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The Hawaiian Trail & Mountain Club Newsletter October - November - December 2001 |
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The Hawaiian Trail & Mountain Club Newsletter October - November - December 2001 |
IN MEMORIAM
HERMAN MEDEIROS
1916-2001Herman always wore a red T-shirt, a real trademark for him from the time he joined HTM in 1960. He became a life member in 1975. A gung ho hiker and hike leader when they were called hike leaders. He was always among the first to arrive at the Palace on Sundays. In fact, he once got an award and his picture in the paper for being the 1 millionth hiker to participate in HTM hikes because he got to the Palace first on the guesstimated day.Loyalty was among his better traits and he served on the Board of Directors from 1970 to 1980. He served on the Schedule Committee and was the Trail Maintenance luna from 1970 to 1981. A popular member, he was elected President and served from 1973-1975, and Vice President from 1975-1977. Known for his sense of humor, he often had comical expressions and chuckled over his own jokes. Once, while on the Schedule Committee, he carefully suggested certain hike leaders for each hike and announced later that all the leaders for that quarter were female as he had intended. Being very local, he taught me the proper way to do the "shaka" sign, he harvested and readily indulged in the fruit of the trail, and he taught me what the apapane was saying.
Herman was a mentor for me and others, he taught us how to hike in Hawaii and introduced me to backpacking. When HTM had neighbor island trips, he was among the first to sign up, and I fondly remember camping with him at Polipoli and Haleakala on Maui, Kalalau and Kokee on Kauai, and the beach on Lanai. There were also many campouts on Oahu at the time, Mokuleia, Kawainui, and Ulupaina. An avid traveler, he was among those of HTM who went to Glacier National Park, Montana. Later, he traveled with his buddy, John Paul, to Africa and he also hiked in New Zealand, taking pictures all the while and later sharing them with HTM. He particularly liked the Cascades in the State of Washington.
Among the best of mountaineers in HTM, Herman was a "super hiker" and reached the summit among the first on every hike. He has to his credit that he climbed out of Kalalau Valley, scaling the pali at the left of the valley towards the rear. With his friend Charlie Nakamura, they bivouacked on a slim ledge for a night, roping themselves to it to avoid falling. He scaled some summits which are no longer available to us, such as Pu`u Piei, and he ascended on routes we no longer use. Herman once told me that he would have no trouble finding the way if only one person had passed on the trail. I joked with him that if they opened up his brain, they would only find trails running through it.
Herman Medeiros was bigger than life, the salt of the earth, solid as a rock, with gentle respect and love for the aina. Mahalo Nui Loa for all you shared with HTM.
Joyce Oka
MEMBERSHIP NOTES Justin Ohara
CLUB DUES - It is probably not generally known, but unless annual dues are paid by December 31st each year, club membership lapses. We would appreciate the kokua of all members by asking that you renew your membership before January 1st, 2002. This will minimize the time and effort spent chasing delinquent dues, and will permit your Board to devote more time to hiking, our primary focus. Timely renewals will also minimize the problems caused when a membership has lapsed and an individual has to be reinstated. A lapsed member must fulfill the requirements of a new applicant, i.e. make three club hikes and have them certified.
NEW MEMBER CERTIFICATION - We would like to remind all current and prospective members that a new HTMC applicant needs to have completed three club hikes during the year prior to the membership application, and have the application signed by two regular members. The three hikes accomplished must be identified by the applicant.
We currently have 500 members in the club.
KO`OLAU SUMMIT TRAIL HISTORY -PART 4
Stuart BallIV. Emergency Conservation Work (1933)
On 10 February 1933 Forester Charles Judd began surveying a second trail in the Pupukea Forest Reserve to provide easier access for tree planting. The new alternate left the Pupukea-Kahuku Army Trail at Owl Flat near a recent planting of paperbark trees. The route would eventually descend into the Paumalu drainage, cross Kaunala Stream on a stone bridge, and then climb Kaunala Ridge to rejoin the Army trail at Chicken Hill (Pu`u Moa). On 7 May Judd led a Piko Club hike on the just completed trail, called Kaunala. Sixty people walked the Army trail to Chicken Hill and then returned on the new trail through groves of `iliahi (sandalwood). The group stopped for lunch at Paumalu Stream and named the spot Camp Wells in honor of the founder of the club.
