Hawaiian Traditions | Page 65 | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

March 27, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Mokapu

The Hawaiian name for Mokapu is believed to be a contraction of Moku kapu, or ‘sacred island.’

Mokapu is a roughly 10-acre island located approximately 0.7 miles off the north coast of Molokai just east of the Kalaupapa Peninsula.

Mokapu rises steeply out of the water to 360-feet above sea level, ending in a narrow summit ridge.

Like the nearby islands of Okala and Huelo, Mokapu supports some of the most diverse native coastal plant communities in Hawai’i. For example, Mokapu contains 29 native plant species; several of these species are rare and vulnerable to extinction.

The island is dominated by native shrubs, but retains small groves of native lama trees, some native palm trees, which dominate
nearby Huelo, and 11 of the last 14 individuals of the shrub hoawa that is endemic to Molokai.

Mokapu is one of the many offshore islets that form the Hawai‘i State Seabird Sanctuary, created to protect the thousands of seabirds who seek refuge in and around the main Hawaiian Islands.

The majority of seabird-nesting colonies in the main Hawaiian Islands are located on the offshore islands, islets and rocks.

The sanctuary, administered by DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife, exists to protect not only seabirds but also endangered native coastal vegetation.

These sanctuaries protect seabirds, Hawaiian Monk seals, migrating shorebirds, and native coastal vegetation.

These small sanctuary areas represent the last vestiges of a once widespread coastal ecosystem that included the coastlines of all the main Hawaiian Islands. (DLNR)

“It is prohibited for any person to land upon, enter or attempt to enter, or remain in any wildlife sanctuaries …” Regardless, landing by boat is nearly impossible due to the lack of a safe beach.

Like the nearby islands of Okala and Huelo, Mokapu supports some of the best native coastal plant habitat in Hawai‘i, with 29 native plant species, several of which are rare and vulnerable. (DOFAW)

Historical uses of the island are unknown although rock mound structures are present on the ridgeline of Mokapu. However, the nature and source of these rock structures are unknown.

The difficulty of accessing Mokapu by water and the steepness of its slopes make it unlikely that it was visited often in the past and there are no known human uses of terrestrial areas today.

However, there is fishing along the north shore of Molokai, including areas near Mokapu. Fishing is primarily during the summer since winter seas are often very rough. (DOFAW)

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Mokapu (right)-AMNWR

Mokapu_AMNWR

Mokapu AMNWR

Mokapu Island, Okala Island, and Leina o Papio Point (from left to right)-Suominen

Huelo Okala Mokapu Islets Waikolu Valley North Shore, Molokai-Forest & Kim Starr

Mokalu, Huelo Okala Islets Waikolu Valley North Shore, Molokai-Thomas

Mokalu, Huelo Okala Islets Waikolu Valley North Shore, Molokai-Forest & Kim Starr

March 24, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Loko

The beginning date for the construction of fishponds in ancient Hawaii is unknown. The builder of the first pond is traditionally reputed to be Ku’ula-kai, “who lived in an undated period of heroes and gods”.

Since fishponds were commonplace in legendary literature attributed to the 14th through the 19th centuries, it is conjectured that they were developed sometime prior to AD 1400.

The Hawaiian fishpond was primarily a grazing area in which the fishpond keeper cultivated algae for his fish; much in the way a cattle rancher cultivates grass for his cattle.

A natural food chain can be expected to produce a ratio of 10:1 in terms of the conversion of one link by another. 10,000-kg of algae make 1,000-kg of tiny crustaceans, which in turn make 100-kg of small fish. These 100-kg of small fish then produce 10-kg of large fish, which when eaten by humans make 1-kg of human flesh.

Hawaiian ponds “are closer to the following: 10,000 pounds of algae and detritus make 1,000 pounds of herbivorous fish; 1,000 pounds of herbivorous fish make about 100 pounds of carnivorous fish, or man”. (Hiatt; Kelly)

Thus, herbivorous fish produced in Hawaiian fishponds provided man with protein 100-times more efficiently than the natural food chain.

Patient observation by Hawaiian fishermen of the habits of herbivorous fish (what and where they ate) was undoubtedly part of the great fund of knowledge held by Hawaiians about the sea and the plants and animals, which inhabit it.

‘Ama‘ama (grey mullet) was the most popular fish raised in Hawaiian walled seashore fishponds (awa (milk fish) was another).

