Fisher Cat
New member
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2007
- Messages
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The last 10 months have been crazy for us. In October 2011, Klutzy Kat finished her 48.December found the two of us in a tailspin as we battled an immediate family crisis together. Then came my mother's illness, surgeries, and heart attack, while Klutzy Kat's own mother has been battling her own illness.
We had wanted to return to Hawai'i for several years. We are not resort people, and even as I type this we have moved to the eastern side, in a tiny farm cottage with no amenities (save wi-fi) atop a plain overlooking the ocean on a private, couple-operated organic plantation 19 miles north of Hilo. I credit Klutzy Kat's savvy use of our frequent flyer cards so much so that she acquired enough miles to even fly the two of us 1st Class. Our first, and undoubtedly last, experience doing so.
One of our first hikes was along a segement of the Ala Kahakai. In this case we would hike a 6 mile (in and out) leg of a coastal trail. It follows an ancient coastal trail that at one point went around the entire island. In recent years volunteer groups have endeavored to complete the entire loop. Their efforts are to be commended as they too deal with blowdowns, use volcanic rock for scree, deal with trailside and cliff erosion and subsequent re-routes, and bootleg campsites. In their efforts they are actually assisted by the state of Hawai'i. So, all other states beware! The state of HI recognizes that the shoreline belongs to no one but the public. And while access corridors to the shore, and any beach (no matter what resort resides there) may be nothing more than a corridor leading to the beach, it cannot be denied. So here, state trumps federal, and land and resort owners have learned to compromise. What a concept.
The trail crosses sand, rock, volcanic rock, and many other surfaces. While footing can be rough, it is not impossible, but a fall onto an obsidian-like surface causes major cutting right away. We started at the Spencer Beach trailhead.
Our first beach was Mau'uame:
Beautiful flowers: (Plumeria)
Then came Mauna Kea beach:
And lastly, Hapuna Beach. Which consistently takes the #1 Beach ranking in many US surveys. These surveys are correct IMHO (In My Humble Opinion):
All in all, our general impression are that the crews are doing a fantastic job in their eventual goal of uniting the various trail segements into one. What the trail lacks in elevation, it makes up for in tricky footing, variable changing surfaces, and the heat that one bakes in when traversing ancient lava fields.
And finally, what would a Big Island hike be without a sunset? Incomplete. So here it is...
A few more pics are here:
http://fishercat.smugmug.com/Other/Hoofin-It-the-Hard-Way-to/25140952_Tk3zSp#!i=2061400827&k=ktSjGfx
Thanks for reading!
Fisher & Klutzy Kat
We had wanted to return to Hawai'i for several years. We are not resort people, and even as I type this we have moved to the eastern side, in a tiny farm cottage with no amenities (save wi-fi) atop a plain overlooking the ocean on a private, couple-operated organic plantation 19 miles north of Hilo. I credit Klutzy Kat's savvy use of our frequent flyer cards so much so that she acquired enough miles to even fly the two of us 1st Class. Our first, and undoubtedly last, experience doing so.
One of our first hikes was along a segement of the Ala Kahakai. In this case we would hike a 6 mile (in and out) leg of a coastal trail. It follows an ancient coastal trail that at one point went around the entire island. In recent years volunteer groups have endeavored to complete the entire loop. Their efforts are to be commended as they too deal with blowdowns, use volcanic rock for scree, deal with trailside and cliff erosion and subsequent re-routes, and bootleg campsites. In their efforts they are actually assisted by the state of Hawai'i. So, all other states beware! The state of HI recognizes that the shoreline belongs to no one but the public. And while access corridors to the shore, and any beach (no matter what resort resides there) may be nothing more than a corridor leading to the beach, it cannot be denied. So here, state trumps federal, and land and resort owners have learned to compromise. What a concept.
The trail crosses sand, rock, volcanic rock, and many other surfaces. While footing can be rough, it is not impossible, but a fall onto an obsidian-like surface causes major cutting right away. We started at the Spencer Beach trailhead.
Our first beach was Mau'uame:
Beautiful flowers: (Plumeria)
Then came Mauna Kea beach:
And lastly, Hapuna Beach. Which consistently takes the #1 Beach ranking in many US surveys. These surveys are correct IMHO (In My Humble Opinion):
All in all, our general impression are that the crews are doing a fantastic job in their eventual goal of uniting the various trail segements into one. What the trail lacks in elevation, it makes up for in tricky footing, variable changing surfaces, and the heat that one bakes in when traversing ancient lava fields.
And finally, what would a Big Island hike be without a sunset? Incomplete. So here it is...
A few more pics are here:
http://fishercat.smugmug.com/Other/Hoofin-It-the-Hard-Way-to/25140952_Tk3zSp#!i=2061400827&k=ktSjGfx
Thanks for reading!
Fisher & Klutzy Kat
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