In late May 1933 Judd received devastating news. Because of the poor economic conditions in the territory, the legislature cut forestry appropriations by 75 percent. For the coming biennial period beginning 1 July 1933, the division would receive only $65,800, compared with $260,165 for the previous two years. Judd let go 74 of his 87 employees on 1 July. Gone were all of the field crews, most of the nursery workers, and 13 out of 18 rangers. On O`ahu, only Rangers McGuire and Landgraf survived the cut. Judd spent two days writing letters of recommendation for the dismissed men. On 3 July Territorial Governor Lawrence M. Judd (the Forester's younger brother) sent a radiogram to Interior Secretary Harold L. Ickes requesting that Hawai`i be included in the Emergency Conservation Work program (ECW). The U.S. Congress had enacted ECW on 31 March 1933 only ten days after President Roosevelt proposed it. The act called for 250,000 unemployed men to work in National Forests and Parks on the mainland. As a territory, Hawai`i had been overlooked in the initial distribution of ECW funds. Forester Judd quickly marshaled support for the Territory's ECW application. On 7 and 17 July he met with General Wells, now Commander of the Hawaiian Department at Fort Shafter. After the second meeting Wells sent a strongly worded letter to the Adjutant General requesting the War Department to support Hawai`i's application for ECW funds. He stated that a protected watershed and a network of trails were essential to the Army's defense of the Islands. On 19 July Judd described the ECW application and the forestry situation in a letter to Lincoln L. McCandless, Hawai`i's lone delegate to Congress. On 29 July the Forester sailed for the mainland on a well-deserved vacation. He planned to spend several days in Washington, D.C. lobbying for ECW money.
Secretary Ickes disapproved Hawai`i's application in a letter to Governor Judd, dated 2 August. However, the Secretary stated that he would consider a future request if ECW continued into 1934. In late August ECW projects were approved for Puerto Rico, another U.S. territory. On 11 September Judd wrote Ickes mentioning Puerto Rico and stressing the forestry and military importance of Hawai`i's application. During the middle of September Charles Judd arrived in Washington and began lobbying his contacts in the U.S. Forest Service. He also visited an ECW camp near Portland, Connecticut. On 27 September Ickes wired the Governor to have Forester Judd prepare a detailed plan of conservation projects for the consideration of ECW Director Robert Fechner. On 23 October Judd returned to Honolulu on board the S.S. Monterey. The next day he met with the Governor and General Wells all morning and started working on the plan that afternoon with Assistant Forester Russ. Four days later the two men finished the report, entitled Program for Emergency Conservation Work-Territory of Hawaii and submitted it to the Governor.
The 32-page document first covered the economic conditions and forestry situation in Hawai`i. The report then described the proposed conservation projects, which would put 777 unemployed men back to work. The estimated total cost for the first six months was $441,460, including the projects for Hawai`i National Park on the Big Island. Forester Judd and General Wells jointly developed ten trail construction projects for O`ahu. Number three on the list was the Ko`olau Summit Trail."Beginning at the point where the existing Schofield-Waikane Trail crosses the crest of the Koolau Range at 2,400 feet elevation, this route runs in a general north-westerly direction along or near the crest of the Koolau Range to a point on the range at 1,700 feet elevation where it will join the present Pupukea-Kahuku Trail." Estimated trail length was 65,000 feet or 12.31 miles, and estimated manhours were 6,500. To allow for pack animal use, the plan specified a 4-foot wide path with grades not to exceed 15 percent. The project also included a short connector to the Castle Trail. Heading the O`ahu trail projects list were the Poamoho and Kawailoa Trails. Those two would be completed first to provide easier access to the Summit Trail route. Construction crews would then be temporarily housed at side camps at the top of both trails.
On 14 November Governor Judd sent the project plan in triplicate to Secretary Ickes for the consideration of ECW Director Fechner. On 21 December 1933 Judd received the following radiogram from Ickes: "Director Fechner approves Emergency Conservation Project for Hawaii STOP Allotment of $299,885 exclusive of amount for Hawaii National Park. For Hawaii National Park $121,273. Total allotment $421,258 STOP Army participation limited to disbursing and accounting for all funds STOP Suggest you call together representatives of Army, Forest Service,and Superintendent Wingate Hawaii National Park and work out procedure."
(to be continued) Next: Summit Trail Building: Black Junction to Poamoho (1934)
JAY FELDMAN'S RULES OF HIKING
Mosquito Lore.
It is only the female mosquito that bites; however, for every male mosquito there are six thousand females.
When exiting your tent in the middle of the night to answer nature's call, the sound your tent's zipper makes is identical to that of a female mosquito in heat.
Mosquito netting keeps mosquitoes in as well as out.
