Honolulu, Hawai`i – Today was another illustration of the saying, “The best things in life are free.” I joined my friends Lesley and Randy for a morning hike. Their dog, Oreo, came with. This time our route would be quite different. We started out walking down the street as we did yesterday, but then we turned and headed up a hill. The street ended at a gate. Beyond the gate was a cracked asphalt trial, which gave way to a dirt trail that got narrower the farther long you went. We had bright sunshine as we walked up the street. But grey clouds hung over the hills we were bound for.
I was not properly dressed for a hike. A t-shirt, board shorts, and tennis shoes were the only togs I had that were even close to suitable for this activity. But I wasn’t going to let that stop me. Besides, I’d have time to change before my flight home later.
The trail became less and less of a trail and more of a very narrow path the farther we went. We found ourselves pushing through tree branches and brush. Randy and Lesley are very familiar with this area, though. Soon, we pushed away a group of branches and emerged out into the open. It was like crossing through the tree line of a mountain.
A little further up the hill we stopped so I could see where we were. From up here we had a fantastic view of the eastern end of O`ahu. Cottony clouds peppered the sky. The sea showed its colors from turquoise to sapphire. Over and behind Hanauma Bay, the sun reflected off the ocean, leaving a wide, silver-white ribbon of carpet as far as the eye could see. Our vantage point gave us an overview of Paiko Lagoon and the fish ponds. Randy told me about the fish ponds in the area and their history.
East of us on the neighboring ridge, we could see a housing development. I don’t even want to make a guess at how much these houses cost. Honestly, they kind of take away from the beauty of the area; they don’t blend in at all. For us, just a little walk and you get these million-dollar views for free.
At points along the ridge I could also see exposed rock, and the different colors it contained due to the minerals in it. I rubbed some of the rock and what appeared to be rust came off on my finger. Iron? I’d guess this area has most likely remained unchanged since the island was formed millions of years ago.
Meanwhile, Oreo was running around, jumping up and down in the brush. He looked so happy to be up here. When he wasn’t jumping hide-and-seek-like in the brush, he was tearing full speed up and down the path, shooting by us like a ground-level missile. Lesley shouted out a warning: “Incoming!” Oreo blasted past my legs.
It is actually quite peaceful up here. I think we saw one, maybe two other people the whole time we were up on the ridge. I could see going a little farther up the ridge and finding a place to meditate, to become one with your surroundings, to communicate with the ancients.
This time I did bring my camera but the battery was dying. I hadn’t planned on doing that much shooting on this trip. I tried be very selective with my shots but the battery ran out of juice anyway. The last photo I was able to take was of Randy and Lesley on a ridge with the Pacific in the distance behind them.
Before I left for the airport, Randy let me borrow a couple of Hawaiian books. One was about life in O`ahu. I read most of that one on the flight home. The other was about the history of Hawai`i, around the 17th and 18th centuries, I think. It was very detailed, giving Hawaiian names, places, words, translations. This one took much longer to read and digest. But I did learn an awful lot about Hawaiian history.
I can’t wait to come back to O`ahu, to see more of the island, to come back and talk story with my friends.
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