Olomana Hike

Crazy hike...potentially hazardous...variable weather conditions...people fall off on a regular basis?    Sounds great!  Where do I sign up?

The Olomana Trail.  It is also known on island as The Three Peaks since you hike up to the peak of three skinny mountains and along their ridges.  I use the work 'hiking' loosely since quite often I was rock climbing, but that just made it more thrilling, and we all know I love a good adrenaline rush.  It's known as one of the more deadly hikes on O'ahu, and I figured out why along the way.

First destination: Peak 1

...messed up my white balance so it's a B/W shot.

FL: 18mm SS:200 f/6.3 ISO:100

Dave is about to join me on top of the ridge.  It was foggy on one side of the mountain.  

FL: 18mm SS:250 f/4.0 ISO:100

The weather was not very clear the first part of the day.  This is a neat shot because you can see the air condensing to a cloud as it goes over peak 3 on the right side (peak two is on the left).  On the coast side it was more clear with high level clouds, but on the island side it was dense with low clouds, fog and rain.

FL: 18mm SS:100 f/8.0 ISO:100

Here is a view of the island side.  Close to cloud level.  In the background is the Ko'olahu Mountain Range that splits the island into Windward and Leeward halves.  You can even see a small little could that is lower than me on the left.

FL: 18mm SS:250 f/4.5 ISO:100

We are now on the second peak and here is where it becomes a little wild.  In this picture you see our third destination: Peak 3!  The line down the middle is the ridge that we will hike up, but first we have to get to the bottom.  Dave is examining the 100 foot drop down the back side of Peak 2 which will put us on the trail to Peak 3's ridge line.  I was the devil on his shoulder saying "don't worry Dave, just hold on to that rope by your feet and drop off the edge."  He would then reply "but do you realize it is raining and that the rope is shredded half way down and the rocks are slippery."  We decided he would go first...

FL: 18mm SS:25 f/9.0 ISO:100

Peak 3

FL: 48mm SS:180 f/8.0 ISO:100

So two pictures ago, Peak's 3 ridge line looked like a straight shot up.  

Once there, it was a different story......around the mountain we go!  

(Don't look down Dave...those tree tops are really far down)

FL: 20mm SS:50 f/8.0 ISO:100

The sky is starting to clear up a little over the Ocean

FL: 18mm SS:320 f/7.1 ISO:100

A shot of the ground/ledge/don't-move-3-inches-either-way.  I'm headed for the end of that blue rope in order to go down and around.  Exciting, right?

FL: 18mm SS:30 f/8.0 ISO:100

Dave on top of Peak 3.

FL: 18mm SS:250 f/9.0 ISO:100

Made it to the third peak.  Here is a shot looking back at the first two.  

Peak one is the tallest point; peak two is to the right.

FL: 18mm SS:40 f/9.0 ISO:100

It stopped raining for the trip back so I could take more pictures.  

Down the ridge of peak 3 we go.

FL: 18mm SS:30 f/8.0 ISO:100

FL: 24mm SS:50 f/19 ISO:200 hole

Up the backside of peak two we go.  See Dave's butt up there?  

FL: 21mm SS:30 f/13 ISO:200

FL: 18mm SS:250 f/9.0 ISO:100

To the left is the slope we are traversing up.  It doesn't look much better from here, 

but at the time it sure seemed like it was straight up.

FL: 18mm SS:150 f/10 ISO:100

FL: 18mm SS:25 f/10 ISO:100

Peaks 2 and 3 again.

FL: 18mm SS:60 f/10 ISO:100

The city of Kane'ohe from Peak 1.

FL: 18mm SS:320 f/8.0 ISO:100

Dolphin Lake (this is where I go paddleboarding)

FL: 70mm SS:160 f/13 ISO:100

Found some lil' Army guys in the woods

FL: 52mm SS:200 f/5.6 ISO:800

Last but not least: A 180 degree, stitched panoramic from atop Peak 3.  

Thanks for reading/looking.  Remember you can always click on the picture to make it bigger on your screen.  Tell me what you think.  I always enjoy comments.  Then I know at least someone is looking (even if all you have to say it 'hi').  Mahalo!

Buses should never be early...

The moment: finally leaving work after 10.5 hours. I'm checking my iPhone for the bus schedule. I have a 15 minute walk to the stop, but only 7 minutes until the bus arrives. iPhone tells me I'm not going to make it. I say otherwise! So now I'm running. My backpack (filled with 10 patient charts, a lap top, iPad and lunch's empty containers) is havoc on my back. My phone is in hand while my loafers are threatening to repeat the event my slippers took a few blog-posts ago. My backpack is contorting my dress shirt in such a way that I'm being strangled. Hindsight 20-20, boxers were not the correct choice of underwear options this morning. Witnesses to this feat are being ignored: I'm on a mission. I'm rounding the corner as I'm checking the phone. I have 100 yards to go and 3 more minutes. I'm going to make it! I'm going to make it! I'm suddenly proud of my adventure. I'm getting excited...aaaaand then the bus goes hurtling by...leaving me sweaty in an unforgiving, carbon-monoxide-riddled exhaust.

