Historical Moloaa Trail

Hawaiians historically had footpaths for getting about on land. On Maui and the Big Island, some of those paths that traverse ancient lava flows have been preserved, but on Kauai, vegetation and erosion have erased all the paths that fell out of use. So, several years ago, I was excited to hear that one of these historical trails was preserved near Moloa’a Bay.

To understand why there is a trail along Moloa’a Bay that still exists and why it is still important to local people, you have to look at the geographical history of the area. I am just an amateur geographer who has read some history books, so this is no more than my speculative history of the area.

Historically, pre-contact Hawaiians lived in ocean-side communities, farming the low river valleys, gathering seafood inside the reefs, and fishing out beyond them. Thus it is likely that Anahola valley, Papa’a valley, and Moloa’a were all farmed and inhabited. Of those, I believe that only Anahola has a shallow reef area, but it is rather small. Much larger is the reef area at Larsen’s beach, further to the north. The calm, shallow waters inside reefs were important sources smaller fish, shellfish, and limu, the edible seaweed.

In order to reach the resources at Larsen’s, the coastal residents would likely walk the easiest and most direct route to get there along the coast. Thus the coastal trail they established probably followed inland of the beaches and up over bluffs on the easiest route. I am not sure if this path was the main passage for travelers going around the island, but seeing as how it connected populated areas, it likely was. Since Moloaa stream forms a wide valley over 200 feet deep further inland, the coast would probably be the easiest route.

This photo shows the bluffs on the west side of Molaa Bay. The coastal trail stays near sea-level until the middle of the picture, then it climbs up to the middle “bench” on the right:

After western contact, land ownership became established in favor of agricultural ventures. Initially, only the flat land at the tops of the sea-bluffs was useful for sugar cane or ranching, and that’s were the land parcels were sold. As transportation developed, new roads were needed to connect the new towns, and the shortest way was no longer along the coast. For example, I believe that Koolau Road which switchbacks down into Moloaa valley from the main highway was part of the original road between Anahola and Kilauea.

However, these new roads cut through the flat agricultural land. To compensate the owners, the government gave them the marginal coastal land in exchange. This is the sloping bluff area that extends from the original parcels down to the high-water mark along the shore, where the tail weaves up and down along the safest route. The land was unusable to the government anyways, and the ranchers could use some of it for livestock grazing.

Despite all the changes, a few people still lived in the coastal communities and found it easier to go fishing and limu gathering on the established trail. One kupuna (elder) resident of Moloaa recalls taking part of the trail to school, which used to be located on Koolau Rd, near the cemetary, as well as bringing limu back from Larsen’s with a mule. It was this continued use that preserved the trail for everyone. Fortunately, the government of the time recognized the use of the trail that existed at the time and created a public easement in the deeds of the land that was exchanged. Unfortunately, they ignored the existing trail and reserved the right to create an easement at the high water mark. When the land was just pasture, the ranchers were longtime neighbors of the limu gatherers, and so this easement was not enforced and the original trail was still used.

Fast-forward to the present, and now the land is prime ocean-view real-estate. The owners are mainland developers seeking to put what must be luxury estates on the bluff-top agricultural land, which implies keeping the public as far away as possible to ensure privacy. Although the days when local residents would gather limu and carry it back on a mule are long gone, the public is still entitled access to the original coastal trail created over generations (see my updated conclusion regarding access).

When I first became aware of the Moloaa trail in 2005, the landowner was asking for landscaping permits on the slopes. Hawaii law recognizes the sensitive nature of coastal bluffs, mostly due to the impact that erosion and runoff can have on the reef and ocean, and landowners need special permits for landscaping in the area. Evidently, the landowner’s plans did not even recognize the existence of the historical trail. When faced with the legal obligations of the deed, the landowner followed the letter of the law and proposed creating a trail at the high water mark, in other words, at the foot of the bluffs, through the rocks in the photo below:

Earlier this year, with the permitting process dragging on, I heard that a new trail had been created, parallel to the original one and pushing the public to the edge of the bluff. Worse, the trail was to be landscaped uphill with a low hedge, to delineate the trail they argued, essentially overgrowing the original trail and denying the public a safe passage. What’s so galling is that the landowner has been told the original trail is a catalogued archeolgical site, as shown in the map below, and that it must be preserved. The way to preserve a trail is to keep it open, have people walk on it.

