Bear Claw to MOAW Loop -- Pete Clines

-
Partway down Mauna o Ahi Windward, looking back to the summit ridge
 

Hike date: August 2003

I've thought about doing Bear Claw again lately, but wanted to descend via a different route.  Since I usually hike alone, traverse options can be difficult to arrange as far as transportation.  Dayle and Scott's adventure on Mauna o Ahi Windward gave me a good solution.
Since I climbed the right claw last year I decided to try the left one this time.  It turned out to be less exciting, fairly dense in places, but a good workout due to the angle of ascent.  I rested on the mushroom rock to have a snack and ponder which car I will buy this week since my Civic has seen better days.  (Anyone want a steal on a '90 wagon?)  Reached Puu O Kona in the clouds, with some light rain and stiff wind.  Continued along the KST, reaching MOAW summit in less time than expected.
Coming down, I took time to clear the ridge some more in places where I could safely swing a machete.  Good job to Scott and Dayle who marked the trail very well.  There was a lot of butt-sliding on the way down due to the steepness and slick nature of the soil underneath me.  This plowing through opened up the trail even further.  No scary sections, and I never had to employ the rope that I had brought along.  I was able to follow the ribbons all the way to the valley floor before losing them among a number of old trails/swaths.  Got back to my car by heading towards the left claw, over it, and down to the watertank.
Dayle, I never saw your ring, but it might comfort you to know that it now has company.  As I was heading out the valley, I realized that my machete was gone.  I believe the cheap sheath tore from my belt as I was sliding down one of the fern covered slopes at the base of the ridge.  I had ignored a few of the switchbacks, opting instead for a controlled "fall" down the slick slope.  (This is as close to surfing as you can get in the woods!)  That's three machetes lost this year - two stolen, one abandoned.  Was not worth the effort to go back uphill and search for it.
A good hike to be sure, but I paid the price in cuts, scratches, and ruined clothes.  Had to toss out the shirt - well ventilated with holes from all the branches it snagged.....and the dirt-covered pants will probably not be salvaged either.  At least my car was unmolested upon my return.
Thanks Dayle for a good description of this trail.
-Pete





































Comments









  1. The HobbitMay 19, 2011 at 7:15 PM
    Pete your the man! Much respect to you! thanks for planting them seeds for us!
    ReplyDelete











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