This week I'm enjoying a mini-vacation at Waikoloa Beach Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii, tagging along with a friend who really does deserve a short break. And so, the last two days I've been running at dawn along the "King's Trail".
This improbably straight path runs for 32 miles north of Kona. It was built in the 19th century by forced native Hawaiian labor for the benefit of cowboy mule trains, running across a rugged, empty expanse of 'a'a lava.
Sunrise is magical.
The adjacent lava field is forbidding.
Down a side road, there's a tropical shoreline.
This stand of palms at WeliWeli Point looks like an oasis.
The rugged coastline makes for a difficult return trail.
Given a choice, the King's Trail provides an easier passage.
Very austere and awe-inspiring and quite a contrast to to the Hilo side of the island.
ReplyDeleteYes, Hattie, it sure is. I'm probably a more natural fit for your side of things, but this is one of my friend's "home places."
ReplyDeleteWondering about your caption about "forced native Hawaiian labor for the benefit of cowboy mule trains". This does not ring true.
ReplyDeleteThis sealevel trail serves the many villages that were located along the Kohala coastline (as evidenced by its path and the many connecting trails that are still usable). The ranches were at higher elevation and served by a different trail and eventually a road, what is now highway 190. If anything the ranches needed mauka to makai routes to bring cattle down and supplies up from the steamer landings like Kawaihae and Kiholo, they had little use for a coastline trail.
What is your reference for this?
Source was a tourist oriented sign at the entrance to the trail. Might be wrong ...
ReplyDelete