An Ascent of Pu'u Kukui -- Burton A. Falk (1978)

-
Early on in my long fascination with Maui I became intrigued with the idea of climbing 5;788' Puu Kukui (lit., "candlenut hill"), rising just east of Lahaina, the high point of the West Maul Mountains. Doing a little research, I found that this peak--because of its almost permanent cloud cap-is one of the wettest spots on earth. The mountain, in fact, has an average rainfall of 40 feet/year, and often competes with Kauai's Mt. Waialeale as the soggiest spot on the planet. Read more...

Comments

  1. BrinaMay 29, 2019 at 7:10 PM

    mahalos for your story :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. BrinaMay 29, 2019 at 7:11 PM

    I've hiked Olowalu to Waikapu.
    Olowalu to Iao is next :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. BrinaOctober 7, 2019 at 10:49 AM

    Does anyone have knowleddge of the trek fromn Olowalu into Iao valley?
    Topo maps indicate a vertical climb of only 800' and a grade of only 33 degree. Surely do-able.

    Mahalos for your kokua and providing any info.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SpaceModerneSeptember 6, 2020 at 10:48 PM

      https://karl-helser.com/warrior-trek-iao-valley-to-olowalu-valley-july-4-6-2015/

      Delete
    2. BrinaMarch 3, 2021 at 10:55 PM

      Mahalos. I was looking for this :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mauna Loa summit via Ainapo Trail ascent -- Patrick Rorie

-
Image
THE INSPIRATION Having witnessed footage last year on the Discovery channel of a competition dubbed "The Eco-challenge", an intense combination of activities including nocturnal mountain climbing and paddling through rough seas, I was inspired to participate in something similar here in Hawaii. THE CHALLENGE On Thursday, March 18,1999, I received an e-mail message with the subject "wanna challenge?" from Gene Robinson inquiring about my availability in late April/early May for a backpack trip up Mauna Loa (lit. "long mountain" and the largest volcano in the world) via the Ainapo (lit. "dark land") Trail. I didn't know much about Ainapo, but as Gene filled in the details my desire to conquer the route only increased. THE AINAPO TRAIL - A BRIEF HISTORY "During the past two centuries several trails have been used to ascend to Mauna Loa's summit. The oldest, now known as the Ainapo Trail, extended 34 miles from the old village of Ka
Read more

Pololu to Waipio, Part 1 -- by John Hall

-
Image
John Hall. Photo by Nathan Yuen It was August of 1977 when Fred Dodge and his two teen-age children, Charlie, 17, and Alyce (Tootsie) , 16, and I hiked across the north slope of the Kohala mountain from the end of the road above Pololu Valley to Waipio Valley. I had hiked the Kohala Ditch trail with the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club some years before on a trip organized by Dick Booth, I believe. On that trip we had taken the inland trail, and wound behind a waterfall and in and out of many deep gulches before reaching the end of the trail. This time we stayed on the coastal route, crossing the mouth of Pololu Valley and climbing the wall on the farside. Here the trail forks, with the right branch running up the ridge and eventually connecting with the inland trail in Honokane Nui Valley. We intended to take the left fork, but it crossed a patch of bare dirt at the junction and was less obvious, so we missed it and hiked some distance up the ridge before realizing our mista
Read more

Kohala Ditch -- by Pat Rorie

-
Image
Twenty-five years later and in the same spirit of exploration/discovery exemplified by HTMC legends John Hall and Fred Dodge during their 1977 Kohala Ditch adventure, Mark Short and I traveled to the Big Island this past July 4th weekend to experience the region for ourselves. Of the Kohala Ditch Trip, Stuart Ball writes..."Kohala Ditch is a rugged loop trip in the windward Kohala Mountains of the Big Island. The route initially traverses several massive ridges and deep canyons with fast flowing streams. The return portion is along the coast where black sand beaches alternate with steep sea cliffs. Much of the trail follows an abandoned ditch, once used to channel stream water to a sugar cane plantation near Hawi." Pat Rorie -- Photo by Nathan Yuen Brief History:   17 miles in length, the Kohala Ditch required 18 months and 17 lives to complete, with opening ceremonies occurring on June 11, 1906. Japanese laborers comprised most of the workforce and they lived in ramshackle c
Read more