Extreme Hiking Hawaii

Not many people have done the traverse of Mauna Loa and descended the Southwest Rift. Before I did it for the first time, I talked to all the old-timers I could find, and couldn't locate anyone who had done it or knew of anyone who had, with the possible exception of one of the geologists at the Volcano laboratory. It is not easy to explain the challenge of this trip to the average layman, or even to most experienced hikers. Craig Chisholm, in his book " Hawaiian Hiking Trails " characterizes the climb of Mauna Loa from the Strip Road to the summit cabin as "one of the hardest hikes in the Hawaiian Islands". This is entirely justified, yet the end of the trail at the summit cabin represents the final departure from civilization and the doorway to the truly untouched wilderness for those who attempt the still more challenging trek down the Southwest Rift. As one leaves the summit cabin and travels around the rim of the caldera to South Pit, ...

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...

Photo via Brian Wilson's blog Mike Muench (left above) and Brian Wilson (at right) hiked/ran/walked from sea-level on one side of the Big Island (Point A on map below) up and over Mauna Loa (Map point B) then Mauna Kea (Map Point C) then down to the Kawaihae side (Map Point D) in just under four days. They started at 5:45 pm on May 19, 2010 and completed their epic journey at 4:30pm on May 23. Total Time: 94 hours and 30 minutes Total Time on Feet: 70 hours Total Distance: ~ 158 miles Average Packweight: 23# Read Wilson's account of this great feat... and Muench's account . Awesome stuff!

Waimanu Valley -- Photo from www.hawaii-guide.com This is part 2 of of John Hall's recounting of a backpacking trip from Pololu to Waimanu Valley on the Big Island. If you missed it, read part 1 here. The rain continued as we proceeded for another day to head for Waimanu. Set a course, strike a gulch, climb the mountain, cross the gully, head for Waimanu, and on and on. Once or twice we startled small pigs that seemed astounded to find us there, and quickly disappeared in the brush. That night, I again found suitably spaced, if unnervingly spindly trees for my hammock, but we were out of tree ferns, and Fred and his family had to pitch their tent directly on a muddy bank. Fred recalls that it was the "most miserable, totally wet, sleepless night we've probably ever had." I was amazed that neither of the youngsters ever complained, though I thought I noticed a certain reluctance to join their Dad and me on trips afterwards. I don't know how they cooked th...

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...