I’m sipping a well deserved vodka tonic as I begin to write about my day. It began with fantastic intentions, gear packed, batteries charged and as I drove up the mountain to Keaiwa Heiau State Park, I knew I must be close to heaven. I eagerly scrambled up to the first trail marker and a Robert Frost poem popped into my head, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both...”, I be only one birder! The guidebook to Oahu hiking as well as a Birding Magazine article wrote that the Aiea Loop Trail is a 4.8 mile loop and is suitable for novice hikers. The first mile had my blood pumping for sure, it has been awhile since I hiked any trail that had an incline. Up I traveled on the red soiled rocky path and the birds were delightfully singing high in the canopy, quick glimpses of birds I have already seen and then the sound I was hoping for, the call of an endangered Oahu Elepaio! One of three species of monarch flycatchers endemic only to Oahu, the two other species are on the Big Island and Kauai, respectively. They have been photographed and seen before on this trail but unfortunately are on a decline, from research it appears that it is mostly due to avian malaria. Scientific surveys show that this species was in serious decline but stable for the last few years at around 1,200. The early Hawaiians loved this little bird which legend tells that the Hawaiians would watch where the bird would land and sing, this was a sign that those trees were good healthy trees, trees that the Hawaiians would later make into canoes. Also, the hiking guide that I was using noted that the elepaio is a friendly bird to hikers and will curiously fly down the trail with them. My encounter with the Oahu elepaio was short and exhilirating but it was definitely a curious little bird and it gave me great views of it’s field markings, please see the Bird gallery.
I continued up the trail and was pleased to find an overlook and a bench at about mile 2 where I ate and pondered my next move. I was going to turn back and as I was resting my aching feet and back, I probably should have. The hiking guide in my opinion was incredibly wrong, writing that it was an “easy” loop really hurt my morale. I know I’m not a stellar athlete but I thought I was in decent enough shape. Twists and turns, on at times slippery soil, up through a lush canopy, I continued on anyway. At the top of the trail the reward was looking down through the green canopy and seeing both the H3 Highway S-turn up into the mountain and a spectacular view of Pearl Harbor. What goes up, most come down, right? Ah yes, the decline! Man, things were shaping up nicely! Having a decent pace down, I would stop every now and then and listen. I had a nice encounter with some red-billed leothrix and heard the very unique song of the Japanese Bush Warbler as well as another Oahu elepaio! I was guessing that I was closing in on 4 miles and I felt like the rest of this hike was going to be a breeze. Then the incline came back and the 10lbs of gear said to my aching legs and pounding heart, wait a minute lady. The last mile was excruciating. Almost all of it up hill and then...the loop spits you out BUT not where you went in, down about 600 feet into a campsite and the road that lead you UP to the parking lot. With my last sip of water and my car in sight I trudged on, I had done the whole exhausting loop.
Now, the sun is setting, my feet are up, the cool drink in my hand and I wonder was it all worth it? Whole heartily I say yes, “and that has made all the difference”.
Enclosed is an iPhone shot of one part of the path, the stairway to heaven!
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