Certainly, the Hawaiians recognized the value of walled fishponds and built them wherever conditions permitted. (Kelly) Pond types include:

Loko kuapa whose main characteristic is a seawall as its artificial enclosing feature and which usually contains one or more sluice gates.

Loko puʻuone (sometimes called loko hakuʻone), an isolated shore pond usually formed by a barrier beach building a single elongated sand ridge parallel to the coast.

Loko wai, a freshwater fishpond located inland from the shore.

Loko i’a kalo, another inland fishpond which utilized an irrigated taro plot (fish were grown in the waters flowing among the earth mounds planted with taro corms).

Loko ʻume ʻiki is similar in shape and construction to loko kuapa, however, it is a fishtrap characterized by numerous stone flanked lanes which led fish into netting areas with the ebb and flow of the tide. This last type is also the only pond where women were permitted to net.

The first three types were royal fishponds in the sense they were owned exclusively by the ruling chiefs and managed by a caretaker, or kiaʻi loko, or in some cases by a lesser chief, the konohiki, who served as a managerial overseer of both the pond and the adjacent agricultural lands.

The latter two types of ponds, while technically owned by the ruling chiefs, were the domain of families with makaʻāinana (commoner) access. Commoners’ rights to the harvest, however, were never independent of the chief’s.

The most important of the shore ponds was the loko kuapa which consisted of an arc-shaped wall extending out from the shore onto a reef flat and back again; these ranged in area from one acre to over 500 acres.

The mortar less walls were constructed of basalt cobbles and blocks, and coral fragments. These were usually several yards thick and projected about one yard above the highest tide level. Only a high chief could command the labor necessary to construct such monumental structures.

The spaces in the mortarless masonry walls made them permeable and served to reduce stress from tidal, wave, and current energy. The construction of seaward versus interior pond wall flanks was equally sophisticated.

Seaward flanks were inclined slopes which further permitted the seawall to withstand wave energy and to absorb, per square inch, more energy than a more vertical alignment.

In 1848, when King Kamehameha III pronounced the Great Māhele, or land distribution, Hawaiian fishponds were considered private property by landowners and by the Hawaiian government.

This was confirmed in subsequent Court cases that noted “titles to fishponds are recognized to the same extent and in the same manner as rights recognized in fast land.”

Because of their location in the coastal zone, Hawaiian fishponds are controlled by a regulatory framework where County, State and Federal agencies each exercise some degree of control over activities associated with the pond.

There is a separate chapter in the State laws (Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes – HRS §183B) that deal with fishponds. Under certain circumstances, reconstruction, restoration, repair or use of any Hawaiian fishpond are exempt from the requirements of chapter §343 (environmental review laws.) (Information her is primarily from Kelly and NPS.)

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Fish_Ponds_at_Honoruru,_Oahu,_by_John_Murray,_after_Robert_Dampier-(WC)-1836

Punaluu Fishpond bulging in the center-1930s-600

Molii Fishpond-in-background-over pineapple rice-1890-600

Kupapa_(Niu)_Fishpond-StateArchives-1925

Fishpond_in_east_Molokai-(WC)

Fishpond Kailua side of Libbyville-1924

Loko Wai-Alekoko Fishpond-(malamahuleia)-1912

Alekoko Fishpond Wall-(Baker)

Alekoko Fishpond – still in use-KHS-1934

March 21, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kahili

The legendary history of Kauai “is the most unsatisfactory to whoever undertakes to reduce the national legends, traditions, and chants to some degree of historical form and sequence. The legends are disconnected and the genealogies are few ….”

“That the ruling families of Kauai were the highest tabu chiefs in the group is evident from the avidity with which chiefs and chiefesses of the other islands sought alliance with them. They were always considered as the purest of the ‘blue blood’ of the Hawaiian aristocracy ….”

“But of the exploits and transactions of most of the chiefs who ruled over Kauai during this period, there is little preserved to tell.” (Fornander)

“Hilltops are favorable sites for making an imposing structure with the minimum of labor. The sides of the hill are usually faced to the desired height, and the top, possibly artificially leveled, is paved with stones.” (Bennett)

“A few miles to the west of Koloa is a mountain, called by the natives Kahili (feather standard, symbolic of royalty); why this name I know not, as the most imaginative fancy could not detect a resemblance in any particular between the two. In fact, it differs so little from its neighbors, that it would attract but a partial glance, or be noted only as an interesting feature in the general landscape. Then why all these words about it, one will be inclined to ask. … ”

“In fact, it differs so little from its neighbors, that it would attract but a partial glance, or be noted only as an interesting feature in the general landscape.”

