Maps!

Sunday, Sep 4th, 2005 by Andy | 2 Comments
Filed under: Maps

Over the years, one of my hobbies has been playing with maps. I used to map all my hikes in California with the Topo software, and now I use Garmin’s MapSource in association with their GPS. The first gift my wife got me on Kauai was the set of 11 7.5-minute series topological maps (on paper) covering the entire island. Still, I had seen posters and books with some nifty views of Kauai, which I finally found online.

This first one is a hillshade map of Kauai. The artificial shadow is drawn by computer based on the elevation data of the topographical maps. The original is 2.4 MB and available from this link:

Black and white relief map of Kauai

This second one is technically a Landsat photograph, but it has many map qualities. With computers and tools such as Google Maps, the distinction between map, data, and photo is getting blurry. The original is 4.9 MB and available from this link:

Cloudless color satellite photo of Kauai

Bumper Stickers

Sunday, Sep 4th, 2005 by Andy | Leave a Comment
Filed under: Kauai Style

Another sign of local malaise towards the tide of mainland immigrants can be found on the back of local vehicles:

  • “Kauai: a great place to visit, don’t move here”
  • “I grew here, you flew here”

Despite being a recent immigrant myself, I’m not too offended by such expression of gentle hostility. For one, both bumper stickers were spotted on the pick-up trucks of teenage kids. Not that their feelings aren’t genuine, but they are dealing with a lot of change in their lives, much of which lies beyond their immediate control. This is just one way to feel like they can influence one of the change factors. It might work too, if it makes someone considering the move feel that they will be unwelcome.

Another reason I’m not alarmed is that I sympathize with their feelings. The qualities that make this island attractive will disappear with unregulated growth. I think there are ways that many more residents could live here without impacting the spirit of the place, but I don’t think the newcomers want to accept such regulations. The problem really is the people who want to move here and not embrace the simple, easy-going life. Their desire for luxury houses, big cars, convenience and resources to exploit are not appropriate for an island of limited space and limited resources.

While I could be branded a hypocrite, I feel I have accepted the limitations of life here, I want to make do and participate in the local community. I want to find a way to enact the regulations that will protect this island and its local lifestyle. I also hope the owners of the bumper stickers find ways to become active in the same way, otherwise that latent anger may just build up.

Immigration from the Mainland

Sunday, Sep 4th, 2005 by Andy | Leave a Comment
Filed under: Development, Tourism

The continual flow of mainlanders moving to Hawaii is a hot-button issue on the islands. Many local residents, those born here and those who moved here a long time ago, feel the aloha spirit is eroding as more and more people want to share it. A recent article in the Pacific Business News out of Oahu sounds the alarm:

4 percent of Oahu housing units are owned by Mainland residents, 8 percent of Big Island housing units, with a high concentration on the west side, more than 20 percent of Maui housing units and 21 percent of Kauai housing units.

This suggests a continuation, and perhaps an intensification, of a Mainland migration to neighbor islands. State figures have previously shown that more than half the population of Kauai and Maui moved here from the Mainland.

The SMS report says 60 percent of these housing units were bought since 2000 and 71 percent of respondents spend only two to four weeks a year
in their Hawaii home.

However, I think those numbers are more reflective of the growing idea of “vacation ownership” that includes condos and time-shares. I doubt time-shares are counted in those numbers, but vacation condos surely are. Few condos would really qualify as places you’d want to move to permanently. So I’m waiting to see some more descriptive numbers.

Old-Time Paths

Sunday, Sep 4th, 2005 by Andy | Leave a Comment
Filed under: Hiking

They sure don’t make paths the way they used to. On the way to the swimming hole, you follow the original path built to access and service the ditch system. It is made of 2-foot logs laid side-by-side for nearly the entire distance. They are probably Ohia Lehua wood from a native tree, but they have held up well given they are almost 100 years old.

New eroded trail besides the old log path.

The sad part is that because they are slightly uneven to walk on, people have eroded a new path right next to the old one. But this new path has mud puddles and slippery slopes, which get worse in the winter with the rain. Worse yet, the forest is growing over the sturdy old log path, with the risk it may disappear forever. That has already happened on the near-by hike to the Hanalei tunnels: it is the hardest hike I know of, 2.5 miles through mud bogs and thickets, yet you see parts of the old log path at times and wish it had been preserved.

Swimming Hole

Sunday, Sep 4th, 2005 by Andy | 1 Comment
Filed under: Hiking, Waterfalls

On Saturday, Sonja and I went to the Waikoko stream swimming hole, one of the shortest hikes to one of the nicest places around. Known as the “jungle hike” in the popular Ultimate Kauai Guidebook, it does however require a half-hour of driving on a dirt road, the last mile of which requires a 4×4. But here is your reward (don’t forget to thank your car):

View of the double stair-step waterfalls into the dammed pool.

Two streams meet just as they enter the pool, cascading down over basalt steps. The pool is artificial because it is part of a water diversion ditch system. Water is diverted from the Wailua river to the north, runs in a ditch through a tunnel to here. We saw some local kids at the pool who had floated through the tunnel on their boogie boards. A dam holds the water, creates the pool and channels into another ditch heading south (left in the picture). The trail continues along the ditch for a while, but we didn’t explore any further.

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