HTMC Kuaokala Campout

 

Characterized by a kinder, gentler aspect, the 2001 HTMC Kuaokala Campout
took place this past President's day weekend with excellent results. The
emphasis being on family and new backpackers.

Twenty-nine participants: campout coordinators Ken Suzuki and Carole Moon,
Mike Algiers, Helene Shroat, Brandon Stone, Kay Lynch, Carmen Craig, Ralph,
Beverly and Michael Valentino, Jason, Cera and Kimberly Sunada, Tom ?, Doug
?, Hui Su, Cindy Reves, Andree Paradis, Justin Ohara, Magnolia, Patrick
Rorie, Larry Oswald, Kris Corliss, Ginger Oswald, Kona Oswald (the family
dog), Nathan Yuen, Myra and Wainani Dombrowski, June Miyasato and John
Darrah. Jason and Kimberly came up via the paved Mokuleia Access Road, and
John Darrah arrived on Sunday via the Mokuleia Trail.

On Saturday, February 17, the participants (with the exception of Jason,
Kimberly and John) met in the parking area adjacent to the guard station
behind Yokohama Bay (O'ahu's extreme west end) at approx. 8 a.m. Because
there is no water at Peacock Flats and the Mokuleia campsite, large
containers were loaded into Ken's Honda Passport, Ralph's truck and Myra's
Dodge 4x4. After a brief spiel from Ken, a caravan of vehicles motored up
Kuaokala Ridge to the trailhead (elev. 1,300 ft), and backpackers hit the
trail a few minutes later. While the backpackers methodically traveled east
along the scenic Kuaokala Trail, Ken, Ralph and Myra drove their vehicles to
Peacock Flats to drop off the water and gear a few of the hikers decided not
to haul themselves (i.e. Carmen, recovering from a cold and yet desiring to
walk in, preferred to carry a lite day pack). Morning sprinkles and overcast
skies transitioned to a gorgeous day weatherwise - an abundance of blue sky
and sunshine with a nice cooling breeze.

The hikers started out together but soon broke up into smaller groups
depending on speed and stamina. Carole served as sweep, and Ms. Moon,
Justin, Patrick and Ken kept in touch via walkie-talkies. Dayle Turner,
engaged in a day hike that began from Dillingham Airfield, joined the
procession when it reached the dirt Kuaokala Access Road. At a key junction
on the Kuaokala Access Road (map point G on page 117 in Stuart Ball's
BACKPACKERS GUIDE TO HAWAI'I), almost all of the campers went left,
remaining on the road. Only Nathan, Justin, Carmen, Larry, Kris, Ginger,
Cera, Magnolia, Dayle and Patrick turned right and ascended to the
northshore overlook above the abandoned Nike missile site. At the overlook,
the group split again with Larry, Kris and Ginger opting to descend to the
Nike site and then to a paved road leading to Peacock Flats. Ginger's
stubbornness greatly influenced the decision. :-)

Once on the Makua Rim Trail, Patrick and Magnolia brought up the rear and
ate lunch at the awesome Makua Valley lookout (map point I) between 12:30
and 1 p.m. The various colors and shapes caught Rorie's attention: the
triangular peak on the crest of Ohikilolo Ridge, the dark green imposing
flanks jutting out from Ohikilolo Ridge, the grey/black exposed dike rock in
the cliffs, the red eroded foothills on the valley floor, the light green
grassy prairie area, the broad white sand beach, and the deep blue Pacific
Ocean. "One thousand feet below lies the green expanse of Makua Valley
leading to the ocean. In back are the dark sheer walls of 'Ohikilolo Ridge.
Spend some time watching the interplay of sun and clouds on ocean, ridge,
and valley. Who says O'ahu isn't as beautiful as the Neighbor Islands?"*

Eventually, the rim trekkers dropped down to the Mokuleia campsite (elev.
2,180 ft) where Justin, Nathan, and Patrick pitched their tents (Dayle and
Carmen continued descending gradually to Peacock Flats; Magnolia set up her
tent later with Ken's help). After erecting their canvass coverings, Justin
and Nathan fetched water containers located at the end of the Mokuleia Trail
about half a mile from the campsite and then took naps. Meanwhile, Patrick
and Magnolia paid a visit to the Peacock Flats campground to relax and talk
story with their fellow camping companions.

