Waikane, Kaaumakua

Paying us will probably be the worst thing for the HTMC TM crew. 
If we ever were paid, then the amount of work we'd do, plus the
quality of that work, would drop off drastically. I say this because as
volunteers, with the only compensation being a couple of cold soft
drinks and a piece of cheese cake (and occasionally hot dogs or
meatballs) we do a helluva lot of work on Sundays.  And if do say so
myself, pretty damn bang-up work, too.  Put a crew of paid workers up
in the mountains to do what we do, and, yes, they'd get the job done. But
likely in 3 to 4x the amount of time.  And better? Probably not.  But I'm
biased.

Today, we worked on the Waikane Trail, which has traditionally been
tough to clear because of numerous fallen trees, fast regrowth of
trailside flora, and ongoing trail slippage.  In short, we have to bust
tail to clear this trail.  But we inevitably do a good job. And
today we did a helluva job.  We started at 8, commencing with a hard hour
of hiking just to get to the point where we began working.  The last group
was out at 5:30.  That's 9.5 hours, with not much dillydallying. 

While we traditionally use just machetes, sickles, and loppers to do
battle, today the heavy artillery also came out, namely chain saws (3),
hedge trimmers (2), picks, and shovels (several).  The end result was a
trail that in many sections is now as clear and well-graded as the Aiea
Loop or the Maunawili Demo.

Coordinated by Pat, the hike (members only) on April 1 will start at Kam
Hwy and Waikane Valley Road.  There's an hour walk on the dirt road in the
valley to a water flume of the Waiahole Ditch (a good place to
rinse/cool off on the way back).  Next is a ~30 minute segment on the
ditch trail to the Waikane saddle and the start of the Waikane
Trail.  Then add an hour to hour and a half climb to the
junction with the KST (some magnificent sections of trail carved into the
steep, vertical pali). Finally, finish with a 20-30 minute jaunt on the
KST and a final scramble to Pu'u Kaaumakua, the piko of the Koolaus, where
on a clear day you can see forever.  I hope 100 people turn out for Pat's
hike.

More than a dozen of us reached Kaaumakua today on one of the clearest
days I've experienced in the mountains.  Looking north, visible was the
KST pointing toward Poamoho.  Two large, recent landslides have raked over
the summit trail just south of Pu'u Pauao.  We're eager to find out what
damage, if any, to trail occurred.  To the south, about a mile and a half
away as the apapane bird flies, was the summit of Kipapa Ridge.  To
leeward were the large, remote drainages of upper Waiawa where, in the
land where no man roams, pigs rule.  To windward, we looked down on the
pointed pinnacle of Pu'u Ohulehule and its nearby cousin, Mo'o Kapu o
Haloa, home of Kanehoalani.

The way up was the way down but the outbound leg went quicker than
inbound, thanks to a beautifully cleared trail.  While hiking down the
mountain and admiring the work we'd done, I thought that if I were paid
to do this, I'd stop trail clearing, for the work would then be a
job. And I have one of those already.  Sundays and trail clearing are a
means to escape the world of my job, at least for the 6 to 8 hours I'm
out in the hills.  Somehow, getting paid would kill the escape.

Roll call: Mabel Kekina, Bill Gorst, Deetsie Chave, Connie & Gordon
Muschek, Pat Rorie, Larry Oswald, Kris Corliss, Mike Algiers, Helene
Sroat, Dick & Brenda Cowan, Charlotte Yamane, Cera Sunada, Grant Oka,
Georgina Oka, Ed Gilman, Peter Kempf, Tom Yoza, Ken Suzuki, Carole
K. Moon, June Miyasato, Nathan Yuen, Carmen Craig, Pat Enomoto, Mel
Yoshioka, Ralph Valentino, Reuben Mateo, Dayle Turner.  Hats off to the
gang.

Next Sunday, the TM outing will be Pu'u Ohulehule.  Meeting time is 8
a.m. at the parking lot on the mauka side of Kam Hwy across from Kahana
Bay Beach Park.

--dkt