Koolau Summit Trail 8-day thru hike by Chase Norton--Chapter 4: The Trip, Day 8, Konahuanui to Makapuu

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Day 8 (04/01/12), Konahuanui to Makapuu, 15 hrs, 10 miles

Total Pack Weight: 18.6125 lb.

The standard trek. It's the cool down from the workout. Enjoy every moment and laugh the entire way. You have made it, but still take caution, now is not the time to injure yourself. If you do not have it in you to finish today there are many camp options. Mariners, Camp Awesome and Chaps to name a few. But you got this so push!

Bail: A lot, don’t do it though

Pitter patter against the tarp woke me around 6:30 am and I decided to try and wait for it to pass before getting out of bed. Shortly, the rain ceased and I began what would turn out to be the last day of my journey.

Today I started with 3L of water to get me to Makapuu and what does idiot me do? Make 500ml of coffee to start the day! Really would have enjoyed that water later in the day. Mistake 3. At K1 there used to a pink ribbon blocking the descent of a side ridge. It is no longer there and in the fog of my morning mind and the excitement I made mistake 4 by descending down this ridge. At some point I realized the clouds were much darker around me than the ones to my left and a quick yell confirmed my suspicions that I was descending off the summit. Grumbling, I retraced my steps to my camp site and started off an hour late at 8:45 along the summit.

I crossed over to K2 and took a short break before heading to Olympus. I ran into a small group checking out the summit, said brief hellos, and continued onwards. Lanipo came up shortly after which I ran into a OWH group and chatted with a guy named Dan for some time as their group tried to find their way through the socked in summit to Wiliwilinui. When possible I side skirted them and continued onwards at a steady pace. Summited Wiliwilinui around noon and met a guy chilling on the bench. We sat silently and ate lunch together. He left shortly after I arrived and a grandfather/grandson summited. We talked briefly and I was excited to hear the young grandson so eager to hike and push himself. Really nice folks. I had to respectfully decline the food they were offering and stood up to depart around 12:30 pm. I was now down to 2 liters and understood that rationing was to be required. I allowed myself 3 gulps every hour which turned out to be too generous. The rest of the cross overs were made without much thought to time or really which summit I was passing. At some point past Ka’au I realized I was going to have to make it the whole way or else I would be camping without any water. My head was down and my legs were pumping to get me home. Around Hawaii Loa I was down to 1L of water and by the time I reached Mariners I was empty. The section between Mariners to Makapuu while enjoyable hiking wise, was very difficult due to lack of water. It is not like I was well hydrated to begin with and by the time I was empty I was already very dehydrated. As the sun began to lower itself and the heat reduced some I was able to move a little faster but still my hiking was mainly, “Get up that and then I’ll lay down for 10 minutes” and repeat. I have done this section countless times and again knew if I took my time, rested when needed, I could make it to the lighthouse by nightfall. Just as the light was starting to fade away I tagged the lighthouse fence and quickly descended back down to make it to the road/look out right as complete darkness set in around 7:45.

PAU!

I called Rasta for a possible pick up but he was unavailable so he called Duc and Thea who both happened to be coming to pick me up. I descended down to the Makapuu beach park water fountain for a well needed water chugging session. Silly, just a little knob and fresh clean ready-to-drink water in unlimited supply. With the last few percentages of my battery I let family know I was safe and let Duc know Thea was coming to pick me up. She showed up with what I believe to be my first lei and an amazing one at that! It had the power to mask all of my horrible smells! I enjoyed a great conversation with her on the ride back into civilization. She had driven me home on the attempt in November and we both agreed this drive felt much better :-)

Slowly, we pulled into my apartment building and with a hug and good byes I walked back into my old life, stronger and more confident in who I am and my abilities than a mere 8 days ago. My apartment may be in town but my home will always be in the mountains. A great friend summed this entire journey up well in an email afterwards, “I feel like you have completed a long journey that has covered years gradually building up your knowledge and abilities. Discovering the KST, the tough sections, not listening to naysayers (like me) and just seeing and doing for yourself.”

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