Golf Course/Suicide Cliff

Under an overcast sky and a dark, windless morning, Handie and Cutie pick up CC and Chops to head up to GoKart parking to meet up with Peppy. The three ladies have to make sure Handie observes the traffic rule of entering into the IN lane rather than taking the shortcut through the EXIT!

The five charter members cross the street to Binadu Road, climbing and winding up around, over a large puddle, to the backside of the Marianas Golf Course onto Mantansa Drive. After greeting the driller on the side of the road, and Handie wanting to know whether they are drilling for oil or water, we begin to enjoy the quiet and cool trail. On the way we run into the Camacho Quarry, and it is closed up pretty tightly. We wonder who is running the business now that Frank has passed away so suddenly.

Part way on the trail we discover a newly opened back entrance into the golf course. We stop and check it out a bit. Around the 2.5 mile mark, we pass the FEBC (Ayuyu Dr.) and reach the main Magpi Road. Continuing the climb, and marveling at the beautiful scenery of lush green valleys, rolling hills, distant lagoon, and unspoiled landscape, we finally reach the top.

But oh, what a shock to see piles of cow dung on the road to the overlook platforms and all over the grassy area where the benches and the monuments are. We have to pick our way carefully to the rails and the offerings at the base of the monument. The views from the top are spectacular, showing the newly constructed public cemetary, Banzai Cliff and the ocean beyond. After making sure that we keep our feet off the cow dung, we sit at the base of the monument for a little snack break before heading down the hill.

We anticipate seeing some bikers in today's race, and we are excited to show our support and cheering for Giggles. As we near Matansa Dr. again, we see Susan charging up and turn onto the drive. Our original plan is to go down Ayuyu Dr. to the bottom of FEBC and return to GoKart. But Handie wants to take a shortcut through the golf course from that new back entrance. We agree to the change, with the hope that Giggles will come along soon. Unfortunately we miss her appearance. Instead, we see Ben. Not the same excitement as seeing Giggles, but we are glad anyway.

After passing by Peppy's uncle's beautiful house, we trudge through part of the golf course, then to the club house, and soon find ourselves on the way back down to the GoKart parking. We are all really impressed with how wonderful the golf course look, it's my first time stepping onto the course. With the shortcut, our final distance for the hike comes to almost six miles. It is a lucky stroke that the weather is cool throughout, otherwise Handie would have suffered dehydration for sure. We all agree that it is a great hike. We will keep this course in our hiking menu for future reference.

Naftan Point Adventure

After much discussions, mapping, and numerous email exchanges, our first foray into the southern hemisphere is finally launched. Handy, our proud driver, picks up neighbor CC, Chops at the post office, Ning at CHC, and we all meet up with Kento at Herman's. Our trail to Naftan starts at Hawaiian Rocks.

The day is cool and breezy, the trail through a canopy of trees and tall bushes is more or less clear, with occasional hanging branches. Part way down the trail we take a left turn that takes us for about 3/4 mile to a spectacular view of a huge gap in the rocky cliff. The gap slopes into the foaming ocean below, and Forbidden Island is clearly visible in the distance. We pick our way carefully on the jagged rockes for a closer look. On the way out we notice the ground is covered with rusty iron shards.

Returning to the main trail, we continue southward, and then take another left turn through a wind-swept grassy field that leads to a iron fence. The fence used to be in fairly good shape so one could look down the cliff that drops straight to the rocky shore. But today, the fence is, sadly, mostly gone. But the grassy field is so inviting that we decide to have a "picnic" right there. Here, we also officially christen Kento with his hiker nickname of Clark, as "Clark Kento" the Super Man, after he has earlier volunteered to explore a steep opening on the right side of the trail. We stop him, but the his nickname is born.

The next nickname is volunteered by Ning, who aptly calls herself Giggles. We all agree that she has the happiest, loudest and most frequent giggles.

Just as we near the Point, a sudden shower catches us on the trail. Fortunately the canopy offer some protection, but we are still all wet. The shower lasts only a few minutes. The big gun is our final destination. This is the first time Handy, Clark, and Giggles get this up close look, and they are impressed by how huge it is. When we walk closer to the cliff we realize how well the gun is hidden from enemy sights. CC and Chops are sad that the gun is rusting away by the harsh weather.

We find two gate posts mid way on the way back. Not sure if they are Japanese or American as the surface of the posts are tiled. The final nickname is chistened in absentia, for Kento's mom who cannot make it to the hike today. We name her Wonder Woman.

So now the gang of hikers has completed the nickname roster:

Handy; Cutie; Chops (short for chopsticks); Peppy Devine; Monte; Clark; Wonder Woman; CC (how many names can you come up with these two initials? No nasty words :-)

We estimate the hiking distance today is roughly five miles, with lengthy stops, it takes us nearly three hours. The trails are mostly flat, with a couple of gentle hills, so we are not overly tired. We are able to find the connecting trail head to the lower trail. Giggles is assigned to find the lower trail head and tie a ribbon there. The next time we hike Naftan we will start from Obyan Beach.

A good, and all around, successful hike today.

Birth of First Blog Message

Dear Sunday Hikers,

Hey, hey, hey! It came to me that since several of us normally write a report after each Sunday hike, it is a no-brainer that a blog is called for. So please join me to celebrate the birth of our SundayHikersSaipan Blog, add your comments and message every time, sometimes, or never. We will keep the blog as our hiking "club" message board. Let me know your thoughts and suggestions.

Today, July 17, 2011, witness the biggest group hike since the formation of our club. Joining us are Masako and Ben, from Japan. Masako is Hiroko's cousin. They are here for the wedding of their son. What makes their visit so special is that they were here 34 years ago for their honeymoon.

Our original plan of going around the golf course up to Suicide Cliff, down around from GoKart, up FEBC, up to to Suicide Cliff, then Cowtown back seemed too long and too wet. Handy throws in his desire to park at Last Command Post to avoid the "boring" road hike. So we agree to let him have his way. The hike up FEBC is out since it will mean backtracking for over a mile. Then the Suicide Cliff portion is thrown out by popular demand. So we start down to Banzai cliff, with a detour to the Veteran and Public Cemetaries. It is a very interesting visit for everyone. I am surprised that there are so many more gravesites there. Onward to Banzai and Cowtown trail through the rock garden with a stop at the caves. Having skipped the CowTown Beach last week, we decide to take the visitors to the beach to check out the bunker and the surfs. I think they really enjoy that side trip. Instead of walking down on the main road, we veer off to the right and explore the trail that parallels the road and along a barbed wire fence, which by the way are popping up everywhere. Does that mean we are losing hiking grounds?

The hike is very enjoyable, especially because the weather is wonderfully sunny, warm, and breezy, after a whole week of rain and wind. Our temporary plan for next week's hike is to head south, to Nuftan Point starting at Obyan Beach. We're not sure where the trails are, but isn't that part of the fun?