“Then why all these words about it, one will be inclined to ask. I will tell.”

“Simply because it was my fortune one day to ascend it, in company with some friends; and being much gratified with the excursion, I wish to take the reader up with me, as well as pen and ink will allow.” (Jarves)

“On Kahili peak, on the ridge between Koloa and Lihue at an elevation of 3000 feet is a structure that may have served as a fort.” (Bennett)

Kikuchi “would suggest that this was a shrine of unknown function. Its position and elevation command a clear view of the southern shore of Kauai as well as the lands to the east. Its size would limit the number of people on the site and the posts may be an alignment for ‘astronomical’ and ceremonial determination.”

“Mouna Kahili, which we shortly reached, we ascended on foot, following up the back-bone of the spur which leads to the very summit. As it was steep and slippery, owing to the smooth grass, our progress at first was slow, and our knees soon began to tremble, and no doubt, as far as they were concerned, wished they had not come.”

“Ascending higher, the mountain gradually becomes more densely wooded, and the spur narrower, until its breadth is scarcely two feet, presenting a sharp ridge, bordered on either side by precipices of several hundred to some thousand feet in depth.”

“These precipices are overgrown with vegetation, sparse towards the top, where the banks are too steep for soil to accumulate, but gradually growing denser until it reaches the bottom, where they terminate in dells crowded with groves of dark-leaved hail, the silvery-leaved kukui, and the stately ohia with its beautiful red flowers, contrasting finely to the various shades of surrounding green.” (Jarves, 1841)

“After groping our way in this fashion for an hour or more, we reached the summit. It consisted of a small plot of earth about a rod square, bare in the centre, but overgrown with stout trees upon its sides.”

“Upon it were several large timbers, of a foot in diameter, standing perpendicular, and about twelve feet high, with notches for foot-hold cut in them.”

“These, as runs the legend, have stood from time immemorial, that is to say, some half century or more, and are the remains of a fortification which a chief erected, who lived on bad terms with his less elevated neighbors.”

“As the approaches to its site are a succession of narrow ridges, a few warriors were able to set a host of enemies at defiance, and make the place impregnable.” (Jarves)

“In 1915 this structure was examined by Mr. John FG Stokes and Mr Charles Dole in behalf of Bishop Museum. Mr. Dole reported that an area 12 feet by 27 feet has been leveled off the top of the peak at least to decomposed rock, but much cutting in solid rock is improbable.”

“Instead of several long posts, 1 foot in diameter, reported by Jarves, Stokes and Dole found one post 13 feet 2 inches high, and 11 inches in diameter, and smaller ones 3.5, 1.75, 1.2 5, and 0.75 feet high, and 6 to 8 inches in diameter.”

“The posts are of kauila wood which is said to have come from the mountains back of Waimea. If so, great labor must have been expended in dragging them up the steep ascent. The only artificial work mentioned are notches on the large post. Reports of carving were not substantiated. An adz and several waterworn stones (not sling stones) were found on this platform.”

“The function of this structure is uncertain as it is not mentioned in native traditions. As the position gives a commanding view in clear weather, Mr. Stokes suggests that it may have served as a lookout: but Mr. Dole reports that the peak is usually surrounded by clouds.”

“The suggestion of Jarves that the site was the home of a robber chief seems improbable in view of the climatic conditions.”

“By some it has been considered a funeral pyre on which the bodies of the chiefs were left to decompose. The difficulties attending the construction of such a site implies that it was built by some powerful chief who could command the labor.” (Bennett)

“The function of the site is not very clear from these descriptions. Jarves and Stokes’s suggestion that the site was the home of a robber chief or a lookout is improbable because of the harsh climate of the area. The site is often covered with clouds, drenched with rain, and in a very windy, cold place.”

“Could the site be the “funeral pyre” of a chief? Hawaiian custom prohibit cremation except for violators of certain taboos. A large fire at this location would have been a most difficult labor and if it did occur, the evidence of scorching of the posts would have been noted.”

“The use of the site as a funeral platform is a possibility, but nothing in the descriptions would point to this as a function. Such a use of the site would have been recorded in local legends.”

