Halawa Ridge

Nine months have passed since we last cleared the 7-mile Halawa Ridge 
Trail. And after yesterday's HTMC TM outing I can attest that the
vegetation we chopped last April has made a large-scale growback in
3/4s of a year.  The top prize for fastest regeneration went to
Setaria palmifolia (palm grass), a reedy pest that seems to have
multiplied and thickened ten-fold (for a pic, see
http://www.floridata.com/ref/s/images/seta_pa1.jpg ).  Additionally,
there was no shortage of thick uluhe along the trail.


The good thing is that we had a good-sized turnout of about 30
yesterday.  Even at that, the crew still needs to return to Halawa this
coming Sunday to complete the job.

An energetic and enthusiastic bunch, we were armed with machetes, sickles,
and loppers.  We even had heavier artillery, namely a chainsaw and two
gas-powered hedge trimmers, one which crapped out early on.  But we still
couldn't finish clearing the trail up to usual club standards.  So this
Sunday again to Halawa it will be.

Notes:

Mabel directed the crew to clear no further than the crossover and to save
the upper section of the trail for next Sunday.

A small handful of the crew were insubordinate and hiked to the summit
to cleared from the top to the crossover point. The guilty parties know
who they are.  At the summit, visual and walkie contact was made with
members participating in the club hike at the Moanalua Saddle.

The eucalyptus section is now wide-open and a few small blowdowns were
cleared away with handsaws and the chainsaw.

About 2/3 of the section from the end of the eucalyptus forest to the
crossover is well-cleared, in many cases to the wall.  Some badly
overgrown segments remain.

Weatherwise, it was a high overcast day with light breezes. It never
rained.

Afterward, Ken Suzuki made available to us copies of his pamphlet, "Plants
Found on the Coastline and in the Mountains of O'ahu".  A great resource.

Roll call:  Jim W, Jason Sunada, Cera Sunada, Pat Rorie, Roger Breton, Ed Gilman, Kost Pankiwsky, Mabel Kekina, Ken Suzuki, Ralph Valentino, Jay Feldman, Carole K. Moon, June Miyasato, Tom Yoza, Lynn Agena, Georgina Oka, Inger Lidman, Inger's friend, Mel Yoshioka, Connie Muschek, Gordon Muschek, John Hall, Charlotte Yamane,  Bill Gorst, Nathan Yuen,
Carmen Craig, Mike Algiers, Helene Sroat, DKT.

--dkt