#waimano

Only two runs, but adding mileage slowly

No climbing

Down 5 lbs, back into 170s

Only one hike

Waimano Trail Clearing

Despite offering to join a friend who is walking the entire island by foot three times in a row over the next week, I couldn’t bear the thought of spending my precious weekend on pavement. The mountains were calling, and I answered.

It had been some time since I joined the HTMC for a clearing, and since they were working on Waimano, the island’s longest trail, I thought I could be useful while also getting in some longer miles to build some fitness.

I ambitiously set my alarm for 5:15, aiming for a 7:00 start time, a full hour before the rest of the crew was set to arrive. I knew I’d need a longer day if I was going to summit, and I needed some time alone on the trail. I arrived at the trailhead around 7:05 only to see the faint outline of a weed whacker disappearing into the forest. Looks like I wasn’t the only one with that idea.

After quelling my OCD and re-checking my bag, I was off and running by 7:15. At the fork I stayed right to continue along upper Waimano. I’m not sure if it was my enhanced fear of heights, compliments of two unfortunate falls over the past two years, but the trail seemed much more sheer and risky in some areas than I recall. I hadn’t been here since 2013 when some folks and I used this as a ‘shortcut’ to crossover to Waiau for that trail clearing, prior to any injuries and back when I still felt some of the invincibility of youth.

I made good time up the trail, stopping to take frequent brakes and soak in the views. No cell reception meant very few distractions. Around 10:30 I began to hear the distant hum of an HTMC weed whacker, but it was so far away that I couldn’t tell if it was in ahead of or behind me. Around 11:00 I caught up with TY who had already leveled several hundred yards of the trail, widening it all the way back to the contour wall. After exchanging hellos I was informed that SD was already well on his way to the summit, and that I’d catch up with him shortly.

I avoided any clearing until I caught up SD a few minutes later and finally started hacking away within a mile of the summit. After lugging 30+ lbs 6 miles uphill, I was already feeling spent. I felt weak working along the final stretches of the trail, but we made slow and steady progress. The trail was in excellent shape from previous years and required little to no serious work up until the final 2 miles, so our efforts were mostly ‘touch up’ work. Cut down an uluhe cluster there, uproot some uki grass there, basically removing obstructions where the trail seemed narrower than it should be.

Two other clearers caught up about half a mile from the terminus and charged ahead at a faster clip. We met them on the summit around 12:30 and stopped for a well-deserved break. The last time I was up here I couldn’t see more than 100 feet away, so this was a great payoff.

After talking about hikes, hybrid cars and kids, rain clouds began to roll in from the windward side so we decided to pack in and head back. With roughly 7.4 miles to get home we also had to be mindful of remaining daylight. S and B cruised at a fast clip while H and I took a more leisurely pace.

The return trip is always one of the best parts of a clearing: you’re seeing the fruits of the team’s efforts and a trail that has gone from unruly to extremely safe for even casual hikers. We marveled at the crew’s work while talking about travel, hiking and camping trips, and all these amazing adventures that H has experienced and that I would aspire to. I really do love this group of people and I need to dedicate more time to this club.

Pau Hana was hard earned and enjoyed. I caught up with some folks I hadn’t seen in person in too long - and importantly got to bounce some questions off of GO who hiked the JMT a few years back. I needed training and planning info from a Hawaiian hiker’s perspective (How do you train for that terrain while living here? What’s the best way to get food there? Any dangers we wouldn’t be used to? etc). I got most of the answers I needed, as well as some unsolicited recommendations. As he broke down the specifics, a few others circled around and you could see the enthusiasm in the simple fact that I was going to make this attempt. It reminds me of the one time I asked this same group for some “Yosemite advice” prior to our trip last summer, and people basically lined up to tell me tips and pointers. Again, I love this group.