Na Pohaku o Hauwahine Trail

Last week Evie and I enjoyed another hike with Hiking with Keiki. This time we went to the Kawai Nui Marsh and were given a guided tour of the Na Pohaku o Hauwahine Trail (don't ask me how to pronounce any of this!). The name of the trail translates to "The Rocks of the Hauwahine" and the area itself is 12-acres of volcanic rock formations that is currently being replanted with native Hawaiian plants. The tour was given by a member of the Ahahui Malamaika i ka Lokahi (Hawaiians for the Conservation of Native Ecosystems) and consisted of a couple trails, hills, marsh, and beautiful views of Kailua and the Maunawilli mountain ridge.

Trailhead

We met up at the trailhead, which is on a busy road off of a major highway. The only parking was gravel on the shoulder of this busy road, so it was a bit dangerous getting out and crossing with the children. Future projects for the group and site include putting in a parking area for tourists and hikers.

We met our guide at a small, shaded area, and after everyone in the group signed-in for the hike, we left. I had a hard time hearing everything he was saying because Evie wanted to get going on the trail, but I think I caught a lot of the interesting stuff. We started with a steep incline that I had to carry Evie for- guess she's not quite ready for steep hikes just yet. The sun was blazing overhead but luckily we stopped at a set of benches underneath a tree, and we had a few minutes to snack, hydrate, and rest. The guide pointed out Kawai Nui Marsh, which is at the base of the land we hiked. Right now, volunteers are excavating non-native plants from this marsh and planting native species. Progress is currently at a halt as the water levels are up to chin-level from the recent rains.

Next, we traveled downhill to great views of the marsh and the Maunawilli mountains to the south.

The peak to the left of center is actually what's left of a volcano that created the valley we were hiking in. The mountains behind that separate the windward side of the island from Pearl Harbor.

Next, we hiked around several rock formations that were significant to ancient Hawaiians (why, I don't know. Evie was not interested in this part, so I didn't get to listen). We were able to touch a carving stone, which was very smooth from where Hawaiians had used it to sharpen tools and weapons hundreds of years ago. Next to that was a "classroom", as the guide called it (pictured below). It was a series of rocks set into a hillside. The central rock was a basin that held water, and Hawaiians were able to teach and learn about astronomy through the night sky's reflection in the pool. The hillside had a perfect view east, and the sunrise was noted for every day of the year and rocks were placed accordingly on the hillside, so that the summer and winter solstice could be identified using the rocks and sunrise. This is the little I heard while chasing Evie, but it was very interesting.

We were nearing noon, which meant hungry  kids and incredibly hot temperatures. I had a chance to chat with the guide on our way back to the trailhead (as Evie was now leading the hike and we were following), and he said this is one of the hottest summers on the island that he can remember, and he's been here 45 years! He said it's lack of tradewinds due to global warming that has the temperatures so high with no relief. It certainly has been much hotter this summer versus last.

Evie and I had a good time on this quick, guided trail, and we look forward to our next hiking adventure!

Moanalua Gardens and Marinara Sauce

We have been keeping super busy this month, and I'm happy to say I've finally gotten a chance to hike with a group I joined a few months ago- Hiking with Keiki. They are a Facebook group that's for residents of Oahu and they have several hikes every week that you can join. Some are easy and are for pee-wees (ages 1-3), while others are hard and for kids 8+ or babywearing only. Every now and then they have adults-only hikes, which are usually longer in duration and harder trails.

I joined this group a while ago but at first I was too busy to join the hikes. Then I was too shy and was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up. But finally I saw some hikes for pee-wee walkers that seemed easy enough for me and Evie, so I signed up. Hikes are posted on Monday nights and you gotta be quick and sign-up, otherwise you are on the wait list, which can be quite long.

Cottage under renovation

Our first hike with the group was at Moanalua Gardens. It's a small, public park between Pearlridge and Honolulu, right next to H201. It was formerly the home of Prince Lot Kapuaiwa, who later became King Kamehameha V. The park has the King's cottage, which was built in the 1850s and is currently being renovated. Next to the cottage was a small koi pond, where the kids were able to feed koi, ducks, and birds.

Koa bench

After spending time feeding the wildlife, we kept walking around the park, stopping under the shade of the various monkeypod trees. Moanalua Gardens participates in Honolulu's Exceptional Tree Program, which protects trees from destruction. This park is home to the famous Hitachi monkeypod tree, which the Hitachi Corp uses as their symbol. While we were walking/hiking, a wedding was taking place under the Hitachi Tree, so we didn't get to spend time playing there.

We stopped for a snack break by a fountain at the far end of the park, and you could tell it was almost lunch. The kids were cranky for food and the adults were in need of shade. We slowly made our way back across the park to the parking lot. Evie and I were hot and hungry, so we snacked on the way home and I was barely able to keep her awake. The "hike" was more like playtime in the park, but Evie was introduced to following a group around and was given time to play with other children. She mostly kept to herself and liked to go off exploring; I'm sure the child who kept pushing her off the rocks didn't make her want to interact with the others (and I barely controlled the urge to discipline the kid myself!). But otherwise, it was a great first time with the group and I loved being able to see parts of Oahu I didn't know existed!

Off on her own

In addition to hiking this week, I made homemade marinara for the first time! The idea came to me for meatless Monday, and it turns out it's not that hard. The hardest part was taking the skin off the tomatoes, which I did by cutting an "X" in the bottom of each tomato, boiling them for 30 seconds, then dropping them in an ice bath. I found the tomatoes that were cut on the smoother side peeled better.

I combined the tomatoes with garlic, onions, fresh thyme and basil from my plants outside, fresh parsley, and oregano. It simmered for a few hours and I used a potato masher to "puree" the tomatoes (didn't even have to chop them), and when it was done it was so good! Sweet but with no added sugar. I'll definitely be making it again. It didn't get as dark as jarred tomato sauce, but that did not affect the taste.

Sauce over stuffed shells

Evie and I have another hike planned for this week, so stay tuned!