Difficulty: BEGINNER-INTERMEDIATE
Time: 3-4 HOURS (4-5 with Pupukea Lookout)
Distance: 6 MILES for Kaunala, 9 MILES w/Pupukea
Elevation Gain: 600 FEET Kaunala, 900 FEET Pupukea
Foot Traffic: LOW
Challenges: Muddy, Overgrown on Pupukea
Sights: North Shore, Windward Coast
What to Bring: Water, Snack, Shoes to get Muddy
This hike combines two trails on the North Shore, the Kaunala Loop Trail and the Pupukea Summit Trail. The Kaunala Loop is a graded ridge full of switchbacks, giving you periodic views of the valley as well as the beautiful North Shore. The Pupukea Summit Trail begins on a closed access road, before splitting off into the trees. You will have to navigate your way around some mud and through some brush but eventually you will reach the trail's terminus marked by a lookout of the Windward Coast. But more importantly, the end of Pupukea indicates the start of the Ko'olau Summit Trail (KST), the trail that reaches from that point 50+ miles all the way to the southern tip of Oahu.
I haven't done much North Shore hiking and it's not for lack of trying. There just aren't that many hikes on Oahu's northern coast. There's still some great hikes, such as Kealia Trail and the Sunset Pillbox Hike (and if you count Kaena Point), but there's nowhere near the quantity that are located elsewhere on the island. Despite the lack of quantity, there is something very unique about the North Shore trails. This is where the Ko'olau Mountain Range begins. More specifically, this area marks the beginning of the Ko'olau Summit Trail (KST), the ungraded, unmaintained 50+ mile ridge that extends from the North Shore of Oahu to the southern tip at Makapu'u.
Hiking the entirety of the KST in one go without assistance was only recently accomplished (at least officially) in 2012. The first person to document it, was Chase Norton (read about his journey here), who completed the feat in 8 days. Since then many others have attempted the feat, but only a few have been successful. The reason is simply the nature of the beast, the Ko'olau Mountain Range. The ridges are overgrown and narrow, there are intense free climbs on crumbling rock, the weather is unpredictable and violent and on top of it all, you have to do it with a heavy pack on your back.
I haven't hiked any significant part of the KST. The most I traversed was when I hiked from the Pali Lookout down Manoa Middle Ridge. But the idea of being able to traverse an entire island on one single ridge is quite intriguing. It is this curiosity that led me to the Pupukea-Kaunala trail, at the very least so I could get to see where it all begins.
Here's the loop I took. It begins along the closed Pa'ala'a Uka Pupukea Road. The left fork will take you through the graded Kaunala ridge, which is basically a bunch of switchbacks through the trees with periodic lookout points. Kaunala Loop meets back up with Pupukea on that initial road. If you are going to the lookout, you will follow the road before splitting off into the trees. After some minor bushwacking you will reach the Pupukea Lookout and the start of the KST.
The trailhead is located right next to Camp Pupukea at the end of Pupukea Road. You can park on the side of the road. The trail begins on this dirt road to the right.
We just need to get under (or over) this here gate. Don't worry all those signs don't apply to us as hikers.
This is actually a sanctioned trail. Let's hike!
The first 10 minutes of this hike are along this dirt road in the trees. Not much to it except avoiding the mud.
The dirt road then changes to asphalt. This road is what makes up the bulk of the Pupukea part of this hike. Follow the bend around to the left.
And a few moments later you should see this sign at the entrance to the trees. This is where we will head to Kaunala. You could continue along the road to make your way to Pupukea more quickly, but I'll be honest, the road isn't very exciting. Besides, we will get to experience it on our return trip.
The trail is what you expect from a graded ridge, shaded and a little damp. It was a blustery day on the North Shore, so the wind that squeezed through the trees felt nice and cool on my skin.
The trail is well marked and follows a series of switchbacks through the valley. It has periods of lush green vegetation that line the trail.
As well as a few fallen trees you will have to circumvent.
But overall there's not much to this hike. If you've ever done Aiea Loop Trail, it feels a lot like that. This was the only potential place you could make an error. It looks like the trail continues left and uphill.
However, the correct path is actually to your right and downhill. Refer to the AllTrails track if think you've gotten turned around.
However, if you do happen to go left, you will be greeted with this nice lookout of the valley. The wind was so strong it was almost hard to enjoy the views. I kind of doubt today we will be able to fly the drone today :(
Back to the trail. There were a couple "stream" crossings like this once. Despite the amount of rain we'd gotten, I'd expected this hike to be a lot muddier. The mud decided to appear later on in the hike.
I loved the look of this green moss marking my path.
The terrain of the trail varies periodically from the trees to these more open grassy sections.
And with those open sections come more valley views.