Olomana, apparently meaning ‘divided hill’, is the name of the mountain that has loomed over our neighborhood this past year. It is indeed split into three peaks.
Olo has multiple meanings, one of which is hill.
Mana, however, is a very special word in Hawaiian described by Wikipedia as ‘a form of a spiritual energy and also healing power which can exist in places, objects and persons.’ Most commonly it is translated to power or spirit, and I have heard that certain ancient sites have ‘much mana.’
When looking up the meaning of Mana it took me a long time to find anything that referenced that it could also mean divided, but eventually I did come across this definition.
Although, I successfully confirmed the name’s common meaning, the Mana in Olomana will always take on the first definition in my mind. First, from our typical view we only see the first and largest peak, the second two hiding behind it toward the Koolaus. So from our vantage it doesn’t look divided at all. Second, it has a very powerful link to our time here in Hawaii. I have spent so much time in the past year looking at this mountain that is so easily visible from much of the windward side (although no longer from our kitchen window) and it is also the namesake of our neighborhood. It has become very special to me and has… I don’t know… a special mana. :)
All this time, it has been around watching us live our lives, yet we had not yet hiked it. It is said to be one of the best hikes on the island, yet not for those with a fear of heights or the extremely clumsy. You may remember this was on our bucket list, and now we can say it is checked off!
We finally got the motivation last Saturday to go for it. The hike follows the ridge-line on the right hand side of the mountain (see top picture) and climbs to the first and tallest peak, 1,600 ft in elevation after 1.5 mile hike. Then it goes on to the more dangerous second and third peaks, and for brave and experienced climbers can continue down the other side from there. We knew from the beginning that we would be stopping at the first peak, after all the view can’t get any better than the top right?
{Sorry, no zombies allowed}
The hike started out easy enough, going through some forest beginning the climb up to the ridge-line. Then we came to, honestly my favorite part of the hike, a stand of ironwood pine trees which I always noticed from afar. Here the tradewinds were whipping through the pines making a constant whirring noise and the trail was covered in a thick bed of needles. This was also the beginning of the ridge, to the ground started dropping away on either side of us.
{Approaching the ironwoods}
It began to get steep and there was a section where there were many ropes provided for assistance, but on the way up we trusted our own hands and feet instead.
Toward the top the path became narrower and the drop-offs steeper, and then the climb up got much more technical. Rock climbing is a must to get to the top. It was nerve-racking for sure, but we made it to the summit and the view was an astounding reward.
{Just keep climbing}
We could see east to Rabbit Island, the stunning formation of the Koolaus, the Pali overlook, Kaneohe bay, all the way out to Chinaman’s Hat, Kailua, the Mokes… everything! We even looked down on our neighborhood and picked out our house!
{The 2nd and 3rd peaks}
While we were at the top we saw two helicopters go by. The cool thing about it… we were practically even with them. One was still a little higher and one was a little lower. I waved!
Our work wasn’t over though and we still had to get DOWN! The pictures don’t do the terrain justice and we don’t have pictures of some of the more harrowing parts because… really? be glad that we weren’t pulling out the camera at those moments!
Right when we were starting our descent we coincidentally ran into our landlord’s daughter. Her and her friends had hiked all the way to the third peak and were just getting back. We don’t run into people as much as we’d expect living in such a small town, but being at the top of a mountain at the same time was pretty exciting.
{Thumbs up to Alana after climbing down that part}
All of the reviews I read before taking the hike talked about the way up, but few mentioned the journey down. It’s funny because on the way up we avoided using the ropes, like I mentioned, but on the way down I think we used every single one of them! It was steep and a gooood use of leg muscles.
{Long way down on either side}
The pine stand was a refreshing stop and the banyan tree at the beginning of the trail was a welcome sight, my thighs were really feeling it by then.
I’m glad we ventured to the top of Olomana as our last hike on Oahu… always save the best for last, yeah?
{At the Top}
Learning to be Hawaiian 