Island Summits

He ‘Ohu Ke Aloha; ‘A‘ohe Kuahiwi Kau ‘Ole
Love is like mist; there is no mountaintop that it does not settle upon

“… as the sun shining in his strength dissipated the clouds, we had a more impressive view of the stupendous pyramidal Mauna Kea, having a base of some thirty miles, and a height of nearly three miles.  Its several terminal peaks rise so near each other, as scarcely to be distinguished at a distance.”

“These, resting on the shoulders of this vast Atlas of the Pacific, prove their great elevation by having their bases environed with ice, and their summits covered with snow, in this tropical region, and heighten the grandeur and beauty of the scene, by exhibiting in miniature, a northern winter, in contrast with the perpetual summer of the temperate and torrid zones below the snow and ice.”

“The shores along this coast appeared very bold, rising almost perpendicularly, several hundred feet, being furrowed with many ravines and streams. From these bluffs, the country rises gradually, for a few miles, presenting a grassy appearance, with a sprinkling of trees and shrubs.”

“Then, midway from the sea to the summit of the mountain, appeared a dark forest, principally of the koa and ʻōhia, forming a sort of belt, some ten miles in breadth-the temperate zone of the mountain.”  (Bingham at first sight of the Islands, 1820)

And when you think about high elevation places in the Hawaiian islands, of course you have to talk about that basic dichotomy between the lower elevation places where people live.

And in old times, the lower elevations would have been called the Wao Kanaka. Wao being a word that means “zone” and “Kanaka” being a person. So the Wao Kanaka is a zone in which people belong.

When you rise above that zone, you enter into a realm in which all of the living things there are not there because of human activity. They flourish as the result of the activity of the gods, or the Akua. And so that zone is called the Wao Akua. And the transition from Wao Kanaka to Wao Akua is not taken lightly.  (Gon)

The Islands’ peaks are considered the piko (summit or center of the land) and are considered sacred.  The places upon which clouds nestle are considered wao akua, the realm of the gods.  Clouds cover the actions of the gods while they walk the earth. The higher the piko, the closer to heaven, and the greater the success of prayers. (Maly)

Let’s look at Hawaiʻi’s peaks, the highest point on each Island as we move down the Island chain.

Niʻihau – Pānīʻau (1,281-feet)

Ni‘ihau was formed from a single shield volcano approximately 4.89-million years ago, making it slightly younger in age than Kaua‘i. It is approximately 70-square miles or 44,800-acres.  It’s about 17-miles west of Kauaʻi.

Pānīʻau, the island’s highest point, is 1,281-feet; approximately 78% of the island is below 500-feet in elevation.   Located inside Kauai’s rain shadow, Ni‘ihau receives only about 20 to 40-inches of rain per year.  Ni‘ihau has no perennial streams.  (DLNR)

Kaua‘i – Kawaikini (5,243-feet)

Geologically, Kauaʻi is the oldest of the main inhabited islands in the chain. It is also the northwestern-most island, with Oʻahu separated by the Kaʻieʻie Channel, which is about 70-miles long. In centuries past, Kauaʻi’s isolation from the other islands kept it safe from outside invasion and unwarranted conflict.

Near the summit (Kawaikini) is Waiʻaleʻale; in 1920 it passed Cherrapunji, a village in the Khasi hills of India, as the wettest spot on Earth (recording a yearly average of 476-inches of rain.)

Oʻahu – Kaʻala (4,025-feet)

The Waiʻanae Mountains, formed by volcanic eruptions nearly four-million years ago, have seen centuries of wind and rain, cutting huge valleys and sharp ridges into the extinct volcano.  Mount Kaʻala, the highest peak on the island of Oʻahu, rises to 4,025-feet.

Today, only a small remnant of the mountain's original flat summit remains, surrounded by cliffs and narrow ridges. It’s often hidden by clouds.

Molokaʻi – Kamakou (4,961-feet)

The island was formed by two volcanoes, East and West, emerging about 1.5-2-million years ago.  The cliffs on the north-eastern part of the island are the result of subsidence and the “Wailua Slump” (a giant submarine landslide – about 25-miles long that tumbled about 120-miles offshore – about 1.4-million years ago.)

Kamakou is part of the extinct East Molokaʻi shield volcano, which comprises the east side of the island.   It and much of the surrounding area is part of the East Maui Watershed partnership and the Kamakou Preserve.  A boardwalk covers part of the rainforest and bog to protect the hundreds of native plants, birds, insects and other species there.

