Honolulu Hiking Club has taken over Shilo Garner’s life.
Garner’s passion for hiking started when he was a teenager growing up in ʻAiea, he told Aloha State Daily. He grew up skateboarding and utilizing the TheBus to explore the island with his friends.
“We’d just be little rascals out all day,” he said.
They’d explore Waimano Valley and take a dip in Waimano Falls when it was too hot to skateboard. Even the shortcut he’d take to school was an adventure.
Garner worked in graphic design and fashion production in San Francisco and New York before moving home in 2022. While on Oʻahu he frequently hiked with his mom, but he was looking for friends who shared his passion and could commit to weekly hikes.
He recalled thinking on a solo hike, “Man, I can’t be the only one who thinks this. There has to be other people who have the same issue as me. What if I try to gather all these like-minded people to hike with each other?”
Garner knew firsthand how skateboarding builds community and wanted to emulate that among hikers.
“Skateboarders come from all different backgrounds, but once you’re at the skatepark and skating, you’re all meshed together,” he said. “No matter where you come from, that’s the middle ground.”
Garner wanted to give back to Hawaiʻi and in 2024, Honolulu Hiking Club was born.
His friends came out to support the new club on the first couple hikes near Honolulu, such as the ʻAiea Loop Trail. When he hosted the third hike in Hauʻula, only two people showed.
“That was a daunting moment,” Garner said, adding that it made him question whether this passion project was worth it.
Things changed for Honolulu Hiking Club when 10 new people came on a hike to a waterfall. Garner called it “nerve-wracking,” and said it made him more conscious of keeping people safe and taking care of the trail.
Over the last couple of years, the club has grown exponentially and along with it, Garner’s mission.
“At first, it was to create a community that I could hike with,” he said. “I think now the mission is to create a safe place for people to come and respect and enjoy Hawaiʻi outdoors in the best, pono, respectable way there is.”
Hikers have also planned unofficial excursions to Haleakalā on Maui and Kalalau Trail on Kauaʻi’s Na Pali Coast last year, and the club kicked off official quarterly backpacking trips this year. Garner hopes to expand the backpacking trips to the Mainland and international locations.
Kalalau Trail is Garner’s favorite hike. He called it “a magical place,” and said that the isolation breeds camaraderie among hikers.
Garner does not pin trails online and said that social media has led to a “false sense of do-ability” and “overconsumption” on trails that risk damage to the trails and injuries to hikers.
Honolulu Hiking Club meets Sundays at 9:30 a.m. for an easy to moderate hike. Interested participants can RSVP via a text chain to get information on where to meet the group. The club hosts day-long, strenuous hikes two Saturdays a month and sunset hikes with a smaller group on Wednesday evenings. Garner hopes that the club has something for everyone, from easy hikes to “insane terrain.”
Another goal Garner has for Honolulu Hiking Club is to educate hikers on recreating responsibly and sustainability.
“It (Honolulu Hiking Club) just created this kuleana naturally,” he said.
He aims to keep building community and pride in Hawaiʻi for future hikes led by the club.
“My hope is that people leave a Honolulu Hiking Club outing with more than photos — that they leave with new friendships, a deeper connection to Hawaiʻi, and a stronger sense of responsibility for the places we’re fortunate to experience together,” Garner said. “That’s the kind of community I want to keep building.”
Haley Lehman can be reached at haley@alohastatedaily.com.
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