“One thing is sure: that the site was of importance and must have been ‘financed’ by a person of high status. The labor required to cut the kauila logs, to transport them up the steep slope to the site, and finally to place them into holes cut into the bedrock was most demanding.” (Kikuchi)

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Kahili Peak mountain ranges in the fore front and Waialeale in the distance-birdofparadise

Kahili-kamloops

Kahili-Burd

Kahili-Prichard

Kahili_Falls

March 20, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Himeni

Oli and mele were a part of the Hawaiian tradition. “As the Hawaiian songs were unwritten, and adapted to chanting rather than metrical music, a line was measured by the breath; their hopuna, answering to our line, was as many words as could be easily cantilated at one breath.” (Bingham)

When the American Protestant missionaries first arrived in the Islands, they broke into song. Hiram Bingham notes that on April 1, 1820, off Kawaihae, Kalanimōku came onboard their boat. “Then, ere the excitement of the chiefs’ visit was over, Mr. Thurston and his yoke-fellow (Bingham speaking of himself) ascended the shrouds …”

“… and, standing upon the main-top (the mission family, captain and crew being on deck), as we gently floated along on the smooth silent sea, under the lee of Hawaii’s dark shores, sang a favorite song of Zion (Melton Mowbray), which they had sung at their ordination at Goshen, and with the Park St Church choir, at Boston, on the day of embarkation.”

Once established in the Islands, missionaries used songs as a part of the celebration, as well as learning process. “At this period, the same style of sermons, prayers, songs, interrogations, and exhortations, which proves effectual in promoting revivals of religion, conversion, or growth in grace among a plain people in the United States …”

“… was undoubtedly adapted to be useful at the Sandwich Islands. … some of the people who sat in darkness were beginning to turn their eyes to the light”. (Bingham)

“Before the year 1823 had closed the (Bingham and William Ellis) had prepared a small hymn book of sixty pages, of which 2000 copies were printed in December. Mr. Ballon says: ‘A large proportion of the hymns were original, but among them were translations of Watt’s 50th Psalm, Pope’s ‘The Dying Christian to his Soul,’ several choruses from Handel’s Messiah.’”

“‘This book also contained a translation of more than forty select passages of Scripture.’” It was called Na Himeni Hawaii; he me ori ia Iehova, ke Akua mau’. “Literally-translated the title reads thus, ‘The hymns Hawaiian for the praise of Jehova the God continuing’”. (Westervelt; Thrum)

On October 23, 1823, missionaries wrote: “We are about to put to press within a few days an edition of twenty hymns prepared principally by Mr. Ellis. We purpose also to print a catechism and a tract.” (Ballou & Carter)

“A large proportion of the hymns were original, but among them were translations of Watts’ 50th psalm, of Pope’s ode, The dying Christian to his soul, Owhyhee’s idols are no more (originally Taheite’s), the jubilee hymn, several choruses from Handel’s Messiah, &c.” (Ballou & Carter)

“In August of 1825 the 2,000 copies of this first edition had all been given out gratis and it was felt that hymns were needed more than any other textbook. On March 10, 1826, it was recorded that 10,000 copies of the second edition of hymns, nearly through the press, would exhaust the paper on hand.”

“The next issues of this little book then appeared in what now seems rapid succession: 1827, 1828 and 1830. In the edition of 1826 the number of hymns had grown from 47 to 63; in the third, fourth and fifth editions 100 hymns were printed on 108 pages.”

“Each of these four issues, from 1826 to 1830, was published in an edition of 10,000 copies, except that of 1828, of which 20,000 were printed.”

“The fifth edition, of 1830, was delayed because the old type was so worn down by long usage as to be quite impracticable.” (Wilcox; Damon The Fiend, March 1935)

The missionaries wrote other songs – and sang with the ali‘i. “The king (Kamehameha III) being desirous to use his good voice in singing, we sang together at my house, not war songs, but sacred songs of praise to the God of peace.” (Bingham)

One of the unique verses (sung to an old melody) was Hoʻonani Hole – Hoʻonani I Ka Makua Mau. Bingham translated it to Hawaiian and people sang it to a melody that dates back to the 1600s – today, it is known as the Hawaiian Doxology.

