Miconia Hunting in Manoa Valley: Heliconia Gulch to Pauoa Flats
• By Dayle K. Turner
A big gang, about two dozen in all, turned out for today's Sierra Club miconia hunt in Manoa. The larger than usual group was a result of the presence of Gail Kaaialii and her students from Chaminade, who made up about a third of the gang. Good to have them out, their youthful energy and exuberance being quite a boost to the generally starch-and-pressed attendees—no offense, of course, to the usual attendees!
Among the regulars were Tom Yoza, Charlotte Yamane, and Mashuri Waite, all experienced hands in searching the hills and ravines for the miconia monster. Beforehand, outing leaders Joby Rohrer and Mike Leech gave us a detailed info session and pep talk, with Mike getting our attention by reading part of an email sent to him by Big Island colleagues who emphasized the importance of cleaning boots after searching known miconia habitats to prevent the spread of seeds to pristine areas.
"Especially you Trail and Mountain Club people," said Mike with a smile.
As such, after we were pau today, we all had to scrub and wash down our boots. Glad to do it.
Heading Up Heliconia Gulch
We were divided into two teams:
- Team 1: Joby, assisted by Charlotte, led the larger of the two groups, which included Dr. Gail and her Chaminade students.
- Team 2: Tom, Mashuri, and I were in a group of eight led by Mike, with our objective being to canvas the left/west side of an area named Heliconia Gulch (HG).
HG is located mauka of the Aihualama Trail between Manoa Falls and the Aihualama switchbacks. The terrain involved some steep climbs and scaling of a few slippery, but thankfully short, waterfall sections.
Our team headed up HG and within a couple of minutes, three small miconias were found and yanked. As we encountered the first of those slippery waterfall sections, Mike encouraged us to take our time to avoid falls and to prevent braining one another with dislodged rocks. I mentioned to the others something I heard Dr. Gail tell her students:
"Remember to occasionally put aside your desire for self-preservation and look for miconia."
An anti-stream hiker, I took the first opportunity to abandon the slippery confines of the streamlet and contour up to the left toward our intended search quadrant. Then I proceeded to pull, yank, and bash my way upslope. And, yup—I occasionally put aside my self-preservation instincts to look for the purple-leafed menace (though I found none all day).
Uluhe Seas & Deja Vu at the Summit
After about half an hour, I found myself atop a spur ridge in an overhead sea of uluhe. Thinking I needed a break, I used my body to create a loge for myself, complete with a wonderful view of the Manoa Valley tableau. I sat there for a while, daydreaming while scanning the surrounding ridges and slopes. All the while, my team members were jabbering and climbing only minutes away, though completely hidden from me by the thick vegetation.
As I looked left, right, up, and down, I had a feeling of déjà vu. Had I been here before? Later, after the rest of the team arrived, I remembered: I had been here with the great Dick Schmidt, an HTMC legend, on another miconia hunt. He and I had pushed our way up this same ridge to its top-out at an overlook of the Nuuanu Lookout, the terminus of the Pauoa Flats Trail.
Just like that day a couple of years ago, we pushed our way to the top—the swath Dick and I had created previously now completely swallowed up as if we'd never been there. We reached the top at noon, perfect timing for lunch. Our team of eight sat down, having fashioned seats for ourselves in more uluhe. About 150 meters away, a mob of hikers were resting and lunching at the Nuuanu Lookout, completely oblivious to our presence above them.
GPS Navigation & The Hidden BWS Hut
We had a nice lunch, with the primary focus of our conversation being Tom's Magellan GPS. I learned about satellites, datum, vectors, waypoints, and maps. I also learned that my altimeter watch is crappy when wet, giving a reading of 940 feet of elevation compared to Tom's GPS reading of 1,740 feet (which I assume was correct).
Rain and blustery wind prompted us to wrap up lunch and push along the ridgetop with the goal of intersecting the trail to Konahuanui. However, an easier option presented itself: descending a spur ridge to a white-roofed hut used by the Board of Water Supply (BWS) as a rain gauge. This hut is only 50–60 meters from the Nuuanu Overlook and Pauoa Flats trail, but it is completely hidden by trees and vegetation, nor can it be seen from the Konahuanui Trail.
From the hut, we followed a route we called the "Bottle Trail" (lined with several glass bottles) back to the Pauoa Flats trail, which we hiked to Aihualama, and then descended.
Wrapping Up in Lyon Arboretum
With time left for hunting, we searched off-trail areas between the Aihualama Switchbacks, at one point surprising passing hikers as we slid down slick slopes onto the main trail. A couple of hikers showed great interest in our undertaking—maybe new recruits! During this section, we also came across a massive patch of vanilla plants (a climbing orchid, as Mashuri noted).
After finishing, we regrouped and hiked back through Lyon Arboretum to our cars in the parking lot. We thoroughly cleaned our boots as mandated by Mike, talked story, and hit the road for home.
Total Miconia Netted:
- Our Team: 6
- Joby & Charlotte's Team: Many (primarily small seedlings)
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