990318

Notes 99.03.18

Car trip from Pauillo to Hilo

d-cane: Degraded Canefields - land once covered by sugar cane but now unused, typically containing some scraggly cane, grasses, and ironwood

Euc.: Eucalyptus planted for pulp, 2 m apart in rows 3 m apart

Checkpoint #1: Bill's road in Pauillo
- mi. 0.3: d-cane on R, Euc. on L
- 0.4: gulch
- 0.5: Sandra's store (local landmark)
- 0.6: gulch
- 0.7: d-cane on both sides with ironwood
- 0.9: Euc. on L
- 1.2: ironwood on high embankments
- 1.4: gulch
- 1.7: gulch with vines
- 1.9: baby Euc. on R
- 2.1: gulch, Euc. on both sides
- 2.3: d-cane on R
- 2.5: gulch
- 2.9: d-cane on both sides after random vegetation
- 3.1: big gulch
- 3.3: papaya on L, d-cane on R
- 3.5: d-cane on both sides
- 3.9: Euc. on L, ironwood forest on R
- 4.2: gulch
- 4.3: giant gulch
- 4.5: Euc. both sides
5.0: Checkpoint #2: North Hilo District Boundary, Giant gulch
- 0.5: d-cane on both sides
- 1.2: major gulch
- 1.6: begin Kawali`i gulch
  - gulch has: kukui, small ironwoods, tulip trees, rock wall on L side of curve (~70 cm)
- 2.4 Kawali`i ends
- 2.6: mixed ornamentals - residential (rez.)
- 3.3 d-cane on R
- 3.5: Laupahoehoe gulch begins
  - vegetation similar to last gulch
- 4.5: Laupahoehoe gulch ends, followed immediately by another gulch
- 4.7: rez. - mixed ornamentals
- 4.9: scenic point (on L)
- 5.1: Train museum (on R)
- 5.3: gulch
- 5.4: gulch
- 5.8: lots of tulip trees
- 5.9: gulch
- 6.3: gulch
- 6.4: d-cane on R
- 6.6 beautiful gulch
- 6.8: papaya both sides
- 7.1: gulch with beautiful creek
- 7.4: gulch
- 7.8 baby cane
- 8.1: gulch - Maulua Gulch, beautiful stone wall
- 9.2: gulch ends
- 9.8: d-cane on R, residential & large trees on L
- 10.6: small gulch, macnut on L
- 10.9: gulch, rez. on both sides
- 11.2: world's smallest post office (ninole)
- 11.7: big gulch
- 12.1: d-cane on L
- 12.3: huge gulch filled with palms (non-coconut)
- 12.7: gulch with many palms
- 12.9: papaya on R, ironwood on L
- 13.8: banana, gulch for a ways
- 14.0: d-cane both sides
- 14.3: gulch with huge waterfall
- 14.5: papaya on L
14.9: Checkpoint #3, district of South Hilo boundary, huge gulch
- 0.5: papaya on R, tulip trees on L
- 1.0: d-cane on R
- 1.7: kolekole gulch
- 1.8: macnuts on L behind a hedge, mixed veg. on R
- 2.1: gulch w/palms & tulip trees
- 2.8: gulch
- 3.2: d-cane on both sides
- 3.8: papaya on L
- 4.7: d-cane both sides
- 5.1: sad, cheap, bland, repetitive tan housing on R
- 5.8: gulch
- 5.9: macnut both sides
- 6.4: gulch
- 6.5: pasture on R with some cows
- 7.3: gulch
- 7.7: gulch
- 7.8: rez. on both sides
- 8.2, 8.4: gulches
- 9.1: topiary on R
- 9.2: big gulch: showers, tulips, and a bunch of other stuff
- 10.0: d-cane both sides
- 10.2: gulch-type vegetation on L
- 10.3: rez.
- 11.0: big gulch
- 12.7: gulch
- 12.8: gulch
- 13.0: hit Hilo

Trip up Kaiwiki Rd.

