A trek into the past

National Park System offers historical island hikes

By CAROLYN LUCAS-ZENK

Stephens Media

Much of what archaeologists Shane Rumsey and Sara Dolan do is technical, tedious and time-consuming.

However, a hike Thursday at Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historic Park revealed they are also storytellers.

Rumsey and Dolan led 17 park visitors on a three-hour trek along the 1871 Trail, a timeline into the past dotted with colorful accounts and information from historical records.

The monthly guided hike has been offered since June as part of the park’s special programs, extending beyond the normal interpretive offerings, as it celebrates 50 years as a National Park Service unit. The hike has been “really successful,” with about 15 people participating each month, Dolan said.

The park is best known as a sanctuary for ancient Hawaiians who broke kapu or were defeated in war. Visitors often check out the royal grounds, city of refuge, Hale o Keawe, The Great Wall, fishponds and the picnic area. Few venture to Kiilae, one of the last Hawaiian coastal villages, and “this hike provides an opportunity to learn more about a different part of the park,” Dolan said.

The culturally rich lands of Kiilae became part of the park in 2006, when The Trust for Public Land and the National Park Service purchased the 238-acre parcel. The acquisition nearly doubled the park’s size from 182 acres to 420 acres, as well as added more coastline and an ancient agricultural field system.

The hike crosses three ahupuaa: Honaunau, Keokea and Kiilae. More than a mile of the 1871 Trail is within the park. The primary coastal route for north-south travel in the area, it follows the path of an ancient trail, Rumsey said. It’s part of a trail system that encircles the island to serve as trade routes, he added, noting it connected several villages along its length.

Its namesake derived from the year of its last improvement, 1871. The “two-horse trail” was intended to accommodate horse travel and was lined with curbstones enabling animals to follow the path without the rider’s constant guidance, Rumsey said.

Before walking up what’s known as Alahaka Ramp, Rumsey explained that ancient travelers were said to have used a ladder, or to have scrambled up the cliff from ledge to ledge before a ramp was built to allow horses to continue on the trail. The first ramp was built in the early 1800s, and by the early 1900s, it was called “One Foot Out” by Kiilae cowboys, who would take one foot out of the stirrup to be ready to jump off their horses should the need arise, he said.

Nearby are the Keanaee Cliffs, which Mark Twain described as “a petrified Niagara” when an eruption occurred and sent “a broad river of fire down the mountainside,” Rumsey said.

In the early 1800s, King Kamehameha gave the lands at Kiilae to his adviser, John Young. It was the home of Kekela-O-Ka-Lani, mother of Queen Emma. About 100 people lived in the Kiilae ahupuaa during the late 1800s, according to the National Park Service.

Residences rose around a well called Wai-kui-o-Kekela, or “the pounded waters of Kekela,” which was discovered by a dog. Legend says a couple’s dog kept reappearing with wet fur. They eventually watched and followed their dog into a cave, the source of a spring. Because of limited water resources in the area, Kekela directed the cave to be enlarged. Kiilae residents accomplished this by using heat from a bonfire to help crack open the rock and by pounding through about 8 feet of solid rock. The brackish water was used for cooking and bathing, Dolan said.

The last family, the Kahikinas, left in the 1930s, when road patterns had directed activity away from the area, affecting livelihoods, Rumsey said.

John Kahikina, the elder, was a noted octopus fisherman. He would chew kukui nuts and spit an oily mash into the ocean to smooth it so he could see the bottom. Upon seeing an octopus, Kahikina used a lure made of a rock, cowrie shell, coconut husk rope and a hook to capture it, Rumsey said.

What remains in Kiilae today are abandoned heiau, agricultural features, a canoe ramp and holua — slides where chiefs once rode narrow sleds at great speeds down steep slopes. Animal pens, salt vats and foundations can be seen from more recent times.

Points of interest Thursday included Omao Heiau, Alahaka Heiau, Honaunau Holua, Keokea Holua, Konane Papamu, the Ahu house lot and Keawe’s house site. Trail and structure stabilization work were also discussed, as well as damage caused by the March 11 tsunami and repairs.

For more information about the hike, call 328-2326 ext. 1702.

Email Carolyn Lucas-Zenk at clucas-zenk@westhawaiitoday.com.