Ascent of Mount Olympus on 2014-08-27| Others in Party: | April Sarna (Stayed behind)
dog (Stayed behind)
| | Date: | Wednesday, August 27, 2014 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Motorized Transport to Trailhead: | Car | | Peak: | Mount Olympus | | Location: | USA-Hawaii | | Elevation: | 2486 ft / 757 m |
Ascent Trip ReportApril and dog stopped at the last bump before the summit
The trail starts out nice enough but gets worse as it gets higher and wetter. This is a very tough hike for the distance, given the ups and downs over and around big boulders on the ridge, then often trying to keep my balance walking on a narrow muddy trail (the brush on the sides of the trail is too thick to use and the trail slippery and only about a foot or so wide), then up severely eroded slopes, some requiring use of a narrow trench driven in the dirt with stair-like steps going up only big enough to stick in my boot, then having to get down, sometimes using old ropes tied to small trees left there for folks to help maintain balance or body rappel down the adjacent muddy slope (my wife found it easier slipping down on her bottom). A few of my overused leg muscles were quite sore the next day.
The actual peak is the last bump. Many apparently stop at the first bump (the one reached after climbing the long, wide, eroded slope), since the trail to the final bump is obvious but does not appear to be as well-used as the trail up to the first bump. It's also slippery, though not very steep, without and left-over ropes, and more exposed, with the dramatic drops seen on the wetter north side of the Oahu divide just to the left of the trail. |
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