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Part 2 – Hiking in Kokee – The Nualolo-Awaawapuhi Loop

Posted: October 31, 2008

Perhaps the most spectacular hike in Kokee is the Nualolo-’Awa’awapuhi Loop which offers charming mesic forests, stunning scenery, and a razor-edged ridge with thousand foot drop-offs on either side.

The loop is combination of 3 trails: the Nualolo Trail (3.75 miles), Nualolo Cliffs Trail (~2.5miles) and the Awaawapuhi Trail (3.25) miles which makes for a 9.5 mile loop. We started the hike from Nualolo Trailhead near Kokee Museum. The trail descends 1,760 feet though a mixed mesic forest (less than 100 inches of rain per year) of ohia, koa, and strawberrry guava trees.

The night before our host treated us to a meal that included “chicken of the woods” mushrooms which we were told grows on the Nualolo Trail. We were so impressed with their flavor that we looked high and low for these mushrooms on the trail. While we found several types of mushrooms as we made our way down the trail — such as the mushroom near the base of the tree in the foreground above — none of them were the type for which we were searching.

What we did find, however, was lots of waiwi — yellow strawberry guava — growing along the Nualolo trail. Sweeter and less acidic than red strawberry guava, we picked and ate many yellow strawberry guavas as we made our way down the trail.

After descending the trail for quite some time, we reached the edge of Nualolo Valley which is a hanging valley cut-off from the ocean by steep cliffs. In ancient times, a fishing village thrived on the narrow coast — known as Nualolo Kai — which traded their catch with farmers growing kalo (taro) in the hanging valley — known as Nualolo Aina. Large loads were carried back and forth over 250 foot cliffs between Nualolo Kai and Nualolo Aina using a rope ladder made from palm fronds.

One of the more intriguing sights in Nualolo Valley are striking spires and fluted cliffs carved into the mountain-side that overlook terraces built by Hawaiians in Nualolo Aina for the cultivation of kalo (taro). Click here to see for an amazing 360 degree panoramic image of Nualolo by Pat Rooney.

We continued beyond the end of the Nualolo Trail to as far as we could go so that we could peer around the Na Pali Coast to see the twin spires of Ke’e Beach and Red Hill in Kalalau Valley. We then retraced our steps to reach the Nualolo Cliffs Trail that connects the Nualolo to Awaawapuhi.

One of the more awe-inspiring places on this hike is the razor-edged ridge that separates Nualolo Valley (to the left) from ‘Awa’awapuhi Valley (to the right). In the photo above, Pat and Miyo hang on to a rock on the 3 foot wide ridge which drops-off a thousand feet on either side. You can proceed only about a couple of hundred feet out on this razor-edged ridge before it becomes too steep to proceed without climbing gear.

Here is a semi-panoramic image of Nualolo-Awaawapuhi I took 3 years ago. Awa’awapuhi is named for the wild ginger that once thrived in the valley and Nualolo is believed to be named after a pig-ceremony performed after the building of a new canoe.

The steep cliffs of ‘Awa’awapuhi drop some thousand feet to the valley floor below. The Hawaiians apparently once climbed into this hanging valley — I suspect from the sea where the climb is more doable. Archaeological surveys document a well-preserved heiau in ‘Awa’awapuhi at the base of the cliffs on the eastern side of the stream.

After gawking at the views of ‘Awa’awapuhi Valley for quite some time, we began our climb back up the trail through mesic forests of ohia, koa, and sandalwood overhead and uluhe, pala’a and other ferns in the understory.

Our ~1,500 foot climb up to the road was uneventful until we stumbled upon a “chicken of the woods” mushroom growing on the roots of an ohia ha tree. The salmon-orange mushroom was soft to the touch and was nearly 10 inches long and 4 inches wide. When we returned to our host’s cabin that night we sauteed the mushroom in sesame seed oil, soy sauce and cayenne pepper flakes. It was absolutely delicious.

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This is the 2nd blog entry in a series of posts about my Kokee hiking adventure with 3 HTMC friends after the Labor Day weekend. The 1st entry is here and the  next (3rd) entry is here.

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SOURCES

Mapping the Past, by Derek Ferrar, Hana Hou, The Magazine of Hawaiian Airlines

Laetiporus sulphureus: The Chicken of the Woods, MushroonExpert.Com

Unofficial Kokee Hiking Guide, Web Guide