Restoration to the Kalalau Trail on the Na Pali Coast in recent weeks has made dangerous areas passable, all thanks to volunteers. Volunteer Bill Summers has taken it upon himself to repair areas of the Kalalau Trail that are considered
Restoration to the Kalalau Trail on the Na Pali Coast in recent weeks has made dangerous areas passable, all thanks to volunteers.
Volunteer Bill Summers has taken it upon himself to repair areas of the Kalalau Trail that are considered dangerous and impassable to some. Summers, a stone mason and ex-Marine, has spent his entire savings and more than four months working almost daily on the trail, he says.
According to hiker and art gallery owner Arius Hopman of Hanapepe, Summers felt obligated to work on the trail after walking behind a family with small children earlier this year.
After walking a treacherous section of the trail, the family members had to sit down and calm their shaken nerves. Summers was so moved by their experience he decided to do something before lives were lost.
“With a volunteer, they’re motivated by the work itself, it becomes a mission,” Hopman said. “Then there’s people like Bill who sees a need and simply goes out and does it.”
Hopman says Summers has moved dozens of tons of rock, gravel and dirt by hand, only using some small hand tools and two 5-gallon buckets.
“He initially fixed the most dangerous sections of the trail, but as he became familiar with the trail, he saw how much more needed to be done and how urgent the situation was,” Hopman said. “The most dangerous half mile was called ‘Terminal Traverse,’ aka ‘Chivalry Pass.’ We can no longer use these names because, thanks to Bill’s work, this section of the trail is now one of the safest of the entire 11 miles.”
Hopman adds that the current condition of the trail “is the best I’ve seen in five years.”
Summers isn’t the only volunteer working on the trail, Hopman says. Hopman has hiked the trail once a month for the past 13 years, and every time he does, he takes along a saw to cut brush that grows over the path.
He also mentions a man named Jay who spent a week last Christmas working on the trail and has seen hikers taking out bags of garbage.
Hanalei resident and author Terry Moeller has spent the last decade hiking the Kalalau Trail to collect stories for his book, “Dramas of Kalalau.” During his hikes, he noticed the problem of trash and equipment left behind by hikers who had overpacked and were too tired to bring it back out.
“People who live there (in the Kalalau Valley) will pack up the trash left behind,” Moeller said. “Someone once told me that they could open a store with all the things left behind.”
Moeller added that Kalalau Valley residents have packed up several boatloads of trash, brought it out and disposed of it properly.
Wayne Souza, Kaua‘i state parks district superintendent with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, acknowledges the rise of volunteerism, but warns that those who choose to work on the trail will be cited by the DLNR.
“Good intentions don’t automatically turn into good work,” Souza said.
Souza is aware of Summers’ work on the trail and says the DLNR would eventually like to work with him on trail maintenance.
Souza also mentioned that money for maintenance on the first two miles of the trail should be released by Gov. Linda Lingle early next year.
On June 27, legislators earmarked $1.2 million of the Legislature’s 2007 budget for the Kaua‘i Planning and Action Alliance to rebuild the Civilian Conservation Corp. camp at Koke‘e State Park and restore trails throughout the Na Pali Wilderness State Park.
KPAA President Diane Zachary explained that the Budget, Program Planning and Management Division of the state Department of Budget and Finance will determine if there is enough money to allocate any to Na Pali. If so, Gov. Lingle will release the money and Zachary will work with the DLNR to get the grant money.
“After the first phase is finished, we will go after more money for the remainder of the trail,” Zachary said.
Senator Gary Hooser says the soon-to-be released funds were meant to support the volunteers.
“It’s a huge project and if individuals are helping in small ways, it’s probably a good thing,” Hooser said.
Hooser added he hopes the governor will see that having the trail repaired is essential for Kaua‘i residents and tourists alike.
DLNR chairperson Laura Thielen doesn’t want volunteers to feel afraid to work on the trail and hopes to develop partnerships with volunteer groups to someday work together on the trail.
“We have a lot of areas where we know we have to band together,” Thielen said. “Kalalau is an extreme example.”
But Hopman worries about volunteers being punished for working on the trail. He feels punishing those who are doing the job that should be done by the DLNR is unfair.
“Inappropriate punishment creates disrespect for the system,” Hopman said. “Appropriate punishment could create respect for the system.”
Moeller agrees.
He explained that the “outlaws” of Kalalau are often put in jail because they can’t pay fines, but there could possibly be other alternatives.
“Those people fined for camping without permits should be allowed to do their community service by maintenance of the Na Pali Trail and the Kalalau Valley,” Moeller said.
And Moeller thinks the volunteers and the DLNR could work together to maintain the trail.
“If there were a regular, well-organized volunteer program to maintain and improve the trail, the DLNR could concentrate more of their time and money on maintaining the Kalalau Valley interior, where their work is sorely needed,” Moeller said.
Hopman just hopes a resolution comes soon for fear of volunteer work being stopped and trail conditions worsening.
“Doing good does you good,” Hopman said.
“We want to have fun and fix the trail. If we could fix the trail in that way, things would go more easily.”
• Rachel Gehrlein, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or rgehrlein@kauaipubco.com.
