Mount Olympus

There are several ways in which you can reach the top of Mt. Olympus, I decided to take the Wa'ahila Ridge trail. This hike nestled in the Manoa Valley takes your breath away with its view of the island as well as its difficulty. Being located in Hawaii there is no need to worry about the right time of year to hike here, however it is a good rule of thumb to hike this trail two days after it has rained for overall safety.

With a total time of about 2 and a half hours to get to the top of Mt. Olympus you have to make sure to bring plenty of water. After starting at the Wa'ahila ridge trail after about an hour you reach a sign that says "End of Trail" and "End of Maintained Trail". This is when the difficulty kicks in. You take the "un-maintained" trail which leads you to several difficult climbs but with the assistance of ropes that are left on the trail these climbs are conquerable.

Once you are in the last tenth of a mile on the hike to the top there is a fifty foot climb which is fairly steep. Take your time here, the edges of this hike become very steep at times about 1-2 feet wide. Once the climbing stops you have an easy walk to the very top. Depending on when you started the hike and the weather that day you will most likely be surrounded by cloud cover. Once at the top if you follow the beaten trail to the right you reach the official top of Mt. Olympus.