Po'omou Canyon Hike

Sunday we ventured further down Mohihi road for a nice hike with very accessible canyon overlooks. Accessible once you manage to drive the very rough and rutted dirt road, that is. Drive just past the Koke'e Lodge and take the next right onto a dirt road marked by a prominent "Camp Slogget" (named Waineke Road where signage is provided) - you will be slogging it alright: use your discretion as to road condition, weather outlook, and especially the off-road capability of your vehicle and your driving skills. If you don't have 4WD high clearance vehicle, fair weather, a Koke'e map, dry conditions, and experience for this you should do another hike - or park at the lodge and take the long walk in (adding over eight miles to your hike!).

Ohia in blossom

If all systems are go per above proceed down Waineke staying on the main road (there are various off shoots that are narrow and lead into side properties, usually gated or obviously dead end). Don't continue straight at 1/2 mile point into Camp Slogget but veer off left on Mohihi - Camp 10 Road and follow that. There are confusing turns so a map is best until you get familiar with the area. Continue over two bridges, through a stream (only if safe to do so, obviously, and beware a hidden pothole in the middle you can't see!), past Sugi Grove Campground (at 3.7 mile point), and pull off the road at the 4.2 mile point where the road forks into two.

We walked a loop on the two branches of the forked road. The fork to the left is the one to take if you drive further; the one to the right (closer to the canyon to the west) is much less used as becomes apparent further on. Should you go further the road ends 6 miles from the highway at a picnic area where the Mohihi-Wai'alae Trail begins (which I hope to do on the next foray out here).

Now to the hiking part: whichever branch of road you walk down you will see the two named trails mentioned. The loop (left road first, then back on the road nearer the canyon) was a nice mix of forest and canyon overlook. Within a few minutes you will see the Po'omau Canyon trail heading west. This goes out a short ridge and affords some good canyon views. But this is just the warm-up.

About a mile down the road you come to the Kohua Ridge Trail. You can take this over to the other road nearer the canyon), and it continues out into the canyon (but we didn't venture out this time). You can cut the loop short by crossing over a small stream (bridged) to the return road, or (according to the map: we did not do this option) walk nearly another mile to the end of the road and take the Mohihi-Wai'alae Trail a short distance to the end of the other road on the right and loop back from there.

The highlight of the hike was an unmarked ridge trail about halfway between the Po'omau Canyon Trail and the Kohua on the canyon side, clearly visible from that road closer to the canyon. A narrow but definite trail leads down a moderate embankment with plenty of handholds for the most part and then out on a not-too-scary ridge to a knob affording good views overlooking Po'omau Canyon and back toward the Ditch Trail side of the canyon to the north. There is some vegetation that blocks a clean 360 degree view but it's still impressive and many of the surrounding canyon walls are sheer and steep, with some of the faces dusted with green giving a lush effect, others quite dry and desolate. Everywhere the ground is crumbly and while there are no highly exposed portions of the trail, it is mostly covered with fine quite rounded brittle gravel that probably could act like ball bearings if you aren't very careful out there. Back to the trail it's just a few hundred yards back to your car.