If you swat at a mosquito while trying to sleep in your tent you will knock over the cup you have been peeing into to avoid going outside.
Mosquitoes in your tent at night is unassailable evidence refuting a humane universe. Alternatively, they fuel the argument that God does not sleep in a tent.
That some people are never bothered by mosquitoes is incontrovertible evidence that the earth is partially populated by alien beings.
To a mosquito, all humans are blood type O positive.
KST SPRING BACKPACK
Dayle Turner
[The following is Dayle's account of the Club's backtrip along the Koolau Summit Trail in May of this year].
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,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 efforts and to Bill Gorst for getting us access to the dirt road beyond the Boy Scout camp. Everyone set off at their own pace, which was helped or hindered by the loads carried. Pack weights ranged from mid-50s (Justin, Ken, Ralph),to the 30s (all the wahines), to mid-20s (me). I had intended to keep my pack under 20 lbs (food and water included) and was disappointed when it weighed in at 26. Hiking light is a choice I've made after some painful experiences hefting heavy loads, including an ascent of Mauna Loa when I lugged 3 gallons of water and a bunch of other foolish, bulky crap. Learn and live. Anyway, we moved along without much trouble on day 1 since the trail was relatively clear (due to HTMC TM efforts) and only moderately muddy-the big mud tango coming on day 2. Significant points along the way were the junction to the Koolau lookout (where Tom and Stuart found the old Kahuku Trail), the junction with the trail to benchmarked Pupukea summit, the sign-marked Malaekahana trail terminus and the Laie Trail terminus. A minute after the Laie junction, I had a face-to-face encounter with a (sick?) pig. I rounded a turn in the trail and saw what I thought was a dead pua'a on the footpath. Just as I was about to turn to Carole, June, and Georgina to tell them about the deceased porker, said porker sprung to life and commenced a stare-down. I yelled and struck my hiking pole on the trail in an attempt to scare off the pig, but scare it did not. It, in fact, advanced toward me, which pigs with room to flee typically don't do (and this pig had plenty of room to flee). Seeing this, I commenced a quick, hasty backpedal and ended up crashing backwards off the trail, now defenseless against the advancing foe. The three wahines, all a safe distance away, just giggled and cackled at my situation. The good news was that the pig did not attack and burrowed into the bushes away from me. The bad news was that I was the butt of jokes at dinner that night. The wahines even claimed I screamed as I fell off the trail. Poppycock.
Our campsite at Kawailoa was once occupied by a cabin. Now all that remains is a single plank and a lone post. Tom and Stuart had hiked up via Laie the weekend before to chop weeds around the site, to dig a couple of holes for our lua, and to flag the trail leading to a nearby water source. They also cleared a good deal of the section between Laie and the campsite. Nice job and thanks to those two. We were able to set up nine tents in and around the site and we also fashioned a nice lookout on the pu'u overlooking the camp. After dinner, we used the lookout as a place to kick back, watch the sunset (nice), talk story, and stay out of the wind. Earlier, Dave had hiked across the swampy area adjacent to our camp to climb a landing pad hilltop with a panoramic view of the surrounding area. Nobody else did this, probably because of the swamp and because misty, cloudy conditions would have hampered views. The wind was a bit of a nuisance during the night, not only because of the noise it created by flapping rainflys, but also for the cold it sent into our bones as we tried to sleep. It also rained at several points during the night but never anything hard or prolonged.
Day 2 (Sunday, 5/27) was a rough one and began around 6 a.m. Around then, someone asked Georgina how she had slept during the night. "Horribly," she said. "I was so cold." A few others admitted to being cold and no one professed to sleeping well. As we ate breakfast, and prepared to depart,the mood was somber and introspective. Everyone knew we'd have a tough string of hours ahead of us. Dave and I were the first to pack up and leave. Just before we hiked around a bend in the trail and out of sight of the others, I raised my right fist overhead, turned to whoever was looking, and bellowed,"Poamoho!" Bear in mind I was once a football coach, so I'll never lack for quasi-pseudo inspirational dogma. And then we mushed on, with mush being the operative term. We were constantly in mud, the brown, putrid, boot-sucking kind. Trying to avoid mudholes on the KST is futile and those foolhardy enough to try it end up expending more energy battling impenetrable vegetation and just encountering more mud. So the best tactic is to submit to it and slosh right on through. By day's end, we were coated in muck from toe to crotch. Yum.