To be continued…

Additional Reading:

• Malama Moloa’a is a website that catalogues the actions of the landowner against neighboring property owners as well as citations issued for permit violations. I have focused only on the trail, but there are many contentious issues surrounding the development of this property. When you follow the link above, just click the Cancel button when prompted to enter a password—that must be for the site administrator.
• The recent article in the Garden Island newspaper (Sunday, February 10, 2008) about the trail, which I have blogged about before.
• A later article in the Garden Island newspaper (Tuesday, February 12, 2008), summarizing the mixed results of the last planning commission meeting regarding the permits.

Nounou Waterfalls

The waterfalls on Nounou mountain, the Sleeping Giant, are so ephemeral because there is so little area on the upper slopes to catch and funnel the rain. It takes a lot of rain and a quick break in the clouds to see them. We had another four inches of rain last night, there were a few showers in the morning, and so I was lucky to see them when I went out around noon today. And they lasted long enough for me to go get my camera and tripod. Here are the very rare Nounou waterfalls:

There are actually two waterfalls, the taller one of about 200′ (60 m) on the large black cliff face, and a shorter one of about 40′ (12 m) on the smaller cliff above to the left. In this picture, the lower one is falling straight, and the upper one is being blown almost upwards by the wind. There is so little water flowing that the wind would sometimes blow both of them sideways.

I bet Nounou has memories of many larger waterfalls, when it was a bigger mountain. When clouds obscure the peak, as they have often recently, the cliffs looked like those of the Na Pali coast or maybe Hanalei, reaching up into the rainy forested uplands. According to Chuck Blay’s book “Kauai’s Geologic History,” Nounou mountain is about 5 million years old and part of the original volcanic island-building stage of Kauai. Long ago, the Sleeping Giant was one of the pali, large cliff or escarpment, with streams from the uplands plunging over his shoulders, perhaps into the sea below.

Pineapple Flowers

Have you ever seen pineapple flowers before? To satisfy your horticultural curiosity:

Most people know that pineapples grow in Hawaii, it used to be a big industry on Kauai with fields and large canneries in both Kapaa and Lawai. I have read that pineapple flowers are the reason that there are no hummingbirds in Hawaii. The colorful hummingbirds would probably thrive here but the pinapple industry doesn’t want them imported because they can pollinate the flowers, which produces unattractive little brown seeds in the fruit. Pineapples are still a major crop for the Dole and Del Monte companies on the islands of Lanai and Oahu, although Del Monte has announced they are quitting because they can grow them cheaper elsewhere.

Most people have also heard you can cut the top off a pineapple and it will grow into a new plant, so I decided to try. The first thing I didn’t know is that it takes 18-24 months to grow another pineapple. We planted some tops at the other house we rented and later moved them to our new house. They survived the move, and I’ve been planting new tops whenever we get a sweet pineapple from the farmer’s market. So we now have have a prickly pineapple patch which I keep well watered. What really surprised me is that pineapple plants produce flowers and that the flowers, in my case, are purple. I always thought the flowers were internal, that the little red leaves were the flowers.

Pineapples are the only edible plant in the showy bromeliad family, and are still very decorative. In case you want to try outside the tropics, you should be able to root a pineapple top and maybe grow it indoors behind a sunny window during the winter. When you eat a pineapple, cut off the green top at the point where it meets the fruit. Peel off the little leaves at the base to expose a 1/4 inch (.5 cm) of the stalk. It may already have some root buds. Sit the top in a small glass with enough water to submerge the exposed stalk, and place on a window sill—the one in our kitchen below isn’t even very sunny. When it has as many roots as the one on the right, plant it in good soil with plenty of compost, water it twice a week and expose it to as much sunlight and warmth as possible—for two years.

