sade005

There's a saying that only fools rush in where angels fear to tread. What does this have to do with the following account? Read on and you'll hopefully see the connection. Nine of us took the plunge into the mud of the Oahu mountains this weekend, hiking from Pupukea to Waikane via the Koolau Summit Trail. We spent two nights out, the first at the Kawailoa terminus and the second at the Poamoho Cabin. Participants were Ken, Ralph (co-coordinators), Carole, June, Thea, Georgina, Dave, Justin, and I. Carole was doing the KST trip for the seventh (and last) time, she says. Georgina, just a teenager, was among a handful of first-time KST backpackers. Day 1 was Saturday (5/26). We rendezvoused at Kay Lynch's house in Hakipuu then were transported over to Pupukea by Tom, Stuart, Larry, and Kris. Larry and Tom were able to drive us in their 4x4s all the way up the Pupukea dirt road to the KST trailhead, saving us 3 miles and an hour of road walking. Mahalo nui for their ef...

Some deranged person posted some fairy-tale, knights-of-the-roundtable write-up the other day using my name. Let it be known that I have discovered and dealt with the culprit swiftly and surely, and he's now in custody at the funny farm in Kaneohe. Okay, enuff said about that. Tomorrow's HTMC hike is Puu o Kona, which the club has often done via a middle ridge that starts at the end of Papahehi Place in Kuliouou Valley. As Jay has mentioned recently on OHE, the Papahehi access is now no more because the owner of the lot where the trailhead was has decided to build. Wing, as he's mentioned on the list, has opened up a new route from the end of Kalaau Place (state trailhead) up to the crest of the middle ridge in response to the Papahehi trailhead loss. Today, a handful of us went back to Kuliouou to do additional work on Wing's trail and we later went further mauka to open up a contour route from the middle ridge over to Kuliouou's west ridge. In contrast to the r...

Date: Sat, 19 May 2001 18:51:32 -1000 From: Stan Yamada <stanboy50@hotmail.com> To: turner@hawaii.edu Subject: Olomana Makai Howzit: I was surfin the other day and stumbled over your OHE site and signed up. Imagine my chagrin when I come across your story of Olomana Makai. I believe it was my trail blazing efforts you found on OM. I used to mountain bike regularly there as I live in Enchanted Lake. My son and I like to hike a bike up the ridge lines and zoom down. One day in late '99 I took the ride up that government road I had been eyeing on the topo map and found the remnants of an old ridge trail. Sensing a possible new route, I took the plunge and attempted to clear a path up the ridge. Very hard with a bike in tow and no machete. I got to where the trail drops down before the fern forest area. I gave up as I was getting ripped to shreds at that point. Never returned, until I read your story. I went up there today armed with my hiking and trail clearing gear...

In the fifth month, in the second year of the new millennium, Sir Jay Man of Feld dreamed a prophetic dream. In it, he found himself wandering along mountain trails in three regions. In his dream, some trails he romped along had been established generations ago; others had to be fashioned with brute force and strength. So taken was he by this sleep vision that Sir Jay sent out word to disciples from the hallowed tribe once dubbed the WEHOTS. And convinced of the veracity of the apparition of the Man of Feld, the disciples agreed to accompany him on his quest. And so it was. And so it will be written. At the end of a Place called Kalaau in a valley called Kuliouou, Jay and the summoned disciples gathered at a brown sign adorned with bright yellow hieroglyphics, a holy shrine to a tribe called Na Ala Hele, the keepers of the trails of the land. While facing the shrine, Jay and the disciples prayed for guidance and wisdom, and a voice from the heavens told them to go forth as one to th...

Like the last several months, Maunawili Valley was the venue for the Sierra Club miconia hunt. We found none of the purple-leafed monsters, but what I've found on these outings is that the fun is in the hunting; finding, though the goal, isn't required. We met at 8:30 at the community park in the valley. HTMers Charlotte, Tom, Justin, and I were among the small group who showed up to search. The husband and wife team of Joby Rohrer and Kapua Kawelo were the coordinators for the hunt. Additionally, Sean, who works full-time for the state as a miconia hunter, was on hand, and he provided transport deep into Maunawili Valley with his state truck. I had never been on the narrow, paved valley road past where the Maunawili Falls trail begins, and it was interesting to see how well-kept it is, what kinds of homes & structures are back there, what kinds of crops are being grown, and how far the road penetrates into the valley (the road becomes dirt and gravel after a mile or so...

I started a month of vacation yesterday, and I decided to join the Wednesday group (Solemates) for a hike on Kokokahi Ridge (aka Kawaewae Ridge) in Kaneohe. This was convenient for me since I live a few minutes away from the trail. At 9:30, we met on Mokulele Drive near Dusty Klein's house and were ferried over to Kokokahi Place in three trucks, one driven by veteran Bill Gorst, who lives on Kokokahi Place adjacent to the Friendship Gardens where the trail begins. Bill was kind enough to let folks use the lua in his home, and many took him up on his nice gesture. By my count, there were about two dozen people in attendance, including the Solemate's organizers, David and Roger. Some familiar faces included John Hall, George Shoemaker, Janice Nako-Piburn, Ruby and Joe Bussen, and Gordon Muschek. Bill also did the hike. The pace for the hike was laid-back, and folks seemed very intent on gabbing and talking story as they moved along leisurely. Rest breaks were often, and th...

Thirty-something of us--almost all members of HTMC--invaded the Valley Isle for a couple days of hiking, swimming, eating, and having fun. The weather wasn't always the best, but as Grant said at one point during the trip, "Even with the rain and cold, it's better than any day at work." Yup, he's right about that. We flew to Maui on Friday morning (5/4), the majority doing so on Aloha Airlines (better rates? dunno?). For ground transport, we used two 15-passenger vans, a mid-sized car, and Mark Short's family van (Mark is an HTMC member and recently moved to Maui). Getting all the bags, gargantuan food supply, and bodies into the four vehicles was a challenge, but we're talking about folks with plenty of experience putting cargo--human and otherwise--into the right place. So no problem. For the record, the trip participants (35) were as follows: Mabel Kekina, Carole K. Moon, June Miyasato, Deetsie Chave, Bill Gorst, Carmen Craig, Ralph/Bev/Michael Val...