Bytemarks

June 21, 2009 marks the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. It is the tilt of the earth’s axis that causes this long day and as soon as it happens we pass into a period of shortening days. It is the transition from one period into the next. For seven years, my friend Kelvin Ho made it a personal commitment to celebrate the solstice by taking a group of friends into a valley along the Na Pali coast of Kauai called Nualolo. Through this commitment, he and his wife Kat recognize and honor our Hawaiian ancestors who lived and drew sustanance from this land. This was the fifth year in the seven year commitment and the first opportunity for me to experience it. The trip would essentially take one day, to access Nualolo, trek into the valley, give a ho`okupu (offering) to the land and leave by night fall. It was appropriate to take full advantage of the longest day to embark on this epic journey. The day started with a 4am zodiac ride from Port Allen to Nualolo Kai State Park. By 5:30am we were dropped of in the ocean to swim about 50 yards to shore. That was the first gate. The next gate was a much longer swim across a point to access a boulder strune beach. Accessing a sandy beach with a shore break is one thing, but a shore break onto boulders is quite another. This view from the cliff above shows the boulders in the water but all sense of size is lost in the photo.

Once on land we follow the stream deep into the valley. I was quite taken by the fresh water pools and waterfalls. Following the stream into the valley was like tracing a lifeline. Nualolo `aina was lush in vegetation. Much of it was non-native but was the occasional native plant, like alahe`e, naio, naupaka, and the Hawaiian poppy. I was quite amazing to see fresh water springs that tasted sweeter than any bottled water that I have ever had. We took a break at a kukui nut grove with six inches of kukui nuts on the ground. In ancient times, the kukui nut symbolized enlightenment. As I laid there I could feel a heightened level of energy even though outwardly it was very serene. We hiked all the way to the back of the valley that stopped at a sheer wall of rock. It was an awesome feeling to bare witness to the nature of the place.