Kapiolani
Community College Diamond Journal 2004
Kapiolani
Community College
Diamond Journal 2004
Kaena Point is located on the northwestern tip of Oahu.
On a clear day one can make out the faint image of Kauai far off in the distance.
This region of the island seems to be the most isolated due to its inaccessibility
through normal modes of transportation. The few ways to get to Kaena Point
are through mountain biking, four-wheel drive vehicles, and the old fashioned
hike.
This inherent inaccessibility seems to imprint a feeling of loneliness that
I have not felt anywhere else on Oahu.
My favored mode of transportation is to mountain bike the trail up to Kaena
Point. As I take my bicycle off the car rack I feel the loneliness creep up
on me. Above
I catch the w-shaped silhouette of a single iwa bird, gracefully and patiently
patrolling the skies. I am almost oblivious to the sound of the crashing waves
just 40 yards off shore of me; the iwa bird has me in its grasp, both it and
I are here, lone sentinels at the trail heading to Kaena Point.
Today, the skies are overcast, making the ground bright enough to cast shadows
but grey enough overhead to make me feel the uneasiness of the solitude. I
put on the rest of my gear and I’m ready to head out on the trailhead. If it
weren’t for the pounding surf in the distance, the boulders and trailhead
would seem as if they belonged on some other barren planet. As I pedal to the
metal gate, I am reminded that this is not Mars by the distant crawl of a four-wheel
drive truck strategically making its way towards me.
The metal gate is flanked by several large boulders on each side to keep motorized
vehicles off the trailhead, but it doesn’t stop the metal juggernauts
from traversing around the gate to blaze their own way onto the trail. I slide
my
body through the gate and instantly I am in the realm of the Kaena Point trail.
The vehicle is closer to me, close enough that I see the people in the truck
looking haggard and worn, as if they were in some battle. I wave to them and
I get a tired reply and they respond,” What’s up bra! Only you and
some other guys fishing up here. Have fun riding!” I smile as they pass
me knowing that’s pretty much all the talking I’ll do for the next
two hours I’m on the trail.
“Click”- As I step into my pedals, my legs are tight with anticipation
of the ride but I must conserve my energy for the ride out. This part of the
trail looks as if it were an unfinished road of some sort, no asphalt, and
just tightly packed rocks with a few large stones thrown in for good measure.
The
smell of the ocean is sweet and thick; I can almost taste it due to the crashing
waves filling the air with the thick salty haze. The vibration of the rocks
against my bike makes my hands tingle at first, then I become numb as I get used
to the
bouncing about the trail.
The trail is damp with recent rains and it’s starting to cake onto my
tires. The tiny flecks of mud and rocks hit my frame and make sort of music
to accompany me on my lonesome journey.
Historically, Kaena Point “is probably best known as the place from which
souls departed from this earth” (Sterling and Summers 92). This area of
Oahu has been the location of many legends and myths in ancient Hawaiian culture.
The name has several meanings, commonly it is known as “the end” but
Mary Pukui states,”Ka ena—red hot. Kaena was one the relatives of
Pele who came with her from Kahiki and decided to stay at this place. That is
why she visited this area, to see her cousin” (qtd. in Sterling and Summers
93).
As I head towards the end of my journey, I see Pohaku o Kauai in the distance.
This rock is the center of many stories as well:
“
It was at Kaena Point that Maui attempted to unite Kauai and Oahu. According
to some legends after stationing himself on the western extremity of Oahu……..from
which the island of Kauai is clearly visible on a bright day, Maui cast his wonderful
hook, Mana-ia-ka-lani, far out into the ocean that it might engage itself in
the foundations of Kauai. When he felt that it had taken a good hold, mighty
tug at the line. A huge boulder, the Pohaku o Kauai, fell at his feet.” (Sterling
and Summers 92)
The end of my ride compels me to wonder, did the same force that drove Maui
to pull Kauai and Oahu together bring me to the Pohaku o Kauai? Alone I ponder
this
question, along with the solitary iwa bird, still circling overhead, as I prepare
for the ride back to the car, back to the end of loneliness.
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