California and Hawaii

 One night on hitch 7 in Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky, I found out I was going to Hawaii the next month.  At the moment I was quite traveled-out, and the thought of flying to California for a week of work, then to Honolulu for a refuge on Oahu, little puddle-jumper to Maui for the second refuge, and one last flight back to Boise… well it sounded like lots of flights.  Also we travel with a small tower of luggage: cooler, two duffels, and two heavy cases of tech gear.  Plus one extra carry-on each.  And while doing it for the last seven eight months has made it all easier-- learning how to walk with a heavy duffel bag strung across your shoulder, a backpack on your back, and a cooler full of camp gear (sometimes balancing a tech kit on top)-- it's surprisingly not impossible.  It just sounds impossible.  Anyhow, we've all come a long way with our travel skills.  But the duffels haven't gotten lighter and the sun hasn't gotten cooler, and a mile is still a mile.  So it continues to be draining.

            Luckily I came to my senses.  I was being set to Hawaii! For work!  I’ve never really given thought to going to Hawaii.  I guess when I think Hawaii I think beaches, beaches... and waterfalls.  I was right about that.   

Before I get to Hawaii though I have a few things to say about Central CA.  Most of the time was not noteworthy, except two amazing In-N-Out dinners.  But we did manage to finish work early and head to Yosemite for a couple nights.  Susan and I split up to do two different hikes- I hiked to Cloud's Rest from Tenaya Lake, and from there down into the valley.  16 miles total. My feet and knees were screaming at me by the end, but it was a beautiful hike.

The High Sierra in Yosemite

View into Yosemite Valley from Cloud's Rest

Vernal Falls

We left from Sacramento on Saturday to fly to Honolulu.  After landing in Honolulu we checked into our hotel and walked five minutes to the beach.  I think every day involved the beach in one way or another… plenty of beach-sitting, swimming in the big ocean waves, camping near enough to hear the constant rhythm of the surf, and snorkeling!  I went snorkeling for the first time and got to watch flashy neon fish play hide-and-seek in the coral.  I was even fortunate enough to see a sea turtle swimming around in front of me.

We also had fantastic food: mangos, coconuts, fresh sugar cane to suck on, sushi, Japanese pastries, fish tacos, pina coladas, stir-fry for breakfast, French toast covered with local banana, macadamia nuts, coconut and coconut syrup! 

In between beaches and food, we also worked on two refuges: Oahu Forest NWR and Kaelia Pond NWR on Maui.  Oahu Forest had a beautiful and very remote trail in the center of the island where there are dramatic, densely forested ridges and valleys.  The trail took us mostly along a ridgline and we had fantastic views of the island: Pearl Harbor and Honolulu to one side, and deep green hills and valleys to the other.  Kaelia Pond was a  little less enchanting, but we did map a nice coastal boardwalk.

View of Honolulu from Diamond Head Crater

View from hike in Oahu Forest NWR

On Kiapapa Trail in Oahu Forest NWR

 We spent about two and a half days on Oahu.  Explored a bit of Honolulu, hiked up Diamond Head Crater just outside the city.  We left Honolulu fairly quickly in favor of someplace with fewer high-rise hotels.  We spent two nights on the Northshore, the windward coast of the island.  On Wednesday we turned in the rental car and got ourselves and our luggage on the short little island-hopper flight to Maui.  Someone had told me in Hawaii, Oahu is the city, and Maui is the country.  And it was—lots of agriculture in the center, no cities anywhere near the size of Honolulu, two big mountains on either side of the island, and few roads.  Maui was beautiful.  We spent a night in Kihei which is the town where the refuge is located.  We had some delicious sushi on a patio overlooking the ocean and also enjoyed some pool time at the hotel.  We spent two nights camping and exploring Haleakala National Park on the eastern part of the island.  Haleakala is a 10,000 foot mountain with a spectacular view of the sunrise each morning.  I made it up just in time to see the sun rise over the layer of clouds below the mountain summit.  It was pretty incredible.  We spent one night camped high on the mountain, then drove around to the other side on a very narrow and crowded road to Hana.

On Mt Haleakala

Hiking through a bamboo forest

 In the Kipahulu part of the park we hiked to the base a a very tall waterfall and had an idyllic moment standing under streams of refreshing Hawaiian water, on Maui.  (Ahem, all in the name of work.)

Hiking in Maui

Waterfall in Kipahula portion of Haleakala NP

Waterfall shower!

Waterfall pools

Black sand and blue water

Coast of Maui

We left Maui after having three days to soak it in.  Susan and I were both ready to go home- although there always seems to be a need for just a few more hours on the beach.  And maybe one more plate of sushi. 

My next (and final!) hitch starts on Monday.  I'm flying into New Mexico, then hitting a refuge in northern Texas, moving up and through Oklahoma, to Arkansas, Louisiana, and ending in Mississippi!  It's a lot of ground to cover, but I'm exited for one last crazy hitch.