advanced hike 2) I completed my first hike with the Hawaiian Trail & Mountain Club (HTMC). These were two objectives of mine and they were done at the same time. I do need 2 more hikes with the HTMC to become a member. I've had my eye on the HTMC scheduled hikes for some time now. The HTMC has been Oahu's hiking club since the early 1900s. They do a hike every week, nearly all of their hikes are interesting. The initial goal of the HTMC was to find old Hawaiian trails. I digress, the question I would ask myself time and time again was, "Who would go on Schofield-Waikane with me?". After many hours of thinking the answer I came up with was, "no one, I would know of". When Schofield-Waikane came out on the HTMC schedule, I knew it would be the perfect hike to start with the club. It will also be an opportunity to test my stamina. 

Schofield-Waikane is not a strenuous hike. There are ups and downs and contours. However, the trail is long, about 14 miles long from start to finish. I didn't think any of my friends and family members would do a hike that long. Just the sheer distance makes this an advanced hike. 

I drove to the top of Wahiawa Heights at about 8 am. I met up with a few HTMC members and we entered the beginning of the Wahiawa Hills trail before getting onto the dirt road. The dirt road goes for about 2 miles. Along the way we met the coordinator, his name is Kevin. I walked along listening to stories about the HTMC and other banter. One thing I noticed was that the HTMC members I were hiking with, went at a fast pace. I could keep up with them, but not for 14 miles. 

We got to the trailhead in about 45 minutes. We took a short break and then we were off. Schofield-Waikane can get overgrown at times. It can get so overgrown that some sections can become impassable. But of course there is a reason why HTMC does hikes at certain times. The trail was just cleared a few weeks ago by the HTMC maintenance crew. As we followed the ridge, one thing I noticed right away. It was muddy as hell. The mud was ankle high, and some sections were shin high in mud. The mud was relentless, every step was mud. Thank god I did Manoa valley in the rain all those times to prepare me for all this mud. I do have to admit that this trail was the muddiest I've been on so far. HTMC members were laughing saying that they've been on muddier hikes. I was thinking, "how can it be muddier than this, when every step is mud?". 

Schofield-Waikane was a trail used in the 1920s, so the military could connect Wahiawa to the East side of the island. I figured the soldiers could just drive at that time because cars were already invented. But you never know in those times, with the war at all. Enemy forces would destroy transportation routes and transportation vehicles first. So if enemy fire destroyed the transportation route coming out of Wahiawa, then the soldiers only option out of Wahiawa would be to traverse the Ko'olaus. 

As I was hiking, I chatted with some members about certain hikes on the island. I listened to members talk about their hiking adventure stories and future hikes planned. I conversed about hikes I've been on. It was a great experience to talk about things that really excite me. We passed a few members along the way and I was introduced to them. We took breaks along the way and it was important for me to realize this because I rarely take breaks on my hikes. 

The trail is easy to follow. You go on and around many peaks and ridges towards the lookout point. The good thing is that its pretty much one trail. There are no side trails until you get to the end. At about the 4 hour and 15 minute mark, near the end, there is a junction. Right takes you somewhere, I'm assuming to Waikane valley. The left takes you to the lookout point. 

We reached the lookout point at around 4 1/2 hours into the hike. There we met up with more HTMC members and aspiring members. They were all nice and respectful. We talked for a while, 1/2 an hour to be exact, and ate lunch there. The lookout point is beautiful. Arguably the best view on the island. According to Stuart Ball's book, "The Hiker's Guide to Oahu", you can see up to 4 valleys. My camera tried to capture the panorama, but the view was too wide. One thing that makes the east side so beautiful is that it hasn't been commercially touched by too many people. The terrain is very authentic. There are two pictures below that show the panorama.

We headed back at about 12:40 pm. I remember because I was around true hikers. True hikers are always conscientious about the time, especially this 14 mile hike. Every person who was near me asked for the time. The turnaround point was at 1 pm, so it was time to go. 

The hike back was brutal. My legs were sore. The mud was unrelenting. There were some eroded sections with no ropes to hold on too. I grabbed some roots and vegetation and hopped over the eroded sections. Throughout the hike, I fell constantly on my ass. I think I fell around 20+ times during the entire hike. I also slipped numerous times. When I slipped I tried to hold onto some plants. The problem was that these plants had thorns on them. So a catch 22 was in effect. I decided to hold onto the plants with the thorns. I rather get pricked than slip off the mountain. To add to that, the trail was very narrow. It was safe, although  the drop offs were high, it wasn't vertical, there was also vegetation to break your fall. I was covered in mud. About 9 hours into the hike we took another break. We rested for about 15 minutes and did one final push towards the trailhead. When we saw the trailhead sign we were relieved. The only problem was that the dirt road meant more miles until we would reach our cars. 

I started chatting with Kahele. We had so much in common. We both hiked in the early 2000s and quit for whatever reason. We both started up again a little over two years ago. His progression towards becoming an advanced and expert hiker has far exceeded my progression. He has done some of the best advanced and expert hikes on the island including; Olomana (3 peaks, and down the third peak which is insane), Mount Ka'ala, Konahuanui, Bowman etc. Sounds like my list. But he's done them already. We talked mainly about hiking and I told him we should tackle a hike sometime. 

We finally reached our cars at about the 10 hour mark. We talked story sitting on the side of the road, and were relieved that the hike was over. It was a long one. It felt like I was already a member of the HTMC. I said my good-byes and drove back home to Kapolei. When I got home, Michelle made my dinner of clams and pasta. It was delicious. Eating pasta is the perfect meal especially after losing around 3000+ calories during the day.