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As soon as I saw this mountain along the North Shore of Oahu I said aloud, “I must climb it.”

Tuesday morning I grabbed a few bottles of water and my camera bag and headed north to make it happen.

The mountain offered a buffet of terrain; grasslands, bushes, boulders, and the meat of the experience – vertical rock faces. Every ten minutes I was conquering one section and plotting my attack on the next. I felt like a kid in a candy store – eyes wide, overwhelmed with delicious options. “Can I find a way around this obstacle or should I duck in and go straight up through?” Aside from two necessary exceptions, I typically scanned for the route that looked the most challenging. What a blast!

There were a few close calls, and more than once I thought “I probably should have gone with a climbing partner.” Fortunately, I only fell three times – nothing serious. However, my knees, shins, and ankles were brutalized. Let me explain:

The entire mountain is covered in thick underbrush between four and eight feet tall. Everything below waist high is covered in thick grass that perfectly conceals boulders and crevices. Each footfall must be slowly and cautiously placed. I can’t count the number of times my shins “discovered” boulders or I stumbled into a crevice – cutting and bruising my ankles.

At one point I had to stop myself mid-step. A foot in front of me the hillside disappeared into a bottomless darkness. A crevice cut deep into the mountainside – maybe ten feet deep but only three feet across. It was so narrow that the brush on both sides hid the death trap perfectly.

That was my first real scare of the day– and I made a mental note to watch my step.

My head was pointed downward for most of the climb – only stopping at clearings to enjoy the view and plot the next segment of my route.

I underestimated this mountain, but not in ignorance. Before climbing I laughed away the reality of the challenge in the same way boxing heavyweights talk trash before entering the ring.

I understood the challenge, but it only charged my legs and brought a smile to face in a fun, “show me what you got” sort of way.

Imagine a piece of paper crumpled up in a ball. From looking at it you couldn’t estimate the surface area very accurately. In the same way, scanning the mountain from a distance you can’t really imagine each cliff and ridge that make the climb seem five times longer than it should. The thing really unfolds.

Wearing pants would have been an awesome idea – but the only long pants I have here are my nice jeans which I wasn’t about to shred. Instead, I shredded my legs (and arms… and face…)

Another tricky thing about this rhino was that each time I thought I was nearly at the top I kept discovering higher ridges to conquer.

Finally, after two hours I approached the summit.  I was covered in sweat, insects, dust, and bruises but I felt brand new.

The final 15 foot climb was the most intense. Several rocks came loose and fell from overhead and dust was blowing in my eyes.  I briefly considered the irony of getting hurt now, within reach of the top.

I finally hauled myself over the last boulder.  I stood up deliberately and slowly turned to face the ocean.  A wall of air was pouring in from the pacific and screamed over the summit.  I leaned into it.  My feet gripped the rock through the thin soles of my shoes and I felt perfectly solid and balanced – as if the full weight of the mountain was flowing up through me as I straighted my back and stood perfectly tall.

I smiled.  And then – arms wide, head back, and eyes closed – I shouted at the world.  I existed alone for a moment.  It was perfection.

[View 22 of the best photos from the climb below.  Click on the first photo to open an overlay.  Then use the controls on the lower left of the overlay to scroll through the images.]

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