Another popular Hawaiian melody was written by another missionary, Lorenzo Lyons. “Lyons was eminently popular with Hawaiians and with all men. His nature was guileless, cordial, enthusiastic, cheering. He was remarkable for hospitality to Hawaiians always seeing that his visitors passing through Waimea had something to eat.” (Hawaiian Gazette, October 19, 1886)

Lyons was an avid supporter of the Hawaiian language. He wrote a letter to the editor in The Friend newspaper (September 2, 1878) that, in part noted: …

An interminable language … it is one of the oldest living languages of the earth, as some conjecture, and may well be classed among the best…the thought to displace it, or to doom it to oblivion by substituting the English language, ought not for a moment to be indulged. … Long live the grand old, sonorous, poetical Hawaiian language.”

Lyons was lovingly known to Hawaiians as Ka Makua Laiana, Haku Mele o ka ʻĀina Mauna (Father Lyons, Lyric Poet of the Mountain County).

Lyons was fluent in the Hawaiian language and composed many poems and hymns; Lyons’ best known and beloved work is the hymn “Hawaiʻi Aloha,” sung to the tune of “I Left It All With Jesus” (circa 1852.) The song was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 1998.

“Widely regarded as Hawaiʻi’s second anthem, this hymn is sung in both churches and public gatherings. It is performed at important government and social functions to bring people together in unity, and at the closing of Hawaiʻi Legislative sessions.”

“The first appearance of “Hawaiʻi Aloha” in a Protestant hymnal was in 1953, nearly 100-years after it was written. Today, people automatically stand when this song is played extolling the virtues of ‘beloved Hawaiʻi.’” (Hawaiian Music Museum).

Queen Liliʻuokalani, while a student at the Chiefs’ Children’s School, learned and became fluent in English, and studied music and the arts. Her talent for music blossomed and she eventually wrote more than 150 songs, including “Aloha ʻOe.”

“To compose was as natural to me as to breathe; and this gift of nature, never having been suffered to fall into disuse, remains a source of the greatest consolation to this day.”

“… Hours of which it is not yet in place to speak, which I might have found long and lonely, passed quickly and cheerfully by, occupied and soothed by the expression of my thoughts in music.” (Liliʻuokalani)

“In view of the fact that the best modern Hawaiian music, now known the world over, owes much to the musical form of these early hymns, one wishes that history had been less restrained.”

“Yet, even in default of any direct, consecutive record, one may piece out quite a little of the story of Hawaiian hymns from references in early letters and accounts of their printing.”

“And when one has the good fortune to touch with one’s own hands many of the early songbooks printed in Hawaiian, the search toward a complete account of them becomes a fascinating pursuit.” (Wilcox; Damon The Fiend, March 1935)

“When our Protestant missionaries came to hymnody in Hawaiian – as they very soon did – they reared a natural superstructure upon this rich and rhythmical foundation of the Bible. It was a veritable treasure house.”

“But strangely, too, another very deep-seated source of balance and rhythm and figured speech flowed in the cultural consciousness of the Hawaiian people to whom these new Christian messages were being brought. Instinct in the Hawaiian mode of thought was the impulse and the act of prayer, of supplication, of praise.” (Wilcox; Damon The Fiend, March 1935)

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Na Himeni Hawaii

He Mau Himeni

March 8, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

‘Āinapō Trail

The canoe was a principal means of travel in ancient Hawai‘i; land travel was only foot traffic, over little more than trails and pathways.

Extensive cross-country trail networks enabled gathering of food and water and harvesting of materials for shelter, clothing, medicine, religious observances and other necessities for survival.

Ancient trails, those developed before western contact in 1778, facilitated trading between upland and coastal villages and communications between ahupua‘a and extended families.

These trails were usually narrow, following the topography of the land. Sometimes, over ‘a‘ā lava, they were paved with water-worn stones.

One such overland trail, leading to Mokuʻāweoweo, the summit crater at the summit of Mauna Loa, is ‘Āinapō Trail (darkened land (often heavy with fog)).

It is a narrow, single-file, twisting, and occasionally slightly abraded trail above the 11,600 elevation. It leads up the broad southeast flank of Mauna Loa volcano to and along the east side of Mokuʻāweoweo, the major summit crater (HHF)

Hawaiians laid out the ‘Āinapō foot trail to assure availability of shelter, drinking water, and firewood between their nearest permanent settlement, Kapāpala village, and Mokuʻāweoweo. Kapāpala village could be reached over easy-grade trails from the coastal Hawaiian settlements.

Most Mauna Loa ascents by Hawaiians were made during summit eruptions, when the volcano goddess Pele was present, to honor her with chanted prayers and offerings; and perhaps at other times to honor a site she frequented. (NPS)

“The Hawaiian style of ascent to Mokuʻāweoweo lay in moving upslope in easy stages to lessen fatigue and permit acclimatization to the increasingly rarefied atmosphere.

