Ko'olau Summit Trail: The Hardest Hike in the World You've Never Heard Of 

Thank you! It’s definitely a trail that you have to experience in person to appreciate the magnitude of the difficulty of it

@@kanoapick6620what would you say is the hardest, gnarliest spot on the trail? The views and panoramas are absolutely exquisite.

@@miketausig4205 For sure the Kalihi Saddle is the most dangerous and scary section of the trail. I didn’t film much of it, but there’s other good videos on RU-vid that show just how terrifying it is.

@@kanoapick6620 I’ll check in to it. What a beautiful place though. You are lucky to a be a part of such an amazing area.

I hiked the KST on the weekends in sections. The Pupukea-Ko'loa section mudpit went up to my knees. We slept outside the Ko'loa cabin (we did Pupukea to Poamoho section). The worst section for me was Manana to Kipapa (it was raining, windy, and cold). The hardest section for me was from Pali Notches to K1 (climbing up the Chimney was brutal). I give you credit you did it in 1 shot. Bravo! You should have stash water on the trail before you did the entire KST 😮. My last section was Aiea to Stairway to Hell. I loved the view on that section!

Thank you

@@trumpetmano Epic adventure! Thanks

That’s awesome! I believe that extension cord cable is still there on the anvil rock. Thanks for putting it there

@@dreams2reality410 Thanks!

@@tfurubay Thank you for the kind comment! Glad I could share the beauty of this trail with you.

Mahalo! It’s definitely beautiful and also dangerous

@@kanoapick6620 Yup, my mother almost died on part of it. I went up by Pali notches on the ridge side and saw how if I missed a step, it was at least a two hundred foot drop. Went up the other side of the Pali also, up to where that steep cut is about 2-3 hundred feet up from the parking lot. No joke. Congrats

Instead of jumping to the future just hope he includes us in more adventures first.

Thanks! That first sip of water felt amazing

Yeah this video does not do it justice

@@LiV_LiKe_DiS76 Appreciate it!

@@Alavaboyy Mahalo

Mahalo! I was glad to have Gavin with me at the finish! I was struggling at the end for sure

@@enpotter Thanks! Congrats to you too

Thank you!

Thank you!

@@CoIoneIPanic Thank you!

Thanks! Instagram: @kanoapick

@@REALPERSON-mv9mp Aloha! Good question. There is fencing all along the northern end of the KST to protect the native plants from the pigs. I believe it was the Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife that put the fencing in.

@@kanoapick6620 thank you, thanks again enjoyed seeing the views

Thank you! Those are all fantastic hikes. Glad you got to experience them

@@valleyvoyager2316 Mahalo! The cabins are one of the coolest parts of the KST

@@scottmargenau4070 Thank you!

Mahalo! It is an incredibly dangerous trail and this video definitely does not do it justice. I wanted to share this video because no one else who has completed it has documented it in this way, but I hope that it does not cause inexperienced hikers to go out and try to do this trail. I put a disclaimer in the video description and in my hike write-up, but I know that won’t stop people. I have a feeling though that people will be scared off as soon as they see some of the more difficult sections that I didn’t film such as the saddles. I think the trail is scary enough that it is self-regulating. Most people would not want to step foot on it

@@kanoapick6620 🤙

@@kanoapick6620 Howzit braddah! From one local boy to another, please consider taking this video down. Because, before you know it, your video will get tens of thousands of views, and, before you know it, hundreds, thousands of tourists will be trampling through the Koolau summits spreading invasive weeds that hitchhike on their shoes, going off trail and getting into trouble, and just ruining our last few hiking spots. If us locals are gonna post stuff on social media, then we cannot complain when our last few lesser known places are overpopulated with tourists. Whether you decide to leave this video up or not, you still got my respect. I forgot to mention that the reason I've said what I've said was because one of my favorite and relatively unknown fishing spot, was posted on social media. Just ONE video. Within 6-months time, that spot was just LOADED with people. That's how effective social media is at exposing places. So please at least think about it. That's all I ask. Mahalo Braddah!

@@effenfoo Mahalo! Yeah this hike is definitely not for everyone. Hope people take caution if they attempt it

@@kanoapick6620 You never mentioned anything about bugs or snakes. How were the animals/pests? You didn't complain enough haha, you made it look too easy.

@@person849 I got somewhere between 5 and 10 bee stings, but other than that, no issues with bugs or other critters

@@adamhenke-h8t Thanks!

@@kun3494 Thanks

@@bluewave7120 Katadyn Befree

Haha I only didn’t film the sketchy parts because I was too scared to be multitasking

@@kanoapick6620 Haha! Spoken like the real, down-to-earth kind of guy you come across as in your epic video. Much respect bradda. I grew up on Kauai. Had these friends that used to hunt goats up Waimea Canyon. I was way, way too chicken to go where they did. Mahalo, Kanoa.

@@reddiver7293 Mahalo! That goat hunting stuff is pretty crazy

Yeah I was a little loopy at that point in the trail. You’re correct that K1 is the highest point in the Ko’olaus, not the entire island. Mount Ka’ala is the highest point on Oahu. I felt pretty confident I would be able to complete it the whole time up until the very end where I ran out of water and dehydration was taking a toll on me. Definitely wish I had filled up on more water on my final water stop.

Thanks! Ultras are pretty crazy too. Never done one of those before, but that’s on the bucket list for sure.