Starting point: where Kaiwiki Rd. leaves the main highway just north of Hilo
- 0.0: gulch on L, dense vegetation on L, residential on R
- 0.3: road on L
- 0.4: rez. on both sides
- 0.6: hedge ofpaperbark on L
- 0.8: d-cane on L
- 1.0: rez. on both sides
- 1.1: swerve right, cross small gulch, still residential
- 1.2: macnut on L, gulch on R with tulip trees
- 1.7: crossed gulch, still gulch on R
- 1.8: papaya on L
- 2.3: 1-lane wooden bridge, hill on R, gulch on L
- 2.5: macnut on L behind hedge, rez. on R
- 2.7: hill on L, gulch on R
- 2.9: rez. and mixed vegetation
- 3.0: hill on R
- 3.1: rez. on both sides
- 3.8: 1-lane rd., macnut on L
- 4.1: 2 1-lane bridges
- 4.7: still pretty residential
- 5.0: enter forest with left turn over wooden bridge
- vegetation: tons on uluhe, ohi'a, strawberry guava, some rose apple
- 5.4: extreme;ly dark forest canopy (faya tree?) took photo of leave
- some areas of pasture on L
- 5.5: still some rez. here and there
- 5.6: large cleared area on R, strawberry guava on L
- 5.8: forest of tall Euc., strawberry guava, uluhe understory
- 6.1: end of county road

Drive from base on Wainuenue in Hilo up onto Saddle Road

4.3: Kaumana caves on R, forest on L (ohi'a/uluhe) - Checpoint #1
- 0.1: rez. both sides
- 0.7: still rez., giant poles on L, smaller on R
- 1.2: forest on both sides
- 2.0: "winding road next 47 miles"
- 2.2: some rez. with much surrounding forest
- 3.0: solid forest (ohi'a/uluhe) ohi'a is small, medium-dense, scattered
- 5.0: some koa on both sides, joins forest for a while
- 5.4: koa gone
- 6.0: 1-2 m grassy "lawn" margin on road
- 6.9: "Hilo Forest Reserve" sign
- 7.8: trees much larger on R, to 10 m
- 8.1: koa again, to 12 m
- 8.2: koa stops
- 8.4: ohi'a to 6 m on both sides
- (btw there have been no poles for many miles)
- 9.5: hapu'u starts to join forest (some ama'u also)
- 11.1: hapu'u still small and patchy
- 11.6: hapu'u nearly vanishes
- 12.4: different kind of ohi'a (dark leaves, new leaves bright green)
- 14.5: ohi'a getting dense & tall, very dark green
- 15.0: a'a on both sides, still 6 m ohi'a, much ama'u, no uluhe
- 16.5: a'a fresher, ohi'a sparse, ama'u sparse
- 17.9: stopped and took pictures of stuff
- 18.6: fence on R
- 18.7: mullein starts on roadsides
18.8: North Hilo district boundary, Checkpoint #2
- 0.3: rough a'a, swordfern mostly
- 0.7: up to 6 m ohi'a in clumps
- 1.6: occasional kipuka with 6 m ohi'a
- 2.6: pahoehoe area on R
- 3.9: cross old hawaiian rock wall
- 4.3: kipuka on L
- 4.7: pahoehoe
- 5.0: forested pu'u on L
- 5.3: small building w/sign: "Pu'u Huluhulu", hunter checking station, DNLR
Checkpoint#3: start of "mauna loa road" - single lane, paved
- 0.1: reddish a'a
- 0.3: small scrub, not ohi'a, scatterred, ohi'a in older cracks only
- 1.0: mullein on roadsides
- 1.8: harse a'a landscape
- 3.5: enter area of older pahoehoe, with brush and small swordfern
- 3.8: occasional areas of newer a'a with less vegetation
- 6.0: a'a w/brush still, w/patches of fresher a'a, no vegetation
- 7.0: side road to R, unpaved, reddish
- 7.3: pahoehoe
- 7.6: low fuel, we turn around

Saddle road vegetation notes: (17.9 mi. above Hilo)

Lava is mostly a'a with some flat areas, beautiful colored lichens/mosses, eg. green, red, white, Ferns: swordferns grows out of areas first eroded by lichens, ama'u grows in depressions

trees: Ohia is very dark green, with red-tinged new leaves, very gnarled up there

Black berries growing on grow (kipunene?)

the ama'u in this very wet area aren't tinged with red.