The major stages were a series of overnight camps, each complete with small, warm, thatched houses and well supplied with food, drinking liquid, and firewood. In each camp, the elite were supported in the style of Hawaiian high chiefs. The lesser stages consisted of frequent rest stops, perhaps in natural rock shelters, warmed by fires as necessary. (NPS)

In 1840, Lt Charles Wilkes, as part of the US Exploring Expedition, came to Hawai‘i to conduct experiments and make observations, including swinging pendulums on Mauna Loa’s summit to calculate the force of gravity. They hiked from Hilo to the summit.

Wilkes substituted his own route for the Hawaiian ‘Āinapō trail. Wilkes’ line of march was through wooded country, but without streams or waterholes. Shoes of the Caucasians scuffed and soles abraded on the lava they crossed.

Most of the Hawaiians were barefoot. To mark the path for the straggling porters, Wilkes’ associates built fires and blazed trees. Bushes were broken with their tops laid down to indicate the direction of travel. (NPS)

Much unnecessary thirst, hunger, cold, altitude sickness, fatigue, and snowblindness were suffered by both Caucasians and Hawaiians of the expedition when Wilkes substituted his own route for the Hawaiian ‘Āinapō trail.

‘Mountain’ sickness, probably caused from the combination of fatigue, dehydration, chill, hunger, and the altitude, was prevalent.

To the rescue came the Hawaiian guides ‘Ragsdale’ and Keaweehu, a famous bird catcher. Both had apparently been waiting at Kapāpala for the expedition to arrive and planned to guide the expedition up the ‘Āinapō trail.

Ragsdale was hired to supply water for the camp. His men delivered it the next day – fifteen gallons carried in open-top vessels over the trackless ten miles of rugged lavas which separated Wilkes’ camp from the ‘Āinapō trail.

At about the same elevation on the Āinapō was a large lava tube with pools of water inside. This tube was used by Hawaiians on the ‘Āinapō trail and was easily supplied with grass (for insulation from the cold ground) and firewood from a point on the trail not far below. (NPS)

Up until around 1916, the customary route to the summit of Mauna Loa was the 34-mile long ‘Āinapō Trail. Most Mauna Loa ascents by Hawaiians were made during summit eruptions, when the volcano goddess Pele was present, to honor her with chanted prayers and offerings. (HHF)

In 1916, With the assistance of the US Army, Thomas A Jaggar, a geologist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had a trail constructed from Kīlauea to the Mauna Loa summit along the northeast flank of the mountain.

That year, the summit of Mauna Loa, the Army-built trail, and the summit of Kilauea volcano were incorporated within Hawaii National Park, established by Congress.

With the trail completed, horses and mules could go as far as Pu‘u ‘Ula‘ula (Red Hill), where a 10-man cabin and 12-horse stable had been built. The remaining 10-mile trail to the summit was pedestrian only.

After 1916, for the next half century, there were two trails to the summit, but the Āinapō received diminishing usage and was not maintained. Below the barren lavas, the savannah-forest areas through which the ‘Āinapō passed became ranching country private land through which public passage was discouraged. (NPS)

From the trailhead, ʻĀinapō Trail ascends 7,600-feet in 10.2 miles to the National Park Service cabin on the rim of Mokuʻāweoweo crater.

Vegetation varies from mixed mesic koa /ʻōhiʻa forest to alpine stone desert. Intermittent, and in places infrequent, stacks of loose lava boulders (ahu) line the sides of the trail.

Abraded spots occur only on the rare surface types subject to pockmarking by metal blows; this was done by iron-shod hooves since 1870s, when horses and mules began to be used. (NPS)

Day use of ʻĀinapō trail does not require a permit; however, hikers are required to contact Kapāpala Ranch at 808-928-8403 to obtain the combination for the locked gate.

Users are required to call the night before between 7:30 pm and 8:30 pm.to schedule entry. Lock combinations are changed daily and given out daily at the same phone number from 4:30 am to 7:00 am on entry day. Everyone using this public access will sign in and out on the log sheet located in the mailbox on the gate.

Reservations and permits for camping at the trail shelter may be obtained from Hawaiʻi District Division of Forestry and Wildlife, at 808-974-4221 or at the link below. Hikers continuing to the summit need to register with the National Park Rangers (808 985-6000). (DLNR)

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