English 100
Spring 1996
Essay 3 Example

A Journey Mauka

My grandmother--the word-weaver that she is--likes to recite well-known adages to spice up conversations. One of her favorites is the oft-cited saying "Good things come to those who wait." As many times as I've heard Grandma use those words, I never gave much thought to their meaning until I went on a recent hiking expedition with a close friend.

In the summer of '95, Guy Kaulukukui, a Kamehameha grad ('78) like I, invited me to hike the Kapalama Loop trail which begins and ends at the top of the Kamehameha Schools campus up on Kapalama Heights in Kalihi.

Guy, an athletic sort from a family chock full of outstanding sportsmen, told me he had traversed the loop many times. In fact, he described how in his high school days his track coach, Hardy Hutchinson, subjected him and the other distance runners to grueling training runs over the six-mile route every Saturday during track season. Not one to pass up a good thing (or a good method of torture), Guy carried on the run-the-loop tradition with his runners when he became a coach at Kamehameha years later.

The day we had selected for the hike was a blustery, overcast one. And as we set out for our journey into the serenity of the Koolau Mountains, my mind tossed around visions of track runners sprinting hither and yon under the hawk-like scrutiny of their coaches.

Venturing upward, we passed through a forest of sweet-smelling Norfolk pine trees while negotiating the distinct, gently-winding path. After 20 minutes or so, we arrived at an overlook with a beautiful view of the Oahu Country Club in Nuuanu Valley below and the matchbox-shaped skyscrapers in distant downtown Honolulu. We rested at the overlook for a few minutes, taking time to catch our breath, guzzle down some water, and breathe in the wonderful panorama below us. Curious about the trail, I asked Guy if he knew any history surrounding it. Although he didn't know much, through later research I found out that Kapalama was one of several trails blazed in the 1930s by workers in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps, a program to keep unemployed individuals in the workforce (Hansen 235). Using handtools, CCC workers plunged into the Koolaus to forge trails up ridges such as Kapalama, Kamanaiki, Waimano and others.

Following our short break, we continued mauka, following the trail as it contoured--quite steeply at times--along the ever- ascending ridgeline. After about an hour of steady hiking, Guy and I rested again, our pace slowed considerably as dense thickets of stratchy ulehe ferns choked the trail.

After about 90 minutes of steady uphill hiking, we criss- crossed our way through a forest of massive koa trees, some reaching heavenward to heights over 100 feet. A light mist enveloped us, an indication of the elevation of over 1,500 feet we had ascended to. Soon thereafter, we reached the turnaround point where the ridge we'd been hiking intersected with Kamanaiki ridge to the left of us. Guy told me the trail continued mauka from there, and that he'd tried to reach the Koolau summit on two previous occasions but was unsuccessful. He described sections of overgrown ferns and others along precarious, razor-thin ridgelines that he and his hiking companions traversed by creeping along on all fours. Guy told me about others who had tried the summit assault and knew of no one who had reached the Koolau summit at Lanihuli, the massive peak overlooking Kaneohe and most of the Windward side (Ball 39).

Not feeling in the mood for a strenuous, death-defying summit expedition, Guy and I headed makai (oceanward) on the return leg of the loop. After an initial 30 minutes descending along the ridgeline, we followed a series of long and gentle switchbacks that ended at the bottom of a dried-up river gulch. Along the way, we paused to enjoy superb views of upper Kalihi and of the distant Waianae Mountain range. We also passed a dilapidated cabin that Guy told me was in good condition up until the early 1980s.

After crossing the riverbed, the trail contoured along the side of the ridge and connected back about a quarter mile above the trailhead. With breaks and a 10 minute stop for lunch, we completed the hike in less than three hours. And what a superb three hours they were. Not only did we both get a good workout, but we also were treated to magnificent panoramas of Nuuanu and Kalihi Valleys from viewpoints not many others have tread upon.

Because I'm a Kamehameha graduate, one would expect that I had hiked the Kapalama trail many times over the years. However, my trek with Guy--nearly 20 years after I had received my diploma from the Schools--was the first time I had ever ventured into the mountains above my alma mater. In retrospect, I'm glad I took the proverbial plunge at time when I could appreciate the beauty and the history of such a magnificent place. Even more importantly, I understand something more clearly now: good things certainly do come to those who wait.

                       Works Cited 

Ball, Stuart. The Hikers Guide to O'ahu. Honolulu:
     University of Hawaii Press, 1993.

Hansen, Jacob R.  Depression-Era Hawaii: A Historical    
     Perspective. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press,
     1985.