Lānaʻi – Lānaʻihale (3,337-feet)

The island of Lānaʻi was made by a single shield volcano between 1- and 1.5-million years ago, forming a classic example of a Hawaiian shield volcano with a gently sloping profile.  (SOEST)  The island of Lānaʻi is about 13-miles long and 13-miles wide; with an overall land area of approximately 90,000-acres, it is the sixth largest of the eight major Hawaiian Islands.

“At the very summit of the island, which is generally shrouded in mist, we came upon what Gibson (an early (1861) Mormon missionary to the islands) called his lake - a little shallow pond, about the size of a dining table.  In the driest times there was always water here, and one of the regular summer duties of the Chinese cook was to take a pack mule and a couple of kegs and go up to the lake for water.”  (Lydgate, Thrum)

Maui – Haleakalā (10,023-feet)

Haleakalā was thought to have been known to the ancient Hawaiians by any one of five names: “Haleakalā,” “Haleokalā,” “Heleakalā,” “Aheleakalā” and “Halekalā.” (Hawaiʻi National Park Superintendent Monthly Report, December 1939)

Haleakalā is best known in stories related of the demi-god Māui; he is best known for his tricks and supernatural powers. In Hawaiʻi, he is best known for snaring the sun, lifting the sky, discovering the secrets of fire, fishing up the islands and so forth.  (Fredericksen)

Kahoʻolawe – Lua Makika (1,477-feet)

Kahoʻolawe is the smallest of the eight Main Hawaiian Islands, 11-miles long and 7-miles wide (approximately 28,800-acres;) it is seven miles southwest of Maui.  The highest point on Kahoʻolawe is the crater of Lua Makika at the summit of Puʻu Moaulanui, which is about 1,477 feet above sea level.

Located in the “rain shadow” of Maui’s Haleakalā, rainfall has been in short supply on Kahoʻolawe.  However, nineteenth century forestry reports mentioned a “dense forest” at the top of Kahoʻolawe.  Historically, a “cloud bridge” connected the island to the slopes of Haleakalā.  The Naulu winds brought the Naulu rains that are associated with Kahoʻolawe (a heavy mist and shower of fine rain that would cover the island.)

Hawaiʻi – Mauna Kea (13,796-feet)

Nani Wale ʻO Mauna Kea, Kuahiwi Kūhaʻo I Ka Mālie (Beautiful is Mauna Kea, standing alone in the calm) expresses the feeling that Mauna Kea is a source of awe and inspiration for the Hawaiian people. The mountain is a respected elder, a spiritual connection to one’s gods.   (Maly)

A significant pattern archaeologists note in their investigations is the virtual absence of archaeological sites at the very top of the mountain. McCoy states that the “top of the mountain was clearly a sacred precinct that must, moreover, have been under a kapu and accessible to only the highest chiefs or priests.”  (Maly)

ʻĀina mauna, or mountain lands, reflects a term used affectionately by elder Hawaiians to describe the upper regions of all mountain lands surrounding and including Mauna Kea.  (Maly)

The image shows the Islands’ Summits (Google Earth.)  In addition, I have added some other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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© 2014 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Kaluakauka

In 1793, Captain George Vancouver gave a few cattle to Kamehameha I; when Vancouver landed additional cattle at Kealakekua in 1794, he strongly encouraged Kamehameha to place a 10‐year kapu on them to allow the herd to grow.

In the decades that followed, cattle flourished and turned into a dangerous nuisance.  Kamehameha III lifted the kapu in 1830 and the hunting of wild cattle was encouraged.  The king hired cattle hunters from overseas to help in the effort.

By 1846, 25,000-wild cattle roamed at will and an additional 10,000-semi‐domesticated cattle lived alongside humans.  A wild bull or cow could weigh 1,200 to 1,500-pounds and had a six‐foot horn spread.  Vast herds destroyed natives’ crops, ate the thatching on houses, and hurt, attacked and sometimes killed people.

In addition to traditional practices in the forests (i.e. bird feather collecting, harvesting koa and ʻōhiʻa, etc,) wild cattle were hunted for consumption, as well as provisioning ships with  salt beef, and hides and tallow to the growing whaling fleets replenished their stocks.

Hunting wild cattle in the upper forest where they roamed was dangerous.  Bullock pits were dug to trap the animals (they were about seven or eight feet long, and four feet wide and were walled up and covered with fragile brush;) they were near established trails; cattle were also drawn to the area by adjoining water holes.  When animals fall in the pits, they were unable to climb out the steep sides.

