Hiking Scouts go the distance
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Central O'ahu Writer
Photos courtesy of Randy Gratz and Dean Takashige | Illustration by Martha P. Hernandez • The Honolulu Advertiser
Six Boy Scouts from Mililani Troop 164 recently completed a five-day, 50-mile hike through Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, a remarkable achievement considering their ages and the physical demands of carrying 35-pound backpacks over rugged terrain.
Six Boy Scouts from Mililani Troop 164 completed a five-day, 50-mile hike through Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. They are shown in the top right photo at the end of the hike: Frank Storch V, Matthew Simpson, Alec Takashige, Kyle Yamauchi, Kelsey Gratz and Russell Park. The bottom left photo of Gratz, Yamauchi, Simpson and Park was taken at the Pu'u'ea Pali summit. The middle left photo is of Gratz and Park sacking out after a long day's walk. The boys found out there is no such thing as "flat lava."
The accomplishment is all the more noteworthy since two of the boys weigh less than 100 pounds and the others aren't much heavier.
Thirteen-year-olds Kyle Yamauchi, Kelsey Gratz, Alec Takashige and Russell Park; 14-year-old Frank Storch V; and Matthew Simpson, 12, trained for the June 28 to July 2 hike on the Big Island by doing seven 10-mile hikes on O'ahu beginning in January.
Walking on lava, up and down and around mountains, carrying a heavy backpack for five days demanded perseverance, endurance, patience and selflessness for the young Scouts to finish.
"There's no such thing as flat lava," said Dean Takashige, Alec's father, who was among a group of adults who accompanied the Boy Scouts. "Only four miles of the whole hike wasn't on lava rock."
Boy Scouts of America recognizes a 50-miler accomplished "afoot or afloat" with a patch but there's no troop award for the feat, other than the satisfaction and experience the Boy Scouts gain.
"It'll be described as a big milestone in their lives — they just don't know it yet," said Scott Yamauchi, Kyle's father, who made Eagle Scout but never did a 50-miler. He had hoped to do the Volcanoes hike but couldn't take off from work.
Scout master Frank Storch IV and Scout leaders Randy Gratz, Dean Takashige and William Simpson went on the hike with their sons. The adult and Scout groups, however, functioned independently, and were responsible for their own tents, cooking equipment and food, Randy Gratz said.
William Simpson, a federal computer engineer who recently moved his family to Bristow, Va., and Scott Yamauchi planned the 50-miler as a "high-adventure challenge" for Scouts ages 14 and older but got no takers.
"As it turned out, our six young men stood the challenge," Simpson said by telephone from his office in Washington, D.C.
Simpson is planning a river rafting 50-miler for next year to include boys from the Volcanoes hike, at least four of whom will be attending the 2005 National Boy Scouts Jamboree in Virginia.
Other Scout troops have done 50-mile hikes at Maui's Haleakala National Park, Moloka'i and even Alaska. "But it's possible our troop is the first to do Volcanoes National Park," Scott Yamauchi said.
Reach Rod Ohira at 535-8181 or rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.
• • •
| Scouts describe the big hike
Here, in the Scouts' own words, is a description of each day of the five-day hike. • Day 1: 11.3 miles along the Puna Coast trail from Chain of Craters Road near Pu'u Loa to 'Apua Point for lunch and on to overnight camp at Halape Shelter. Russell Park, an eighth-grader at Mililani Middle School, skipped a week of school to be here. Already feeling the weight of his 33-pound backpack on his 5-foot-2, 100-pound frame before starting the hike, at this point, Russell wishes he didn't come. "I'm not like an outdoors person or a camping person," Russell said. "I'm a city boy. I was feeling nervous, wondering how I was going to survive for five days. I definitely would have turned back if my parents weren't pushing me to do this once-in-a-lifetime thing." By the end of the first day's eight-hour hike, he was feeling better. "I'm in it," he said to himself by then. • Day 2: 12.2-mile trek begins with climbing Pu'u'eo Pali, following the Hilina Pali Trail south to Ka'aha Trail. The group ate a late lunch at 'Apua Point and camped overnight at Pepeiao cabin. "It was the hardest day of the hike," said Alec Takashige, an eighth-grader at Mid-Pacific Institute. "We had to go up the mountain, into brush that was sticky, and it was really hot. We ate lunch at 3. I was already feeling exhausted. "We kept going uphill and every time we thought the mountain would end, there was another hill. I was feeling frustrated." • Day 3: 9.8 miles heading north on Ka'u Desert trail for lunch at Hilina Pali Lookout, then to Hilina Pali Road past the abandoned Kipuka Nene campsite to overnight camp at Kulanaokuaiki. Kelsey Gratz, a Mililani High freshman, calls it the "icebreaker day." "I wasn't enjoying walking the trail looking at endless lava rock," Kelsey recalled. "I felt like this is getting boring. I like conversing, so Russell and I started doing TV sitcom imitations. Time goes by faster when you're having fun and laughing. It didn't feel like we were walking." Soon everyone joined in. "We were all friends but I felt like this day brought us closer together," Kelsey said. • Day 4: 12.5 miles from Hilina Pali Road north to Chain of Craters Road to Mauna Ulu for lunch and on to Napau Crater camp on the Napau Trail. It's a memorable day for Frank Storch V, a freshman at Mililani High School. "My name is really O. Frank so I got the nickname 'O,' which I really don't like," Frank said. "They started calling me 'Justo' like gusto, only better. I like that. "We were on a straight, never-ending road before going off-road again. That's when we ran into 10 nene in a puddle washing off." • Day 5: 5.2 miles from Napau Trail to Kalapana Trail to Naulu Trail and the finish at Kealakomo "Pizza Hut" overlook to view lava flowing into the sea from the end of Chain of Craters Road. "It was a challenge," said Kyle Yamauchi, an eighth-grader at Mililani Middle. "I told my mom that I feel like I accomplished something and that on a scale of one to five with five being the best, I'd rate this a six." The group celebrated with pizza and a bowling party at Kilauea Military Camp. No one was happier to finish than 12-year-old Matthew Simpson. "The first thing I did was to take a two-hour bath," said Matthew by telephone from Tennessee, where he is visiting relatives. "Not being able to bathe for five days was gross." Weighing 102 pounds, Matthew struggled to carry his backpack. "I remember Kyle would come and help me out, switching stuff with me," Matthew said. "(The group) didn't always get along but at the end, I think we were a lot closer." No one wants to do another 50-mile hike anytime soon. But when Kyle and Russell did a 20-mile hike on the Maunawili Trail recently for their hiking merit badge, they had no trouble persuading Kelsey, Alec and "Justo" to come along. |
