Oahu Land’s End

The end is in sight. Only a bit over a mile to go and we will have finished  hiking the walkable part of the North Shore. There are certain sections that are rocky, unpassable because of rivers or seawalls. But after one more trip (seventeen total) we’ll have covered most of the coastline from near Kahuku to Kaena Point, a total distance of approximately twenty miles. Since we backtracked on most sections we walked more than that. We have passed multimillion dollar estates, sets for TV shows, resort hotels, beach bungalows and temporary campsites of Oahu’s homeless. We have seen a stronghold of the Hawaiian Nation. We have walked past church camps, airfields, polo fields, condos, marinas and old W.W.II pillboxes where GI’s once waited for the enemy. We’ve seen world famous surfing beaches, chunks of off shore rock named as islands on the local  maps, beach parks and what appear to be private dumps. Much of the beach is isolated; some scored with tire tracks. We’ve found shells and glass, seen fishnet and strands of rope and thousands of pieces of plastic. We have viewed surfers, fishermen, sunbathers, shell gatherers, swimmers, snorkelers, kite surfers, seals, horses, turtles and walkers like ourselves. On most sections we walked alone, often seeing no one. The sand is of an amazing consistency. Great for calf burning exercise. Near the water’s edge one can find hard footing. But it’s wetter down there. Above the wave lap one sinks several inches with each step. Experimenting with different strides I found a kind of cross country skiing glide worked well. What worked the best, however, is stepping in someone else’s footprints. This  reduces effort; increases speed. No dogs attacked us. No one was unfriendly. The views were grand and endless. Gliders, ultra lights, Air Force C-130’s, Army Blackhawks occasionally passed overhead, as did an albatross or two. At Dillingham Air Field parachutists dropped from the sky.
If it got too hot there were spots to cool off. In our seventeen outings we didn’t get rained on once. After seeing it all I have to admit that my favorite beach is still the closest one—Kei ki. But it was fun to see them all.