On July 12, 1834, the pits proved they can be a peril to people, too.  David Douglas was killed by a wild bullock at Keahuaʻai (a knoll at the top of Laupāhoehoe near the boundary of Humuʻula and Laupāhoehoe (now called Kaluakauka or Douglas Pit.))  (Maly)  “In the forest under the shadow of Mauna Kea I have seen the bullock pit where the dead body of the distinguished Scottish naturalist, (David) Douglas”.  (Coan)

Douglas was born at Scone, near Perth, Scotland, in 1799, and started his career, there; he was a botanist.  He was affiliated with the University of Glasgow and served as botanical collector for the Horticultural Society of London. He was hired by the Hudson's Bay Company to do a botanical survey of the Oregon region.

In mid-August 1823, Douglas was in Philadelphia looking at the plants brought back by Lewis and Clark that even then were flourishing in some American, as well as European gardens. By September Douglas was in the Northwest, looking as always for seeds and cuttings of fruit trees, as well as wild woody plants.

Even though first Menzies (1790, while sailing with Captain Vancouver) and then Lewis and Clark (1804, through the expedition through the Louisiana Purchase and to the Northwest) had collected plants in the area, they had found only the obvious. Almost every day Douglas was in the field he was finding curious plants that proved to be new to science.

One of the collections he sent back to England with a home-bound ship was the dried branches and needles of what he called "Oregon pine," that today is known as Douglas Fir (his namesake that is now a common wood in construction, as well as the festive and adorned Christmas tree.)

For 4 years, he travelled approximately 8,000-miles throughout  the Northwest, cataloging and collecting samples. He returned to England in 1827. He achieved fame in Europe for his collection, and has been referred to as “one of the founding fathers of the British forestry industry as it exists today” by one biographer.

He returned to the Northwest in 1829 hoping to convince the Hudson's Bay Company to finance a trip to Alaska and beyond. They refused, so David Douglas sailed to Hawaiʻi, arriving here just before Christmas of 1833.

Douglas was a gifted collector, but in the field he was often in trouble. He once fell on a nail that penetrated his leg under the kneecap. He nearly drowned in a glacier-fed river, and was weeks away from civilization with little but his wet clothes.  He grew blind in one eye, and his vision was slowly failing in the other.

In January 1834, he set out to “to ascend and explore Mauna Kea, as soon as possible” Having completed his trek to both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, Douglas also visited Kilauea and then returned to O‘ahu.

In July of 1834, Douglas returned to Hawai‘i for a second trip to Mauna Kea. This trip was made via the Waimea-Laumai‘a mountain trail.

“Douglas left the vessel at Kawaihae to cross over by land, engaged a foreigner for a guide and several natives to take along his baggage. The guide accompanied him till they passed all the pit falls dug to entrap wild cattle on the north side Mauna Kea, he then left him to return.”  (Lyman, Greenwell)

On July 12, 1834, while exploring the Island; “Douglas, a scientific traveller from Scotland, in the service of the London Horticultural Society, lost his life in the mountains of Hawaii, in a pitfall, being gored and trampled to death by a wild bullock captured there.  (Bingham)

“This has been one of the most gloomy days I ever witnessed. … Soon after Mr. Douglas went back a short distance for something and in retracing his steps fell into a pit (into which a bullock had previously fallen) and was found dead a short time afterward. This was Sat. Morning. Sunday he was taken the shortest distance to the sea side, wrapped in a hyde, put on board a canoe and brought here as he was taken from the pit. His close are sadly torn and his body dreadfully mangled. Ten gashes on his head.”  (Lyman, Greenwell)

Some have suggested it was not an accident.  “(T)he dead body of the distinguished Scottish naturalist, Douglas, was found under painfully suspicious circumstances, that led many to believe he had been murdered for his money.”  (Coan)

While examination at the time suggested death by the bullock - “On the 3rd instant the body was brought here (Oʻahu) in an American vessel.  I immediately had it examined by the medical gentlemen, who gave it as their opinion that the several wounds were inflicted by the bullock.” (Charlton, British Consul) - many remain skeptical.

As Titus Coan noted (1882,) “A mystery hangs over the event which we are unable to explain.”

David Douglas was buried in the Kawaiahaʻo Church Cemetery.   A plaque on the wall of Kawaiahaʻo Church and a stone marker at Kaluakauka (near where the pit was located) commemorate David Douglas's death.

