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| The following piece was written for a similar assignment by a former |
| student. Feel free to refer to it as you write, revise, and edit your|
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Luke Bontog
Instructor Dayle Turner
English 100, Group B
9/15/92

                           Because

     We've all probably heard the story about the mountain climber

who answered the question of why he scaled a high peak with the

well-known response: "Because it was there."  I had a related

experience, although my feat was much more modest.

     This particular Saturday began earlier than most Saturdays for

me, a notorious late-riser.  I got out of the car as soon as we

pulled into the nearly empty parking lot at the start of the Aiea

Loop trail. I stretched and checked to see if everyone was ready. 

Both of my brothers and I had a back-pack to carry.  Fortunately my

sister Marie, who isn't the most athletic person, didn't need to

carry anything.  It was 9:00 a.m., and we were prepared for the six

hour hike on the Aiea ridge trail.  We had brought along water,

first aid, knives, and some fruits.

     "Let's do it," barked my oldest brother, Ernest--a hiking

veteran--as he started to lead us onto the trail.  We trudged

upward, enjoying the green scenery that surrounded us, the

energetic chirping of the mountain birds, and the crisp lemony

smell of the eucalyptus trees lining the trail  

     Fifteen minutes into the hike, Marie stopped and whined, "We

go back," as if she wanted to cry.

     "Why?" I asked.

     "I scared.  This dangerous; we could get hurt."
 
    "What a wimp," I thought.  "We just started."     

     Ernest then reminded her what would be at the end of the trail

and how much we all wanted to be there.  After listening to our

pleas to push on, Marie decided to stick with the trail, and so we

ventured on.

     We were covered by a canopy of guava trees, and the putrid

smell of rotting guavas penetrated our senses.  The path was rocky

in some sections and muddy and difficult to traverse in others. 

Anxious to see the end we started to move faster.  A strenuous hour

and a half went by. I was sweating and gasping for air as the trail

became steeper.  I looked at everyone else and saw that they were

in the same condition.  Marie, after initially wimping out, had not

complained since and was uncharacteristically quiet.

     "Eh! we go rest for little while," I said.

     We found a grassy area, and took a rest there.  We were lucky

to have a large koa tree block out the sun's rays.

     "You tink we almos dea?" I asked Ernest.

     "Should be close."

     "Wow!  This going be one all day affair," chimed in Manny, my

other brother. 

     After resting for about 15 minutes, we felt relaxed and didn't

want to face that tiresome trail.  But we all wanted to see the

end, so we continued on our venture.

     The trail led us into a sea of uluhe ferns and in some

sections, we couldn't see over them.  Along the way, Ernest spotted

the droppings of an animal.

     "Probably one wild pig," Ernest guessed, "and one big buggah,

too."

     I got shook up as I began imagining a huge boar with foot-long

tusks surging out of the ferns and attacking us.  After a few

minutes we made our way out of the uluhe sea and no animal had

attacked us.

     An hour after our break, it was apparent that the hike was

draining most of our energy and we were starving.  Unfortunately,

we were on a narrow path with sheer drops of several hundred feet

on both sides, so we couldn't stop and eat there.  Once the path

opened up, we sat, munched on the fruits, and enjoyed the view of

the Waianae Range in the distance.  However, the fruits that we

brought along weren't enough for me.  They only tickled my stomach.

     It was noon, three hours after we had begun, and we had no

time to waste.  We were still tired and couldn't move as fast.  I

was exhausted and thoughts of turning back entered my mind.  At

around 12:30, we came upon a pretty steep eroded hill of dirt and

rocks.  Because the trail was obscure at that point, we thought we

were lost.  Ernest suggested we climb the hill to see if we could

pick up the trail.

     We struggled upward, Marie lagging several dozen yards behind

us.  Suddenly, almost unexpectedly, we were there.

     "We made it," Ernest shouted.

     We were on the crest of the Koolau range.  It was awesome. 

Laying before us was all of Kaneohe Bay, with Chinaman's Hat Island

to the left and Coconut Island to the right.  Below us was the

Valley of the Temples and the town of Kahaluu.  As we celebrated

our accomplishment, clouds danced over the ridgeline, occasionally

obscuring our view.

     After 20 minutes, Ernest suggested that we head back.  No one

protested.  The trail up was the trail down and not surprisingly,

we descended much more rapidly than we had come up.  By 3:00, we

were back at the car and heading home.

     A week or so later, I was cruising with some former high

school buddies at Pearlridge when the topic shifted to what we had

done lately.  Of course, I mentioned the ascent to the top of Aiea

Ridge.  Of course, I was asked the inevitable, "Why did you do

that?"

     Of course, you know what my response was.