Dick Booth Memorial Hike: Mauna Loa Summit Circuit
• By Grant Oka
Location: Rim of Mokuʻāweoweo (Main Caldera of Mauna Loa) — Elevation: 13,250 ft.
HTMC Members Present: Carole Moon, Laura Owens, Debbie Uchida, Reuben Mateo, Ralph Valentino, Grant Oka
Yesterday we made the strenuous ascent to the Summit Cabin of Mauna Loa from the Puʻu ʻUlaʻula (Red Hill) cabin. June Miyasato and Ken Suzuki bivouacked the night at Jaeger's Cave some 2+ miles away. They are with us in spirit and will continue their ascent to the summit cabin this morning.
Standing at the Rim of Mokuʻāweoweo
Today, under blue sunny skies, we stand at Mokuʻāweoweo's rim and breathe the cold thin air. My vision follows a trace as the rim falls away for several hundred feet to the caldera floor, then a few miles to the opposite rim, then a barely visible ahu marking the true summit. Today we will make the circuitous 5-mile climb to Mauna Loa's Summit (13,680 ft).
A Tribute to Dick Booth
Before we depart, we hold hands and remember Richard "Dick" Booth. It went something like this:
Dick was a long time member of our Club and we want to take a moment to remember him in this very fitting place. Some of us knew him, others just knew of him, some have hiked and camped with him. We all share a bond by our passion for hiking and the outdoors. As the older generation passes on, the younger generation rises up to come forward to take their places as the new leaders. This is the way of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club in the past, now and in the future. To our brother, Dick: Aloha and rest in peace.
Our teary eyes turned to laughter as Ralph said, "Hey, Grant, pull up your zipper!" I immediately did so while blaming it on the lack of oxygen in my brain.
As we hiked over the rough ʻaʻā toward the summit, I could see Dick smiling down on us in the Mauna Loa clouds wearing that funky hiking hat, and I could hear him whistling a HTMC hiking tune through the Mauna Loa wind.
By: Dayle K. Turner •
On Wed, 10 Jul 2002, Oka Grant A PHNS wrote:
[...] Before we depart, we hold hands and remember Richard "Dick" Booth. It went something like this: [...]
Thanks for this Grant. A nice tribute to Dick.
Jacque and I attended the services for Dick here on Oahu this past Saturday afternoon at a church in Aiea. We saw many friends from HTMC there, including Dick Davis, Dick Schmidt, Stuart Ball, Steve & Lin Brown, Dusty & Sandy Klein, Don & Janice Piburn, Charlotte Yamane, John Hall, Jim & Bev Yuen, Wing Ng, Donna Davis-Brown, among others. Of course, members of Dick's family were there, including wife Mary, sons Don and Phil, and daughter Myra Dombrowski.
The service was quite moving, with the reading of short bible verses interspersed with the singing of hymns selected by the Booth family. One of Dick's sons, Don, did the eulogy, recapping the highlights of his father's life, much which focused on Dick's affinity for the outdoors and hiking.
At one point, Don recounted how he felt bummed out as youngster because many of his friends were going to places like Disney Land and Knott's Berry Farm on vacations while his dad took him and his family to locales like Mount Whitney and Mount McKinley. "It wasn't until years later that I realized that I got the better deal," said Don.
Though I never had a chance to hike or chat with Dick, I came to understand on Saturday that he was a beloved father, husband, and friend and a respected member of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club. I wish him peace with God.
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