crouching lion

wow! for reals, this hike was AMAZING! definitely my favorite on the island so far, and i have been on a lottttt of hikes. based on the picture overload, i'm sure you can understand why. isn't it beautiful!? so jungly and one of the best views of the kahana valley on the east side of oahu.

it was a beautiful hot day so my friends kalohee, ashley and i decided to finally do this hike. crouching lion is located in kaaawa, oahu and winds up the ridge line through the jungle, overlooking kahana bay (one of my fav surf breaks). there are two parts, a long one and a short one. we decided to do the shorter one since we weren't with our husbands and wanted to feel it out first. after doing it, we decided it was an awesome workout with all the uphill so we decided to try and do it together weekly on thursdays. we will see if that happens ;) it's just nice to mix things up with difficult hikes rather than all gym and running workouts. anyway, overall this hike was about an hour in a half up and an hour in a half down. the ending point was the rock you see us all standing on together. in one of those pictures we were trying to be "roaring lions." scary, i know haha.

the trail is super narrow and steep, so if you have a fear of heights, i don't recommend this hike. other than that, don't fear this hike. i feel like the reviews i read about this hike try to freak people out. but honestly, it's totally awesome and doable, and not threatening. as long as you are smart. so DO IT and you won't be sorry! if you do the shorter version, wear really nice hiking shoes or sneakers with good traction and workout clothes. you want your pants or shorts to be stretchy because you do some mild rock climbing. if you decide to hike the whole thing, wear long sleeves and pants because you're likely to be trudging through some plant life. for more details on this hike and how to find it, go HERE. yelp works miracles.

ps, do you see why it is called crouching lion? hint: the first picture. it's a profile view of a lion resting on it's paws, overlooking the valley. i like to think he's guarding his home :). it's easy to spot his ear, mane, and mouth. look close!