When Hawai'i quarterback Colt Brennan needs a break, he and his girlfriend, Shakti Stream, will retreat to a fortress of solitude on the Big Island.

Years ago, Stream's father, Nick Furtado, bought three acres on Kaloko Mountain. He cleared an area and built a house.

There are solar panels to light the house's interior. A running-water system was installed about eight years ago. But the house does not have electricity. It is, in every definition, wireless.

"Just getting out there and experiencing all of that is really cool," Brennan said.

But sometimes, when the satellites and wind are aligned, a cell phone call will go through. And earlier this year, after leaving the mountain retreat, Brennan ran into an Associated Press reporter.

"Lost" might be in Hawai'i, but the state's most recognizable resident can never be lost in Hawai'i.

"He's passed that line where there's no turning back," said Dan Morrison, who coaches and counsels UH's quarterbacks. "He's too well known."

Indeed, the most popular gift this holiday season appears to be a Brennan-autographed item. This season, Brennan has signed his big looping "C" and "#15" on thousands of items.

After one practice last week, he signed autographs for about an hour.

Yesterday, next to the sign-up sheet for the team's training-table breakfast, there were three stacks of footballs, mini-helmets, T-shirts and pictures awaiting his autograph.

"I've never seen anything like this," Morrison said. "He can't even get breakfast. It's taxing on him, but he keeps plugging away. He doesn't want to say 'no' to people. Sometimes he needs help moving along, or he'll be stuck for hours."

Still, Brennan obliges requests politely, even as the demand grows.

There is urgency for fans, to be sure, as Brennan's UH career ticks away.

Tomorrow's meeting against Washington is Brennan's last regular-season game. If the Warriors win and earn a berth in a Bowl Championship Series game, it also will be his last appearance at Aloha Stadium as a UH player.

"It'll be kind of interesting when Saturday rolls around, the feelings and stuff that will go through my head," said Brennan, who will graduate Dec. 16. "There have been so many great memories. Considering the season and success we've had, it's been a great run. I can't wait to get there Saturday, and hopefully end my career at that stadium on a great note."

Brennan said he looks back fondly on the 2005 season, his first at UH after stops at a prep school in Boston, the University of Colorado and a junior college in California.

"That year was the most fun," Brennan said, despite the Warriors' 5-7 finish. "It was great because each win was so honored and so cherished."

He was admittedly nervous when he arrived in Hawai'i in July of that year.

"Whenever you go to a college for the first time, you never know what's going to happen," he said.

When he showed up at the athletic complex, the first teammate he saw was quarterback Tyler Graunke, his host during the recruiting trip.

"I had nothing going on, and he was like, 'You wanna hang out?' " Brennan recalled.

They eventually became roommates in a Waikiki studio. They took turns sleeping on the floor.

Later, Brennan, who was not on scholarship his first semester, moved to an apartment in Makiki.

"To be living in the city the past couple of years was the kicker," said Brennan, who had visited the Big Island and Maui on family trips when he was younger. "To come to Hawai'i was a trip. I remember I thought the university was on the North Shore, and I'd be surrounded by surf beaches. But what's really neat about O'ahu is it offers everything. It offers the city. Whatever you need, you can get here. If you need some city life, you've got it. If you need to calm down and relax, you've got that, too."

Most of all, Brennan said, "I came here because Hawai'i was so different and laid back. It seemed like a place where, besides football, you could enjoy yourself. You could really be happy, and enjoy life and the simple things. At the same time I loved football. When I took care of having fun off the field, that's when on the field it all kind of worked out for me."

After the 2005 fall semester, Brennan went back to Irvine, Calif. for two weeks.

"That's when I knew Hawai'i was the place for me," he said. "I remember when I'd go home to Cali, I couldn't wait to get back. It's weird right now. I know I'm leaving soon, so I'm trying to enjoy it."

After the bowl game, Brennan will return to California to train for the Senior Bowl in Alabama and National Football League combine in Indianapolis.

He said he does not know when he will return, only that he will be back.

"I'll never be done with Hawai'i," Brennan said. "This will be a place I'll never leave, even though I have obligations on the Mainland. If I get a chance to make some money, I'll get a place here. Even if I don't (make money), I need to come back."

As he walked toward his car, he was approached by a group of elderly women. Brennan smiled, and signed autographs.

SENIOR MOMENTS

Here are the other seniors who will play their final UH regular-season game Saturday: