"Okay," you say, "Triple Dog Dare You to do what?" Well, that is the name of a cache, (GCR5PH) and the triple dog dare is to go find it. The dare is not because the cache is difficult to find but because it is difficult to get to. If you look at the cache page the difficulty is one star while the terrain rating is five stars and I can say from experience that it deserves every one of them.
The cache remained unfound for several months but then Big Bad Wolf, who was in Hawaii from Rhode Island, persuaded the cache owner (CRider) to guide him there. A bunch of other cachers decided that this was too good of an opportunity to pass up. So, on a warm, but slightly overcast Sunday morning, eleven of us assembled at the trailhead for the big adventure. The plan was to climb up the ridge on one side of Kuliouou Valley, follow the ridge up to the backbone of the Koolau Mountains, cross over to the ridge on the other side of the valley, picking up this cache and Sound of the Knee Drum along the way and then descend along the other ridge. Total distance - between five and six miles; total elevation gain - about 2000 feet. This is a hike where words don't adequately describe the experience so the pictures are going to have to tell most of the story.
The hike starts out easy enough, a couple hundred-yard walk down a paved access road. Then the fun starts as the trail goes straight up the side of the ridge in a heart-pounding 400-foot climb. I don't know about anyone else but my body rebels at that kind of treatment when it is not fully awake yet. After (huff) making (puff) it to (wheeze) the crest (gasp) of the ridge, the trail continues on in a fairly steady but manageable climb to about the 1000-foot level where we encounter the first rope section. When I say ropes, it is sometimes ropes, sometimes electrical or telephone cables or whatever, all of uncertain vintage or condition. They are anchored to a convenient tree, or bush, or a steel stake in the ground, or (again) whatever. All are used cautiously.
It takes awhile for all eleven of us to make the climb since for safety's sake, only one person at a time can be on the rope. But this is not the top! There is still more climbing to do and a couple more rope sections to negotiate before we get to the "top". Top is in quotes because this is not the highest point that we will reach that day. But, fortunately the clouds stay away while we enjoy the spectacular views as we rest and eat a snack. From our vantage point we can see virtually the entire windward side of the island including Waimanalo, Kailua, Kaneohe and beyond.
Now comes the task of making our way along the Koolau summit trail to the ridge on the other side of the valley. A little explanation is in order at this point. Some say that the Koolau Mountains are part of the rim of a gigantic volcanic crater. I am not sure if that is true but at no place along the trail is that rim more than about 20 feet wide, usually less than half that. Typically, the trail runs only a foot or two from the edge of a 1000-foot drop. I can hear folks saying now; a foot from a 1000-foot drop, "You've got to be kidding me!" I kid you not and will let the pictures speak for themselves. So off we go, down another rope section from the peak we were on, to the trail below. And yes, that is me in the orange shirt. Not for protection against hunters, but because it is easier to find the body. (A little geocaching humor there.)
Like many Oahu hikers, I used to harbor thoughts that I would someday like to hike the entire Koolau ridge trail. No more. Walking along that edge for an hour was nerve-wracking enough. I could not handle being a foot or two away from disaster for the several days it would take to do the entire trail. Still think that I am being melodramatic?
Oh yes, along this trail we did find the Triple Dog Dare You cache about half way between the two ridges. Thankfully, the cache owner's philosophy is that if you go to all of the trouble to make this hike, he is not going to send you home with a DNF. The cache is a peanut butter jar tied to a tree (a necessity) and is easy to find.
As we continue on, there are more ups and downs and along the way we climb over peak Pu'u'o Kona at about 2100 feet. All the way, the wind has been blowing at 30+ knots. Fortunately, it is the trade wind blowing from the windward side (up slope) and helps to keep us away from the edge. After an hour or so on the crossover we come to the upper end of a popular hiking trail and the location of Sound of the Knee Drum. Those who have not found that cache log in while the rest take a break, munch a snack and talk geocaching with some hikers who come up the trail. Then it is just a straight forward trudge down the trail to our cars which we reach about six hours after we started.
Why do we do this? For the cache of course. But even more so to be able to say I've been there, done that, and saw sights that few people ever see and it was great!