Though never easy, day 2 was made better by several days of trail work done by Roger in the preceding couple of weekends and also by the new exclosure fenceline installed by Army Environmental, with an assist by HTMC members, among others. Good job to all. Day 2 landmarks included the old Kahuku cabin site (about an hour from Kawailoa), a beautiful windswept windward section overlooking upper Kaipapau Gulch, and the Castle junction, where Dave, Thea, Justin, and I ate lunch and rested. We saw plenty of signs of pigs but never encountered any. About 30 minutes beyond Castle, we came upon the exclosure fenceline, which generally follows the KST. A corridor on both sides of the fence has been cleared, making for unimpeded, less muddy hiking.
Part way along the fenceline we saw a quonset hut-like structure a quarter-mile to our right (west). We also noticed a silhouette next to the structure. Was it a person? Movement confirmed it was. We later found out the person was actually two people who had day hiked over from Poamoho and the structure was used by the workers building the exclosure fence. An un-named source told me in the area near the structure are views of a stream (Helemano or Opaeula?) with waterfalls and a pool "as large as a football field. "The southern end of the fenceline is at the junction with the Peahinaia Trail. The fenceline extends down Peahinaia for a distance and then crosses a couple of drainages to form the exclosure boundary with the fenceline along the KST. Among the folks I was hiking with, I heard no negative comments about the fence, and thanks to oversight from the HTMC (including Pat, Stuart, Charlotte, and others), the fence doesn't block or badly infringe on the summit trail corridor.
About midway between the Peahinaia junction and Poamoho, we ran into two early-twentyish haole guys shouldering big packs. When I saw them, the first thought that popped into mind was "Wade Johnson" (for those who don't know about Johnson, he was a BYUH student who, with a buddy, was backpacking on the KST in the summer of '95. The buddy was found but Johnson never was).The two haole guys said they'd come up Schofield, crossed north along the KST, passed the Poamoho Cabin, and were looking for cabins they'd heard about beyond Poamoho. I told them where we'd come from and that there were no cabins between Poamoho and Pupukea. Hearing this, they then said they'd try to reach the summit of Laie by nightfall. It was nearing 3 p.m. and with darkness hitting in four hours, I told them reaching the Laie summit was not possible with the daylight remaining. This information seemed to deflate their enthusiasm, but they thanked us nevertheless and continued on. Strangely, no one in our group of nine other than Dave, Thea, and I saw these backpackers, so I'm not sure where they went after we talked to them. We had heard that Grant might be hiking up Poamoho to join us for the final night, so we were eager to find out if he had showed up.
Once at the Poamoho summit, marked by the Cline Memorial Stone, we made the five-minute walk down the trail to get water at the stream. As we approached, we noticed a large tent in the clearing by the stream. Was this Grant's? If it was, he, or whoever it belonged to, wasn't around it nor in it. A mystery to try and figure out. After acquiring water for the night and morrow, it was off to the Poamoho Cabin. On the return trip to the Cline Memorial junction, we met a couple who belonged to the tent. They'd been the silhouette makers we'd seen by the quonset hut structure at the exclosure fenceline and knew about our backpack trip. They'd even contacted one of the coordinators (Ralph?) to inquire about the trek. In the morning, they had set out to hike to the KST/Castle Trail junction but ended up not getting that far, opting instead to explore the fenceline and the quonset hut structure in the Peahinaia area. Nice folks.
Getting to the 4-bunk Poamoho cabin required a muddy (what's new?)half-mile slog south along the KST from the Cline Memorial. Though spartan, the cabin brought relief from the mud and weather. The weather, by the way, was never bad during the trip. Though it rained briefly, we were never poured on. And though clouds blocked views at times, these times were brief. In all, the weather was very cooperative. All nine of us spent the night in the cabin. As one of the first arrivers, I snagged one of the bunks, as did Thea, Dave, and June. Yes, I could have given my bunk to Carole or Georgina, but after a long day on the KST, I wasn't feeling chivalrous. What I did do, however, was congratulate Georgina for enduring the toughest part of the KST, and with a pack that was at least 10 lbs more than mine. No matter how much I chided her for whining about being cold, she'll always have my respect (though she may have preferred my bunk). But I digress. The night passed reasonably well, with one challenge being how to make it thru with people having to get up at various times to answer nature's call. I used an old mountaineer's trick: piss in a bottle. Yes, this may seem gross, unsanitary, yada, yada. But when in a high mountain bivy suspended from a cliff 5000 feet up (or in my case, in a cabin with bodies strewn yon and hither), doing number 1 in a bottle is much easier and more convenient. A few key points: [a] make sure to get it in the bottle; [b] make sure to cap bottle securely; [c] make sure not to confuse this bottle with the one you use to sip water from; [d] make sure not to do #2 in a bottle (which is gross, unsanitary, yada, yada). Okay, let's move on.
