Nine months have passed since we last cleared the 7-mile Halawa Ridge Trail. And after yesterday's HTMC Trail Maintenance 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. 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 (Kekina) 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, Cera, Pat, Roger, Ed, Kost, Mabel, Ken, Ralph, Jay, Carole, June, Tom, Lynn, Georgi, Thea, Thea' friend, Inger, Inger's friend, Mel, Connie, Gordon, John, Charlotte, Bill, Nathan, Carmen, Mike, Helene, DKT.
--dkt
Author: Dayle K. Turner" <turner@hawaii.edu>
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