MOKULE’IA
Climbing Moks
Some of my favorite days on O‘ahu have been spent climbing at Mokule‘ia. It’s hands down the best place on the island for sport climbing, and the entire experience of getting there, climbing all day, and finishing it off with a swim, makes for the kind of day that never gets old.
Moks is not exactly the easiest crag to get to, as the hike is steep, rocky, and usually overgrown in sections. Especially with gear on your back, by the time you actually make it to the top of the mountain, you feel like you’ve already gone though a whole workout. However, once you step out of the tree line and see the wall stretching up in front of you, with the coastline laid out behind you, it’s impossible to be mad about the trek. The view is insane. You’re perched on the cliffs above North Shore, and in the winter, you’ll catch whales breaching in the distance.
Moks has some of the tallest routes on the island, with some lines reaching up to 100 feet. You can really spend all day climbing here without running out of things to do. Whether you’re warming up on an easier route, pushing yourself on a harder grade, or just taking turns belaying and hanging out, the energy is always good. One of the trickiest things about climbing here in the winter though, is the rain. The rock here isn’t climbable when it’s wet, which means if a random rain shower rolls through, your day can get cut short fast. I’ve definitely had days where we made the whole hike up, got in one climb, and then had to hide out in the wooden cubbies at the base of the wall waiting out the rain. Sometimes the sun comes back, and sometimes you just have to call it and head back down.
On the good days where the weather holds, it’s awesome. We always climb as much as possible, working through tricky sequences, and psyching each other up. Since we usually spend the entire day at there, we always take a break in the middle to eat and reset. At this point, everyone brings something, fruit, poke, burritos, etc., and we all have a picnic on the ground. Hammocks get strung up too, and we just relax for a bit before jumping back on the wall.
Just before the sun starts to go down, we pack up our gear, make the hike back down, and head across the road to the ocean. After climbing all day, being covered in dirt, sweat, and chalk, the water feels almost baptizing. It’s literally refreshing in every way possible because your muscles loosen up, your skin starts to heal, and you get to just float and watch the sky change colors. After that, we take gallon jugs of water that we left outside to heat up in the sun while we were climbing, and pour it over our heads to wash the salt off with a warm shower.
Climbing at Mokule‘ia is about way more than just the climbing. Yes, the routes are great, but it’s the whole experience that makes it special: The effort it takes to get there, the people and tradition of a sunset swim, the togetherness in small moments when we eat, or big moments when we all cheer for someone who got their climb. It’s the kind of day that makes you feel more connected, not just to the sport, but to your friends and to the island itself.
