Pali Notches to Koanuahui 1 to Kailua Beach

Well that didn’t go as planned

Lunch Run

Hike with the wifey, 2 weeks until the boy is here

Morning Run

I scoped this run last time I was here, but didn’t get to do it. Glad I’ve done it, but don’t think I’ll do this exact line again. But I’ve got a great idea for a super cool line next time I’m here. Pali notches have some interesting history around them, which makes navigating them more interesting. About 400 soldiers died trying to defend Oahu from King Kamehameha. Like all runs and hikes, the difficulty is way overstated, everything is pretty straight forward. But, a misstep would certainly be deadly, so, I have to remember that it’s not the terrain that makes things dangerous or lethal, it’s always the person. I’m intent on not being that person. Kristen reminds me I have two kids when I go out the door now, it’s a good reminder. Double checking your footing is solid and trail is tracked is never a bad idea.

The main thing I loved about this run? Well besides it being closed (that’s how you know the trail is good) I only saw one other person. The dude I met was cool. It’s kinda weird walking in the middle of nowhere and then meeting someone who is exactly like you in so many ways, talking for a few moments and then heading in opposite directions. It’s almost like passing a mirror in the middle of nowhere, and thinking, that’s odd, but cool at the same time.

The first 2-3 miles of this ‘run’ was actually just me actively not slipping, which is probably entertaining to watch. That goes for the up and the down. Everything was soaked, but there wasn’t any rain, just wet. It was also cloudy, which was a bummer for the views, but has its own mystic in itself hiking through the clouds. The wind was something else, when it was runnable, I ran more like an ape than a human for fear of being blown off the ridge (I’m not exaggerating either, it was ‘human blowable off’ wind up there. 

I always like to take a moment in these runs, focus on nothing and everything, kinda just trying to absorb the moment. I stopped on an exposed ridge before summiting k1 and crouched down. I noticed purplish-pink orchids, which we consider such delicate flowers, being whipped back and forth in the intense wind and pelted with little rain drops. It was amazingly beautiful, it was the only one, it had noticeable brown spots, but something about the way it was violently being bent back and forth in the wind made me think that it was happy there. Or maybe better said that it belonged there. Or even better, this is where it should be appreciated. I thought about the orchid I received as a gift back home, we’ve done our best to keep it alive. We give it an ice cube every other week and that’s about it, since I get the feeling that if it gets too much attention, it’ll just die. But then I remembered, it got knocked off the counter once, and its pot broke, so I repotted it in a crudely glued back together pot. It gets tipped over once or twice a week, since it lives on our kitchen counter, and while it doesn’t get a ton of active attention, it lives at the center of all our chaos, that is, in the middle of the kitchen island. I forgot to tell my friend watering my plants about it, but something makes me think it’ll be better off that way. 

My mundane observance of an orchid on a Hawaiian ridge led me to think how my orchid at home might appreciate the turbulence vs loathe it. 

And that, the orchid isn’t as fragile as I thought, but one of those rare and notable phenomena where awe inspiring beauty not only sprouts from extreme chaos but thrives in it. I had to reset my mind on how I think about orchids, and how they thrive in their native habitat, but only become delicate when you move them out of the chaos they thrive in. 

And then, I had to extend that thinking just one step further. More to myself. I started thinking about where I thrive, and when I’m at my best. And the antithesis (the harder part for me) where and when I’m delicate.

An orchid is an orchid whether it’s on a windy exposed ridge or sitting on the counter in the kitchen. It’s beautiful in both spots, but on the ridge, it evokes inspiration. 

Lucky for me, I’m not an orchid. But the orchid has the edge here, it knows where it thrives. I’ve got a better idea now thanks to the orchid, but I’m still figuring that out. 

I started the decent, coined a new term on the way down. I call it trail bumming. Cause you’re not running, just sliding down on your bum.

I stopped to eat a bar, checked my pack…whoops, forgot to pack them. No matter tho, about 200ft later there was a strawberry guava tree, and many more after, I ate about 40 of them. They are fantastic. Of all the mountains I run, I gotta say that the Hawaiian mountains are the most forgiving. If you forgot everything, including your clothes, I think surviving in the mountains is extremely doable. There is food and water everywhere. It wouldn’t be glamorous, but it wouldn’t be like forgetting everything in Winds…you’ll be a bear meal by afternoon.

I finally got to a less steep portion of the Piliwale ridge and started running, my legs felt weird, but I was glad to be moving faster. If you know me, you know I hate two things, going slow and hiking. Which for me, are the exact same thing.

Then I made it to Maunawili, and started real running. Damn it feels good to be a gangsta. And in this, gangsta is just a runner. I took my anticipated right off the beautiful trail onto a less traveled trail that I scoped, okay, that trail was sooo cool. I sped down it, and then, it started to rain, and then it started to pour, and I was in a very good spot.

I could feel myself smiling ear to ear as I got drenched. I just enjoyed it while it lasted. (When you go to the beach you can always tell the locals from the tourists pretty easy, if it starts raining, and the locals just hang, while the tourists run for cover.) As expected, after about 10 mins of rain, it was blue skies and sun. I was in the city now, and running down to Kailua beach. 

I was running on the road, totally zoned out, just thinking about everything…then, I get honked at. I look up, a female driver looking at me. She says ‘hey’, I’m thinking, why is she saying hey to me…. It’s my wife 😆 

I’m back to reality, she has Dagny in the back seat, as soon as she she me here eyes light up and she say, ‘Daddy! How was your run?!’ I say, ‘it was amazing, I want to tell you all about it!’, there is no description for the look of absolute satisfaction and love that exudes from here eyes and face. The only thing she wanted to hear me say was exactly what I said. 

Kristen and Dagny drive away, I have about a mile left on my run. I’m excited for this part as I planned to run down to Kailua beach and run it back home. 

I get to the beach, I head straight for the water. I’m already soaked, so I run in the waves. It’s perfect end.

My inspiration on this run is to try doing Kailua beach to Koanuahui 1 to Koanuahui 2 to Waikiki Beach, or reverse. I think it would be so rad. Next time I’m here I think I’ll do it, just need to plan the route, though, I think it’ll be straight forward as I’ve already got half of it mapped.

Top Sports

Andy Davis

Pali Notches to Koanuahui 1 to Kailua Beach

11 Photos

1 Comment

Splits

Sign up to view more activities from Andy Davis

Pali Notches to Koanuahui 1 to Kailua Beach

Well that didn’t go as planned

Lunch Run

Hike with the wifey, 2 weeks until the boy is here

Morning Run

Want to see more?

The #1 app for runners and cyclists

Sign Up for Free. Track your progress and reach goals. Join 100 million active people on Strava.

See More from Andy