Recreation
Takes a lot to take on Manana

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Aaron Lowe, a specialist with Na Ala Hele, the state's trails and access program, calls Manana trail in Pearl City a good trail "if you really want to kick it."

The Manana Trail offers some stunning scenery, but the toll exacted to reach the top can be steep. Chris Sykes photo

Hard.

Despite its reputation as the best of the Ko'olau ridge hikes, Manana remains one of the O'ahu's least utilized trails, averaging less than 2,000 hikers a year, according to Lowe. This may have something to do with the torturous 2-mile stretch leading to and from the turnaround peak, an expanse Hell might be interested in replicating for the inventor of the Stair-Master.

The trailhead is accessible from the end of Komo Mai Drive in Pacific Palisades. A quarter-mile paved road leads to a wide dirt path that cuts through a short section of ironwood trees and down into a grove of eucalyptus trees. Passing two utility towers along a series of rolling hills, you make your way to a long expanse of open ridgeline.

The trail here is grassy at some points, gravelly and slightly eroded at others. Along the side of the trail are koa, sandalwood and paperbark trees.

Paths divide and reconnect at several points. A little more than a mile into the hike, you pass a small trail restoration area on the exposed ridge.

As evidenced by the condition of the hiking boots, the Manana Trail is not for people who are adverse to picking up a little mud. Chris Sykes photo

At just over two miles, you hit a distinct knob, the first of many you will climb and descend on the way to the top. Here the trail grows wetter and narrower as you enter the rain forest zone.

The trail continues to rise and fall along the ridge, eventually leveling off at a flat, clear plateau sometimes used as a helipad. What follows is not for the weak of heart or quadricep.

A series of knotted ropes are maintained to help hikers along the steepest, muddiest and most eroded areas. However, every one of the half-dozen major knobs is steep, muddy and eroded and the narrow saddles that connect them are deeply rutted. Unless you're wearing knee-high Gore-Tex boots, expect wet socks from the unexpected but frequent mud plunges.

Exposed roots and shrubs make for convenient handholds as your boots kick futilely against the slick, frictionless clay lining many sheer climbs. You should be careful what you cling to, though, as branches overgrown with limu kele moss can leave you with nothing firmer than a handful of rotted wood and moss.

The final two miles to the top require sure footing and a great deal of patience. Deep, mud-filled trenches often hide dangerous tangles of root while strong gusts along the most exposed areas of the ridge can easily knock a hiker off balance and down the precipitous overgrown cliffs.

There are a series of ropes to help hikers along the parts of the trail that are steep and muddy. Michael Tsai photo

The turnaround point lies just above the 2,600-foot level on a short ledge covered by clouds. On a clear day, the view is as breathtaking as the approach, spanning the windward coast from Kualoa to Makapu'u with the stark, jutting peaks of Olomana rising spectrally in the distance.

Manana is a deceptively long 10 miles and even experienced hikers can expect to take anywhere from six to nine hours to complete it. But you don't have to be an expert hiker to enjoy the some of the most scenic portions of the trail.

Na Ala Hele maintains the first two miles of the hike, assuring a clean, safe pathway for beginning hikers. Intermediate hikers should be able to make their way up the wet, hilly sections to the helipad.