At about 6:15 p.m. Ken, Carole, Ralph, Magnolia, Nathan, June, Myra,
Wainani, and Patrick assembled at the Makua Rim overlook above the Mokuleia
campsite to watch the sun set, night fall and the stars come out. Beautiful!
Despite the chilly evening temperature (upper 50's), the group enjoyed
joking with each other and gazing at the clear night sky chock full of a
multitude of stars until 7:45 p.m.

== Sunday, February 18

Another lovely day weatherwise set the table for a memorable layover day.
The campers split into four groups: a small number (including the children)
chose to hang around Peacock Flats, the botonist types (Ken, Kay and
Brandon) led a search for native plants/snails, another gang got up on the
Makua Rim and eventually found themselves at the awesome Makua Valley
lookout (map point I), and the final bunch (Patrick, Jason, Larry, Kris,
Mike, Helene, and Nathan) paid a visit to Three Corners (the spot on the
Waianae Range where three valleys converge, affording a fabulous panorama of
Mount Ka'ala, Makaha Valley, Makua Valley and the northshore) despite the
nuisance of a fence which runs along the rim.

In the afternoon, the hikers returned to their respective campsites and
showered (Larry set up a temporary shower using one of those plastic
waterbag thingees available at Sports Authority), napped/kicked back. To get
a feel for the lower campground, Justin and Magnolia relocated their tents
to Peacock Flats. As twilight drew near, the Peacock Flats party drove down
to a nice overlook of the northshore, situated on the Mokuleia Access Road,
to watch night fall, the stars come out, and to view the northshore city
lights. At the same time, Patrick, John and Nathan witnessed the sun set,
night fall and experienced wonderful star gazing from the Makua Valley
overlook above the Mokuleia campsite. Upon returning to the campsite, John
turned in early, Nathan retired to his canvass covering at 9 p.m., but
Patrick stayed up until 11:30 to savor the final night of the campout.

== Monday, February 19 (President's Day)

>From the Mokuleia campsite, a baker's dozen, led by Ken and accompanied by
Reuben Mateo (State DLNR worker), tramped along the Mokuleia Trail past a
dry stream bed and down toward the forest reserve boundary to find a spring.
After gaining the crest of a forested ridge amongst tall eucalyptus trees,
the gang proceeded steeply downslope to the spring, which became a gently
flowing stream over three small waterfalls and a 30-foot cascade.

Upon consuming the midday meal, the hikers backtracked to break camp and
head home. Some of the backpackers who did not participate in the day hike
had already departed for the Kuaokala trailhead. Still others hung out at
Peacock Flats until the day hikers returned.

Once everything was packed and loaded into trucks, those that remained at
Peacock Flats jumped into vehicles, bound for the Kuaokala trailhead. At 2
p.m. Patrick vacated the Mokuleia campsite, ascended to the Makua Rim and
backpacked the traditional route (the same way he came in), setting a
leisurely pace with stops at map point I and the northshore overlook above
the old Nike site. Rorie reached his car at 6:20 p.m., long after his
friends had departed the region.

Notes:

For a more detailed account of the trip, purchase a copy of Ball's
BACKPACKERS GUIDE and flip to page 114. Be sure and check out his update at

http://www.hgea.org/~lmasu/bmakuari.html

On Saturday while on a day hike in Pahole, Brandon and Kay discovered a
cluster of endangered native ferns. Kay was ecstatic!

Special thanks to Ken and Carole for organizing the event and acquiring the
permits.

REFERENCES

* Ball, Jr., Stuart M. THE BACKPACKERS GUIDE TO HAWAI'I. Honolulu:
University Of Hawai'i Press, 1996.

== Paka

Author:  Patrick Rorie <prorie@k12.hi.us>