The image shows David Douglas (in about 1834.)  In addition, I have included other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

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© 2013 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Out Of This World

Man landed on the Moon, remote rovers traversed portions of the Martian surface and now some folks are dreaming of, preparing for and testing opportunities for having humans going to Mars.

Of course, the best way to study the Martian surface and its climate is to go there.  Someday this may happen.  In the meantime, and as a part of a necessary activity before humans travel to Mars, planetary scientists study places on the Earth that are like the Martian surface.

Before getting there, scientists need to test and experiment with terrestrial soils to best prepare for human occupation on Mars.  Earth soils similar to Martian soils are used in testing rover vehicles, food production and equipment maintenance.

Since voyagers will not be able to transport sufficient amounts of food on their flight for their extended stay on the planet and back, they will need to grow their own food –ET Agriculture (like the subsistence, self-sufficient farming in isolated islands of ancient Hawai‘i.)

Scientists have made extensive worldwide searches for naturally-occurring equivalents for Martian surface materials; samples of volcanic ash from Iceland, Alaska, Antarctica, Mexico, New Mexico and Hawai‘i were collected and investigated by NASA, since the 1970s.

It turns out Mauna Kea Volcano is one of the few places on the Earth that is similar to what scientists currently know about the surface and soil make-up of Mars.

Weathered volcanic ash from the Island of Hawai‘i are uniquely suitable for Martian simulants; Mauna Kea has color (a reddish-brown,) mineralogy, chemical composition, particle size, density and magnetic properties similar to the oxidized soil of Mars.

Based on soil evaluation and testing, scientists believe it is possible to grow plants on Mars in technologically advanced, controlled environments that could keep the plants warm and give the plants enough atmosphere, light and water to live.

While Mauna Kea summit has the best examples of volcanic ash similar to the Martian soils, due to sensitivity of extracting from the summit, a cinder cone (Pu‘u Nene) adjacent to the old section of Saddle Road was selected (it’s in an area now bypassed, due to the recent Saddle Road realignment between Mauna Kea Access Road and Mauna Kea State Park.)

It was found that material from Pu‘u Nene on the lower part of Mauka Kea matched Martian characteristics better than any other site tested.  The material found on Pu‘u Nene has a particular composition of “palagonite” and may be unique in the world.

While I was at DLNR, after a Contested Case Hearing on the matter, we issued a Conservation Use Permit to hand quarry (using shovels) volcanic ash from Pu‘u Nene cinder cone for these scientific studies.

The ash is used by various agencies, including NASA, and also schools and private firms conducting experiments (primarily for rover studies and to determine if the palagonite ash could support plant growth) or teaching about Mars.

The Property is located in the Resource subzone of the Conservation District.  Mining is an expressly identified use in the Resource subzone of the Conservation District.

Pu‘u Nene has been extensively quarried for cinders that were used, among other things, to pave Saddle Road in the 1940s; it is dominated by alien vegetation, has no archaeological or cultural sites, and there is very little native vegetation at the site.

Although the Humu‘ula saddle area itself has a storied past, there is no known Hawaiian name for Pu‘u Nene.  It was, therefore, concluded that it was a modern term, perhaps given by L. “Bill” Bryan who served as manager of the Civilian Conservation Corps and as Territorial Forester on the Island of Hawai‘i between the 1930s to the 1960s.

Native Hawaiian testimonies, survey records and cartographic resources reveal that this general area of pu‘u, or cinder cone hills, are known as ‘Oma‘okoili (literally, “resting in the saddle.”)

In the hand quarrying operation, rather than extract directly from the surface, researchers extract the ash about 2-3 feet below the soil layer.

After it is quarried, it is processed by passing it through a series of stainless steel sieves to separate it by granule size into fine-grade and medium-grade ash.  It is then distributed to research and educational projects and facilities.

This isn’t the first time NASA looked to Hawai‘i, and Mauna Kea in particular, for extra-terrestrial travel preparations.

During the Apollo lunar landing series, astronauts trained on Mauna Kea and regarded the area as the most lunar­like that they had observed.  (Apollo 11 was the spaceflight in which American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first to land on the Moon, on July 20, 1969.)

NASA teams have operated tools, instruments and systems on Mauna Kea; each one aimed to better understand potential space resources, limit the amount of resources humans would have to carry with them beyond low Earth orbit and also protect hardware once is gets there.

