Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 16:38:17 -1000
From: LastKoho (lastkoho@yahoo.com)
Subject: Violators will be Prosecuted
Sitting at the computer all weekend (hopelessly trying to resolve a file access problem), I finally decide, late on Sunday afternoon, that I need to get out of the house.
With the intention of finding the trailhead at Moanalua Valley, I jump in the car and hop onto H1, exiting at Red Hill and following Ala Aolani Street to its end. From the car I walk to the back of the Moanalua Neighborhood Park and approach a fence with a big white sign. The sign warns that access to the valley road without permission from the Damon Estate is restricted, and that violators will be prosecuted. The words are clear, but the gate is open.
With dual forces working within and without, I stroll light-footed through the fence and down the old carriage road under a huge monkeypod tree. Ahead I spot two people—man and wife, I presume—just off the trail. They must see me, but they continue to examine the forest, not moving a muscle or saying a word as I pass at arm's length. Semi-kindred spirits, I speculate: they have read the same sign and are now frozen, worried I might know their secret.
I hike forward a bit more to allow the uncomfortable pair to move on. Ahead, two more people sit on one of the many bridges traversing the dry stream. There's nothing else to do but walk forward and smile. They smile back as I stiffly veer right. I feel compelled under their watch to continue along the trail, passing lots of hau and, farther along, koa haole and strawberry guava trees.
I soon reach a bare hill, where I stop and soak in the views before walking through uluhe and passing a huge Cook pine. I eventually reach a paved road and see a group of people who turn abruptly as I approach, pretending to point at Aloha Stadium in the distance. It’s only when I’m right on top of them that I receive a grave nod hello. At the end of the road, I see another Damon Estate sign: Restricted, no access, violators will be prosecuted.
Epilogue:
Today I called Moanalua Gardens. A man told me that for two or fewer people, there was "no problem" and no need to sign a waiver. Ironically, hiking was only restricted on Saturdays because pig hunters had been hired to work that day.