You’ll need a 4-wheel drive truck to get to the trailhead for this hike.

Hike for 3.5 miles along a well maintained trail that’s cut into the side of the mountain (see top left section of photo).

In a short while you’re at the summit looking at this. (Pictured above: Josh Serrano.)

The Poamoho Trail is part of the “Na Ala Hele” Hawaii Trail & Access System. That means it is a state sanctioned trail, maintained by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) and open to the public. You do need a permit to hike this trail though, but obtaining one is an easy task. You can learn about how to get a permit here.

Starting in Wahiawa (Central Oahu), you drive in 6 miles to the trailhead. The Poamoho Trail takes you up to a peak on the Kooloau Mountains where you’ll be treated to a massive panoramic view of the east side of Oahu.

If you talk to any avid hiker in Hawaii and mention the name Poamoho, they will usually pause and then talk about the trail with glowing praise. It’s no exaggeration. The whole experience, starting from the drive along the dirt road up to the approach to the summit, makes for a great day of getting in touch with nature. But, here’s the catch: you gotta go when the summit is clear. And in this particular part of the island, that can be a total crap shoot.

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It was one of those absolutely gorgeous days in Hawaii.

And we spent it in a cave.

This is a new rock climbing spot in Hawaii called the Future Cave.

Climbing sessions here can be epic.

Earlier this week I got word from Justin (Volcanic Rock Gym) that some of our friends had found a bouldering spot that would rival The Arch. That was no exaggeration. It’s deep and the rock is solid. Future Cave has the potential to become the next obsession for a lot of boulderers in Hawaii.

The cave of course has been around since the days of yore. (If not earlier.) But, as a rock climbing spot in Hawaii, credit for it’s discovery goes to Nick Testa, Phil Langford, Hiro Watanabe, Minjoe Williams and Matt Lutey.

These photos are from my first trip out to Future Cave. During this session, Matt Lutey got an FA (first ascent) on a bouldering route the guys have been working on. It takes some forty moves to complete the route and you’re hanging from the roof of the cave for over two and half minutes.

DISCLAIMER: Do not attempt what you see depicted in this post. Rock climbing is a dangerous sport that can lead to serious injury or death. The climbers you see in these photos are either trained and experienced rock climbers or are being spotted by trained and experienced rock climbers. Even so, entering any cave on Oahu is also extremely dangerous and can also lead to injury or death. The photos contained in this blog post and on the UnrealHawaii.com website are for entertainment purposes only.

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“Zen tree.”

These photos are from my friend Jeff Flores (Poksai.com). He’s a talented photographer who has a real gift for capturing the vibe of island life. Originally from Guam, Jeff now lives in Honolulu.

Jeff and his friends recently hiked Ka’au Crater. He came back with this photoset called “Zen at Twenty-Two Hundred” and I asked him if I could share it here on the blog. Thankfully, he said yes.

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This event took place in February 2012.

A group of Hawaii rock climbers gathered at the rock climbing gym to have fun trying to nail some crazy dynos.

A “dyno” is a rock climbing move where you fling your body from one spot on the wall to another.

Brad from Berad Studio came out to capture the event in slo-mo.

The idea is this. In some rock climbing routes, typically in bouldering, there are holds so far apart that the only way to get from one to the other is to jump. You crouch low, then pull up with your arms and push off with your feet to launch yourself at the far hold. If you catch it you are all good. If you don’t you fall. At the gym, we were able to stack pads on pads so that falling would be safe, fun and funny.

At the gym, several dynos were set up with different levels of difficulty and climbers could compete to see who could get the most done.

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We hiked through a beautiful forest on the Leeward side of Oahu.

Following the ridge, we summitted Pu’u Keaau.

We hiked across a saddle in the ridgeline and descended Keaau Middle Ridge.

It was a long hike that took most of the day. Keaau is a Hawaii ridge hiker’s dream.

With the heavy rain we had in Hawaii this season, the Waianae Mountains were as green as I’ve ever seen them. It was a perfect time to hike them and my friend Pete had a hike planned.

There are a different ways to hike this area. We did a loop that goes up the front of Pu’u Keaau, turns left (sort of) into a saddle in the ridgeline and then back down Keaau Middle ridge. We were on the trail for something like 8 hours.

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