Related to the present Martian experience, NASA will hold a news conference at 7 am HST, Monday, July 16 (tomorrow,) to preview the coming August landing of the most advanced robot ever sent to another world.

Mars Science Laboratory will deliver the ‘Curiosity’ rover to the surface of Mars at approximately 7:31 pm HST on August 5.  Curiosity, carrying laboratory instruments to analyze samples of rocks, soil and atmosphere, will investigate whether Mars has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life.  (Microbes are important to plant/food growth.)

The image shows NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover (Courtesy NASA-JPL-Caltech;) the rover is about the size of a small SUV, 10-feet long (not including the arm), 9-feet wide and 7-feet tall.  In addition, I have added some other Hawai‘i-linked space-related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/peter.t.young.hawaii

Humu‘ula Sheep Station

Historically, sheep-raising was one of the oldest introduced agricultural pursuits in Hawai‘i. Sheep were originally introduced to the Big Island by Capt. George Vancouver in 1793, when he left two ewes and a ram at Kealakekua.

Sheep were being raised for export by 1809 and flourished through the early part of the 20th century.  Most meat was consumed locally and wool was supplied to mainland US buyers.  Wool production reached its peak in 1875 when 565,000-pounds were sent overseas.

A visible remnant of the sheep industry is the Humu‘ula Sheep Station, situated at the junction of Saddle Road and Mauna Kea Access Road on the lower slopes of Mauna Kea.

The Sheep Station has historical and architectural interest because sheep raising, although never a major industry, was carried on until the last large flock in the Islands, located at Humu’ula, was phased-out in the early 1960s.

The Humu‘uIa Sheep Station Company chartered by the Hawaiian Government in 1883, was an operation of H. Hackfeld and Company. 

By 1894, the company had erected large and extensive paddocks at Kalai‘eha (named for the pu‘u (cinder cone) near the site) and also had a station at Keanakolu (near where DLNR has some cabins and other facilities on the Mana-Keanakolu Road that skirts the east and north side of Mauna Kea.)

Ownership of the station then came under Parker Ranch and operations continued for years, often little known by Hawai’i residents due to its comparatively isolated location.

Sheep raising at Humu‘uIa was given‐up in 1963 and although abandoned as a sheep station, cattle ranch support activities continued until 2002, when the Parker lease expired.

The Sheep Station site contains a mix of structures and artifacts with varying degrees of historic, architectural and aesthetic significance.

Existing structures include offices, living facilities, outbuildings, work sheds, shearing sheds, holding pens and catchment facilities.

Buildings and artifacts tell an interesting architectural story and provide a historic backdrop for a contemporary rustic experience.

The site was assessed by the State Historic Preservation Division for placement on the Hawai’i Register of Historic Places.

The historian determined that the site’s architectural interest and merit lie in “structures (c. 1900) [that] are typical ranch house style but are particularly interesting for their ‘homemade’ contrived plans and arrangements, both functional and picturesque.”

The main historic building on site consists of an office and dwelling which was part of a cluster that represents the property's rustic character.  It was originally built as a men’s living cottage and, over time, converted to office and residential use.

The structure was built in stages and consists of two distinct wings, both with gable roofs.  The 1973 SHPD assessment refers to the elaborate decoration of the living room with skylight, wainscoting and carved scrollwork.

Unfortunately, in the 39-years since the assessment, the building has deteriorated from neglect and lack of maintenance.  A preliminary architectural inspection indicates that the building will require extensive structural rehabilitation to meet current health and safety standards for occupancy.

The good news is DHHL, owner of the site, recently adopted the ‘Āina Mauna Legacy Program.  One of the actions called for in that Plan and its accompanying Environmental Assessment is the restoration and adaptive reuse of the Humu‘ula Sheep Station.

We are honored and proud to have prepared the ʻĀina Mauna Legacy Program planning document, Implementation Strategy and Work Plan, Cultural Impact Assessment and Environmental Assessment for DHHL.

We are equally proud the ʻĀina Mauna Legacy Program was unanimously approved by the Hawaiian Homes Commission and was given the “Environment/Preservation Award” from the American Planning Association‐Hawaiʻi Chapter and the “Koa: Standing the Test of Time Award” by the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture and the Hawaiʻi Forest Industry Association.

The photo shows the Humu‘ula Sheep Station in 1892 Photo: ED Preston.  I have added some additional images of the remnant structures at the Humu‘ula Sheep Station in the Photos section; as you will see, there are lots of old, falling down buildings.

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