Pure Speculation

On the Kuilau Ridge hike last Sunday, I caught a few glimpses of Mt Waialeale through the clouds. You often hear about how the Hawaiians used to climb up from Wailua once a year to the heiau atop Mt Waialeale, and I realized I was now looking at the possible routes.

Conventional wisdom says they climbed up to the col that the Powerline trail crosses between two points labeled Maheo and Kualapa on the topo map, and then followed that dividing ridge steeply up and over the prominent Pohakupele (Pele’s Rock), a false summit to the upper plateau of Waialeale. This seems plausible, because the Powerline trail demonstrates that it is easy to reach that ridge, and it seems to slope fairly gradually up to the inevitable steepness of Pohakupele.

The rest of the modern story is that this path was last climbed in the 1800’s, once even by a haole (white person), but that a rock slide has since made the treacherous path impassible. Though I’ve heard somebody wonder if the trail was just simply lost to the vegetation. Nevertheless, some people are still intrigued by the idea of climbing to Waialeale from the east side, some are even trying to find that way, and some are also failing and getting rescued.

For those trying to find a way without getting stuck up there (no guarantees), here’s my purely specualtive contribution. Last Sunday, the way the clouds and sun were shining made it apparent that there is a large cleft, 200-300 feet (60-100 m) deep, in the ridge of the assumed path.

Click for unlabled photo.

The height and steepness of the cleft are not readily apparent on the topo map (just above the 3000′ contour label), and I hadn’t noticed the cleft at all other times I’ve had good views of that area. Of course, if ancient Hawaiians or a modern adventure-seeker did manage to reach the cleft, they may have the wherewithal to climb over it or around it. But having hiked in similar places on hunters’ trails, I think it is either impossible or suicidal to attempt without any kind of trail. The cleft looks too steep to climb down and back up, and the cliff face too vertical to allow getting off the ridge.

However, the same view offered me a plausible alternative route that I’ve labeled on the photo. A second ridge also leads up to the false summit that is Pohakupele, generally steeper, but smoother and without any large gaps. It is very steep near the top, but the photo shows the other ridge is just as steep in that area. This alternative ridge begins down near the Wailua river, near the beginning of the Tunnel hike, and is much more direct than following the Powerline ridge to the col. Given the fact that the cleft in the assumed ridge is probably too large to be the landslide that supposedly closed the other route, I speculate this steeper ridge is the old Hawaiian route.

Now all I need is for somebody to tell me if this new route can be climbed.

WARNING: climbing off-trail in the wilds of Kauai is a dangerous idea. What looks like a smooth ridge from a distance is a jagged ridge of crumbly rock covered in dense vegetation that you cannot simply push through, but you can easily fall through with fatal consequences. Exercise extreme caution and proceed at your own risk.

Geckos & Other Guests

Our friend Gabriela Taylor just published her first book about Kaua’i, subtitled Tales of a Kaua’i Bed & Breakfast. After 30-some years on Kaua’i, she says she’s finally starting to feel and be treated like a local. And she has lots of great stories going all the way back to the Hippie camps in the 70’s (although Taylor camp was not named after her).

From the book’s website (designed by my wife Sonja) where you can also read excerpts and buy the book:

“Life at a B&B is often so alluring that many guests fantasize about retiring in paradise and running one of their own. Author Gabriela Taylor does not entirely dispel this image, for she built and ran a B&B for twelve years on the island of Kaua‘i.”

You can also buy the book at the Borders in Kukui Grove, where Gabriela will soon have a talk-story and sign books.

I’ll file this under History because I don’t think I’ll have enough Literary entries to justify starting a new category.