Hummm.

Bummer. Now I wait 30 minutes for the next one. It did, however, give me this opportunity to figure out how to use my mobile blogging app. That's not the only new opportunityeither: I'm also 30 meters directly downwind from a beach hippie smoking pot. I might just have my first high by the time the bus comes.

So there you go mainland: "paradise" isn't all it's cracked up to be! Haha.

Dear bus driver: we both know our eyes met but a brief moment as you blew by me. And might I add: you were 3 satellite-calibrated-minutes early. And your bus had only a couple people on it. Really bus driver? What else would this back-pack-flailing, dressed-up, professional-looking man be running towards other than the one and only thing along this stretch of road: the bus stop.

Mahalo for reading! I hope you enjoyed my not-so-tragic-event.

***Carol G.: this post is for you since you wanted more stories.

Valley of the Temples

Couple shout-outs before I get to my blog:

First:  Happy Father's Day to my Father.  Best Daddio ever!  Wishing all the Dads out there a Happy Father's Day.

Second:  Congrats to my sister and brother-in-law.  My new little nephew Max has entered the world and he is adorable!  I was sad.  It's the first big milestone that I've missed, but I look forward to meeting him soon.  Luckily, technology in this instance is great since I've already FaceTime'ed a couple of times with the little guy.

Third:  Check out Dave's Blog.  He's a few weeks behind, but he recently put up his Portlock Cave post and I'm in it (loosing my slippers).  The past couple weeks I've mostly SUP'ed (stand-up paddleboard) and played beach volleyball.  I haven't taken my camera along (it would get wet paddleboarding and likely stolen during volleyball).  During the week I have been working like crazy, so nothing exciting happens then.  I work hard to play hard I guess.

Today I went to the Valley of the Temples and I'm excited to have something to tell you all about.  The Valley of the Temples is located between the coast on the Windward side (eastern shore) and the Ko'olau Mountain range, just outside of Kane'ohe.  Simply, this site is a cemetery and memorial park.  It gets is name due to several temples, worship spaces and memorial areas that are located in this valley.  Today it was really busy (maybe due to Father's Day weekend?) so I tried to be respectful and didn't take pictures of all the temple areas since there were many families having small memorials.  

The memorial park has temples and worship spaces for all of the common religions.  The highlight, however, is Buddhist Byodo-In Temple (described later).  It was a rainy and cloudy on the windward side which made for some neat pictures since the thick clouds obscured the mountain tops.  

The sign and administrate offices for the Temple

T3i: SS 1/100, f/9.0, ISO: 200, FL: 18mm, CP lens

The Catholic "Temple"

T3i: SS 1/60, f/18, ISO: 200, FL: 29mm, CP lens

Dillingham (military) Reflection space

T3i: SS 1/35, f/8.0, ISO: 200, FL: 18mm, CP lens

T3i: SS 1/50, f/9.0, ISO: 200, FL: 18mm, CP lens

Some mortuary for a Japanese person I don't know anything about.

T3i: SS 1/30, f/8.0, ISO: 200, FL: 18mm, CP lens

Next are pictures of the Byodo-in Temple, which was built in the 1960's to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawai'i.  It is s smaller scale replica of the Byodo-In Temple in Uji, Japan.  The O'ahu Byodo-In Temple is a non-practicing Buddhist temple that welcomes people of all faiths worship independently.  The temple is often used for weddings If you are a fellow Lost-freak, like myself, then you'd recognize it at the site of Jin and Sun's marriage on the show, as well as the place where Sun's father lived!

The Bon-Sho (sacred bell) Gong.

T3i: SS 1/30, f/3.5, ISO: 800, FL: 18mm, CP lens

Small waterfall and Koi

T3i: SS 0.3, f/16.0, ISO: 800, FL: 20mm, CP lens

Amida Buddah: the largest Buddah ever carved outside of Japan.  

Made of wood and covered in gold lacquered cloth.

T3i: SS 1/20, f/4.5, ISO: 1600, FL: 18mm, CP lens

The Byodo-In Temple

T3i: SS 1/120, f/3.5, ISO: 400, FL: 18mm, CP lens

Couldn't resist some aperture and DOF settings.

The reflection is great in this picture.

T3i: SS 1/30, f/3.6, ISO: 400, FL: 18mm, CP lens

Hello Black Swan  (this picture didn't end well...apparently he does not like getting 

his picture taken, and he is MUCH bigger than he looks in this picture)

T3i: SS 1/80, f/4.6, ISO: 400, FL: 51mm, CP lens

T3i: SS 1/60, f/5.6, ISO: 400, FL: 18mm, CP lens

T3i: SS 0.6, f/22, ISO: 100, FL: 18mm, CP lens

T3i: SS 0.8, f/22, ISO: 100, FL: 24mm, CP lens

T3i: SS 1.3, f/22, ISO: 100, FL: 24mm, CP lens

For some reason I love taking pictures of bamboo.  Not sure why, 

but I'm fascinated with it, so here is one of the picture I took.

T3i: SS 1/10, f/4.6, ISO: 400, FL: 22mm, CP lens