Day 3 was the shortest, easiest, and most scenic. Just like the morning before, we were up around 6 a.m., having survived a night of sleep noises (read: snoring) and of dark figures going in and out to use the lua (the lua being the nearest bush). Breakfast prep and consumption was followed by packing up for the final leg. One of the least pleasant parts of the trip was having to put on the same smelly, dirty clothes we'd worn the days prior. But as someone mentioned, after a couple minutes on the trail, we wouldn't notice the dampness and stench. Well, at least that was the theory. From the cabin, almost all of the KST to the Schofield junction is on the windward-facing side of the mountain, making for cool breezes and pretty views. Clouds obscured visibility in the area below Pu'u Pauao, which is about half an hour from the cabin. Beyond that, views and hiking were superb, with the lush, remote massiveness of Kahana sprawled out below us. While hiking along, many could pick out the Kahana peaks we'd climbed with the club, including the triumvirate of Kila, Ohulehule, and Manamana. Since we set off early, the temps and conditions were moderate, making for enjoyable hiking. Moving steadily but leisurely, most completed the ~2-mile leg to the Schofield terminus in two hours. Following a rest there, what remained was a final 20-minute swan song on the KST to the Waikane trail terminus, and then a descent of Waikane itself, the latter being in fine shape because of recent maintenance efforts by the club. Having completed the descent of Waikane, many took the refreshing plunge in the water flume at the bottom of the trail, and then there was a tramp on the dirt road back to civilization. On the way down, I came upon a huge black sow and her two keiki. Unlike other recent encounters with pua'a, this one was textbook, with my yell sending the porkers scampering into the brush. Tom, Mabel, and Grant helped with posthike transport to Hakipuu where we left our cars. And Charlotte dropped by with refreshments. Relaxing and reflecting on the trip, we hung out at Kay's front yard to enjoy refreshments and to clean ourselves up. Among the goodies consumed were cookies, chocolate cream pie ala Mabel, corn dogs, assorted chips, watermelon, soft drinks, and beer.
Much thanks to Ken, Ralph, and Grant for coordinating the trip and to all the others for logistical and people-power support. The outing went well because of the efforts of all these folks. Will any of us ever do the KST trip again? I'd bet that most eventually will, me included. After all, we saw no sign of angels anywhere we hiked. Malama pono.
HAWAII WILD
Richard McMahon
As mentioned in the January newsletter, HTMC member Erwin (Win) Rosa has published HAWAII WILD, an accounting of some of his best adventures in the islands. Although presently living in California, Win was born and raised in Hawaii and has an intimate knowledge of our wild and remote places. In this book, he describes fourteen of his best adventures on all five main islands, including one on Midway. Highlights among these are descriptions of hiking the Kohala Ditch Trail, kayaking the north coast of Molokai, and camping in Pelekunu Valley. The book also contains many excellent color photos and useful maps.
Hawaii Wild is available directly from Win Rosa, 1319 W Sierra Ave, Fresno, CA 93711. The cost is $14, plus $3.50 shipping. It is also in most of our local libraries, however, once you see it, I bet you will want a copy for yourself.
CLUBHOUSE USE
Larry Oswald
The clubhouse remains available to members to reserve for a group or just to stop by. Please give a call to 259-5443 if you will be coming in a group. The clubhouse has two live- in residents who assist in the upkeep of the building and grounds. At times openings arise, and we may soon need a volunteer resident for this position. If you are interested, please contact Larry Oswald, Clubhouse Committee Co-Chairman at 638-7268 or mail a resume to me at 59-419 Alapio Road, Haleiwa, HI 96712.
NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS
ALONG THE TRAIL is a quarterly publication of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club designed to inform the membership of club activities and matters of interest to the hiking community. HTMC members and any other interested parties are welcome to submit articles to ALONG THE TRAIL. Submissions must be received by the 5th day of March, June, September, and December in order to appear in the newsletter published for the quarter, and may be sent in any of the following ways (email preferred):
E-Mail: Richard27@prodigy.net
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FAX: 293-2603
Phone: 293-2554
Mail: Richard McMahon
57-531 Kamehameha Hwy
Kahuku, HI 96731-2128
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Hawaiian Trail & Mountain Club
P.O. Box 2238
Honolulu, HI 96804
Clubhouse: 41-023 Puuone St
Waimanalo, HI 96795
Phone: 259-5443
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