2005 HTM Mokuleia Campout

2005 HTM Mokuleia Campout

Posted to OHE on 25 February 2005 by Patrick Rorie

I had the pleasure of joining 14 other backpackers this past President’s Day weekend in the hills above Mokuleia. We had a simply marvelous time. The following is a basic summary of the event.

15 participants: Grant and Joyce Oka, Clayton Kong, Gay Nall, Stuart Ball, Dave Brown (from Maui), John Darrah, Andree Paradis (stayed only 1 night), Cindy Reves, Tom Rulon, Jenny Rulon, Mark Nierode, Pat Rooney, Larry Lee (coordinator) and myself.

While gathering near the Air Force guard building at Yokohama Bay Saturday morning, we noticed three whales spouting off the coast. Cool! John gradually ascended the graded contour Mokuleia Trail; otherwise, the rest of us tramped 6 miles to the Mokuleia Campsite (elev. 2180’) via the scenic Kuaokala and Makua Rim trails. A handful of day hikers joined us, including Hui-I Chen, Dan Harmon, Jane Ebert and Lynne Masuyama.

We began the trek at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning, stopping along the way at the north shore and Makua Valley overlooks to enjoy the stunning views. Some of us also paused at the snail enclosure where we spotted 3 rare native Hawaiian tree snails located on the same tree fairly close together. The first group reached the campsite at 1:25 p.m. at the exact same moment John arrived.

We were blessed with excellent weather throughout the long weekend, 2 moonlit evenings, and chilly nights where the mercury dipped to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. We saw 2 “green flash” sunsets, and on both Saturday and Sunday evenings the Lihue (Kauai) lights were visible way in the distance from the Makua Rim overlook.

On Sunday, 50 day hikers led by Doug Klein came up the Mokuleia Trail to the campsite to pay us a visit. None of us could be found except Stuart who waited to eat lunch with Lynne. The rest of us were busy doing day hikes of our own—most down to Peacock Flats, others to 3 Corners. Stuart enjoyed a double header himself: an exploratory of the old Piko Trail and a search for the spring opposite the Mokuleia Ridge.

As is normally the case, after watching the sun set and night fall, Grant returned to camp and baked blueberry muffins, sharing the delicious morsels with the group. John had his gruel and was willing to share, but there were no takers. In the tradition and spirit of Ken Suzuki, Clayton wore a down jacket late in the afternoon and at night. I packed my down sleeping bag and slept toasty.

Because the weather forecast predicted dry conditions, I lodged inside my slumberjack bivy. We had a few equipment snafus, however. My primus fuel bottle ran out the first night, someone else’s stove didn’t work at all and her therm-a-rest leaked, and the cap of another camper’s therm-a-rest wouldn’t stay closed. The moral of the story—always check your gear BEFORE you use it on a trip.

A huge mahalo to Reuben Mateo for all of his superb weedwacker work, esp. the stretch along the Makua Rim between the last stile above the tall Piko Pines and the saddle where the Mokuleia/Makua Rim trails intersect. Kudos, also, to Larry Lee for all of his work in organizing the outing.

== Patrick