Trek to explore majestic heritage of Mauna Kea

By Kapono Dowson
Advertiser Staff Writer

Ten hikers will embark on a voyage of discovery tonight on the Big Island, enduring a coast-to-coast hike that includes the climbing of Mauna Kea.

Organizers call the hike Huaka'i i ka 'Aina Mauna — the land voyage through the mountain.

"But we could just as easily have called it the voyage of discovery, much like when the Hokule'a first found its way back to Tahiti," hike coordinator Clarence Ching said.

"What they did for the ocean, we would like to do on land."

At sunset today, the participants will invoke an entreaty to be welcomed by the mountain and by ancestral spirits in a Hawaiian protocol ceremony. Tomorrow morning they will start out at sea level at Kuka'iau on the Hamakua Coast.

Hiking along ancient trails, as well as on the cattle paths used by paniolo, they will surmount Mauna Kea at its 13,796-foot summit. They will hike across the old Umikoa-Kaulaku'ialua Trail and follow a modified Waiau Skyline Trail.

Following parts of the ancient Waiau Trail and Auwaiakekua, they will pass through the small town of Pu'uanahulu and return to the sea on the Kona Coast in seven to 10 days.

Relying on individual preparedness and prowess and each other's resources and support to make it over the mountain, the hikers hope to rediscover Mauna Kea, Ching said.

They will be challenged not only by the long climb and by altitude sickness, but also by unmarked and precarious trails, abrupt weather changes and fog, Ching said.

"There are different ways by which the group will come to know the mountain," said Ching, a Ka'apahu resident and former trustee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

The hikers — scientists, cultural historians, Hawaiian activists and individuals simply interested in rediscovering the mountain — will verify the existence of ancient trails, make scientific observations and perform cultural rituals at sacred sites, Ching said.

Participants come from as far away as London, though most will be from O'ahu and the island of Hawai'i.

They studied available maps and researched archival material. On the hike, Ching said, they will use GPS equipment to keep them from getting lost in the fog, or in sandy or muddy terrain, or in unfamiliar areas.

Three biologists will study Mauna Kea's flora and fauna, including insects, approaching the adventure from a scientific perspective, Ching said.

"The mountain also carries an overlay of history," said Paula Helfrich, president of Hawai'i Island Economic Development Board.

"As you go up the mountain, it is possible to hike back into time."

Helfrich, who said she is going on the hike with a passion for history, said there are at least four major heiau in the area and five ahupua'a,or land divisions, that converge on the summit. The hike will give the group the opportunity to identify old trails and landmarks for preservation purposes, she said.

Reach Kapono Dowson at kdowson@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8103.