@@lucaswa Thank you! Appreciate it

@@ranradd Thank you! You’re right that it’s barely a trail. A lot of it is overgrown and requires some bushwhacking

@@pilau Mahalo

Thanks! That’s definitely a leg burner hike

My husband and I did the Moanualua Valley hike in 2019 at ages 59 and 57, it was took us 9 hours but totally worth it. We’ll never forget (or our local guide)!!

@@KuusFaddah_44 Mahalo!

@@kanoapick6620 I lost a good friend when he went up big island to hike Waimea’s … we still have not located him or his remains yet 💯🤙🏽 I knw you knw what you doing but do Pule before heading into the maukas 💯💯💯

@@KuusFaddah_44 Sorry to hear that. I will do my best to stay safe and hope that others will do the same on the trails

@@treesear Thanks! Pu’u Manamana is definitely a scary one

Yeah you’re probably thinking of Chase Norton. He was the first one to do it

@@kanoapick6620 not the first, but I think I read that he was the first in 20 years or something

@@lennyleejr7763 Thank you!

Thanks!

@@hughslaton Salomon Wildcross GoreTex

Mahalo!

On another note, how did you get past the Kipapa to Manana section? I’ve heard that you need permits to backpack that section of trail

@@thisplacedoesntevensellcheese Thanks! I believe the Kipapa ridge trail that leads up to the KST requires a permit, but I was already on the KST, so didn’t need a permit to access that trail.

@@kanoapick6620 good stuff brotha🙏🏽 much mahalos

@@kovar2344 Thanks

@@TechnocracyGaming I’ve never seen any ticks in Hawaii

@@koenigkronicles Thank you!

@@mikeuptegrove That’s awesome! Not sure exactly how many people have done it, but I think it may be up to 10 now. I think I may be the 4th to do it solo though

@@kanoapick6620 nice. Congrats. It’s a serious hike. I spent a lot of hours up on that ridge, the section at the Pali must’ve been sketchy. I don’t think people who haven’t spent time on the ridge really can tell from the video how narrow some of the ridge sections are. You made awesome time. 👏👏

@@kanoapick6620 i was wondering did you have to ask ppl for water from the road, or from your friend Gavin? cuz tha'd kinda ruin the whole premise as "solo unsupported / no pack stations, etc"

@@darrinsiberia I only ate food that I packed + a few strawberry guavas I found along the trail. Also only drank water that I packed initially + filtered from various streams. Gavin and other people along the trail offered me food and water, which was pretty tempting, but I had to respectfully decline because I was trying to do the trail unsupported

@@Windward535 Haha yeah it’s actually quite nice to see people at the lookouts after not seeing anyone for long sections of the trail

@@mikeh2520 Feels sketchy from on top of the mountains. I can imagine it looks even sketchier from the air

Thank you! Appreciate it

@@hawaiianitedivah Mahalo!

@@Kehaulaninapua808 No problem! Thanks for watching

Lots of practice

@@Windward535 I ran into some people at stairway to heaven/haiku stairs and towards the end of the trail around Kuliouou. It was nice to stop and chat with them for a while.

@@blakesaari Thanks

Yeah I wish I had filmed more on the saddles to show how sketchy they really are, but I was just trying to push through them quickly and safely, so filming got put on the back burner

@@slin4013 Thanks! Yeah I tried to plan for good weather. This is about as good as it gets up there. Normally there is a lot more wind and rain

Thanks!

For sure

Thank you!

@@JB-sv5pr Mahalo

@@christianjschenk Thanks Christian!

Mahalo!

Haha I guess so

@@30m3 yes

Thanks! Those two saddles that you did are definitely tough. I chose to hike from North to South because you start at a slightly higher elevation than you end at, so there’s a little less uphill. It’s a pretty negligible amount though compared to the elevation change of the entire trail, so going from South to North is for sure a viable option that a couple people have done before.

@@kanoapick6620 Mahalo! That makes sense! Wonder if the water supply would have been any better the other way around?

@@paulsmith786 The section between the Pali Lookout and Makapuu is the trickiest in terms of water sources, so you're right that it may be good to get that section out of the way first while you are fresh and hydrated

I did the trail solo from Turtle Bay to Makapu’u back in 2017. Camped on the beach at turtle bay, cut through a farm road and trail blazed my way up through some dirt bike trails, down a road past the wind mills. Those first two days to get to where you started was pretty brutal - especially because the water sources were dried up. Good job and welcome to the club!

@@CraigOpie That’s incredible!

@@adamdude Also lots of Clif Bars! I lost about 15 pounds after the hike

Thank you!

@@808BigE Mahalo! Good luck if you ever attempt the whole thing! I’m a bit worried that people will watch this video and think that it doesn’t look that hard because I didn’t film any of the scary sections. Might have to go back up and film parts of the Kalihi saddle to make sure that people know what they’re really getting into

@@darrinsiberia Haha yeah the KST is just a much shorter and scarier version of the PCT on the mainland

@@Lucifer-ou4pw Thanks! I’ll start uploading more videos soon

@@Duhhh123 It may be hard to believe, but it is 27k ft of elevation gain. That is one of the reasons why it is such a tough trail

It does for sure. Thank you!

Thank you!

Some of the best views on the island!

@@marcianneaikau8776 Thanks! The elevation of the Pali Lookout is 1,168 ft, which is roughly in the center of the saddle

@@johannesdenecke2422 Lol yeah you’re right. The GoPro mic isn’t the best

@@DStroiu33 Thanks!

Thanks!

@@cootwhite Thanks! Yes, you’re correct