OHE December 26, 1999 (Likeke)


Date: Sun, 26 Dec 1999 17:16:14 -1000
From: Dayle K. Turner (turner@hawaii.edu)
Subject: Likeke TM

The Likeke Trail is the handiwork of Richard "Dick" Davis of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club. The club continues to hike Davis' trail, most recently as a loop, although it can be traversed out-and-back by starting at the Pali Lookout or a grassy pulloff area on the Kaneohe side of the Wilson Tunnel along Likelike Highway.

Today, the HTMC maintenance crew worked on Likeke, with a starting point at the Hoomaluhia Visitors Center. From there, we hiked along the park road as if heading out of the park and at the bottom of the first hill we turned left on a chained off single-lane road that leads to a Board of Water Supply pumping station. There is a trail that goes off to the left along the outer perimeter of the pumping station and then passes under a bridge section of H-3.

On the mauka side of H-3, we passed over a collapsed section of a fenceline and then followed a trail that paralleled H-3 as it headed toward the interchange at Kam Highway near Hawaiian Memorial Park and the Pali Golf Course. This section of trail is marked with ribbons but the route can become obscured because of a lack of use and because the kind of vegetation in the area (buffalo grass) tends to grow quickly and resists any long term sustainment of a swath.

The trail, continuing to parallel H-3 for a couple hundred meters, passes through stands of banana and traverses briefly a faint jeep road. Eventually, the trail ends its contour and begins to climb up a broad spur ridge, roughly below the Kaneohe-bound exit of the Wilson Tunnel. While it is possible to follow a trail up the spur to the shoulder of Likelike Highway quite near the tunnel, we opened up a route that contours across the slope to emerge on the Likeke Trail around 70-80 meters before its terminus at the abandoned lookout just outside the tunnel.

A topo map of the entire route the club will use for the Likeke outing is on the web at

	http://www.geocities.com/oahuhiker/likeke.jpg
Note that this map is pre-H3. Also note that the the trails outlined are approximations of their actual positions.

Today's club hike was Olomana and we were able to make periodic radio contact with Dusty Klein, who coordinated that outing. That's a point-to-point distance of approximately 4 miles. Several members of the crew (Mabel, Thomas, Ken, Jay, and I) were using radios and these proved helpful in relaying our positions to one another and coordinating vehicular transport for the folks who hiked Likeke to Pali Falls and emerged on Kionaole Road near the entrance to Koolau Golf Course.

Also of note is that Likeke passes very near the Koolau Course in some places. In fact, if we were to bash through the brush for 30-40 meters in one spot, we'd find ourselves standing on the tee of one of the holes.

Around 1 p.m., rain poured down heavily for a good half hour. That was the most fun time of the outing for me.

Roll call: Mabel Kekina, Thomas Yoza, Bill Gorst, Jay Feldman, Deetsie Chave, June Miyasato, Lynn Agena, Ken Suzuki, Steve Montgomery, Nathan Yuen, Jim Pushaw, Mel Yoshioka, Jason Sunada, Charlotte Yamane, John Hall, and I.

This coming Saturday (New Year's Day 2000), the club will be doing its traditional Koko Crater hike. For those interested in doing a counterclockwise circumnavigation of the crater, meet at 8 a.m. at the Blowhole parking lot. Since a trek all the way around the crater deviates from the club route, we will set off before the club hike commences and won't be an official part of the outing.

The Sunday club hike (1/2/00) will be Kalena. This is a members-only outing. AFAIK, there is no trail clearing scheduled for 1/2/00. If I find out otherwise, I'll post it here.

--DKT


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