Koolau Summit Trail (KST) rescue
Hiker Mike Bowen's survival skills were tested to the limit — he drank sweat wrung from his clothes — when poor weather and visibility turned a five-day hike into seven on the Koolau Summit Trail. "Conditions were so harsh, I was not sleeping nights for the most part," said the 30-year-old Kalihi man. "Dealing with the heavy winds and the cold made things very hard. Each night just wore on me." Carrying a 100-pound backpack, Bowen and his little dog, Marley, set out on the Laie Falls Trail at 7 a.m. March 13 and planned to return Sunday, but low clouds, torrential rain, 50 mph winds, knee-deep mud and the loss of his tent posed challenges, including getting lost when he couldn't find an exit trail at the Kualoa end. Bowen kept in contact with friend Scott Wong by texting on his cellphone, provi