Bird Island

With the sun rising earlier and the heat of day starting earlier as well, we decide to begin our hike at 5:45 a.m. This Sunday we meet at the GoKart parking lot once again. We have expected a large crowd of bikers for their Sunday race to gather by the Marpi pool, but they must have located their starting gate somewhere else. We know there is a race and are mindful about not getting run over, as we hike on the same trail as the racers. 
We six: Handy, Cutie, Chops, Dora, Cowboy, and Capt. Charlie meet at the parking lot at the appointed time. We are delighted that Cowboy has recovered from his back pain and looking none the worse for wear, all ready to take on today's challenge.
We start across the road on the winding uphill climb toward Marianas Country Club. To ease the challenge of this early uphill hike, we walk slowly and take a few rest stops. We admire the prolific bread fruit tree with some of the fruit hanging down so low that they are easy picking, but we are sorry that the fruit are still quite small and not ripe.

Lots of bread fruit on a big tree, should be ready in a couple of months, if no one else gets the same idea!

So what does one find on the outskirt of a golf course? Golf balls, of course. Cowboys has two of them already. Notice his hiking pole, with a flash light attached.

Million gallon water tank just off Matansa Road. The tank has been leaking.

The now abandoned Camacho quarry that is looking pretty tired.

This tree with the large yellow flowers is now almost finished blooming. We are trying to figure out the name of the tree. There are several very large trees of the same flowers on Tinian. We think maybe it's call the Chamoro Orchid tree. Chops will research.

Sure enough, we have to jump off the Kimikaze trail many times to avoid the bikers. There seems to be more bikers today than there were last Sunday. The trail is super rough and dangerous for biking, as we watch the intense expression on the bikers' faces and the wild bouncing and veering of the bikes. We feel much safer hiking!

After coming out of Kimikaze, we walked down the road onto the turn off for Bird Island. The sign at the trail down to the beach advises everyone to take care of the environment.

We meet this man who has spent the previous night on the beach. We try to imagine how that would be like.

Cowboy and Dora conquering the final descend onto the beach front.

Chops takes a tentative step down the slope, while Cutie simply sits down for the slide. Handy seems to be taking it all in and enjoying the view.

It's high tide and beautiful. We are the only people here to hear the waves pounding, birds chirping, and imagining how this beach would have looked eons ago.

The backside, or is it the front side, of Bird Island definitely has a different look. It is still impressive and inviting for a visit. It is possible to reach the island during low tide. 

This cave is located at the far end of the beach. We decide to go over there and check it out, whether we can set out our picnic inside. Unfortunately there is some trash inside. We decide to find  shade under the trees.

Using the large rock as the table, we spread out our goodies and had our "breakfast". Cowboy disappears for awhile to explore the surrounding area.

Dora the Explorer and Cowboy taking a closer look at the Island. 

Cowboy, Capt. Charlie, Handy, Dora, Cutie, and Chops relaxing before leaving this beautiful beach. Handy is showing off the bag of trash he has collected. Or is he trying to dump it on CC? :-)

Good citizen Handy throws away the bag of trash he has collected at the picnic area that is littered  with bottles and cans

After leaving the beach, we realize we still have a long way to go, so we hustle back up Kimikaze, Magpi Parkway, and down FEBC (Ayuyu) Road, where we meet Susan, who has finished the race but decides she needs more exercise. She is an inspiration.

This hike takes us almost 4.5 hours, we hope for a little rain to cool us off, but we all enjoy the whole distance anyway. We must rate it again a Five Sneaker!

We are open for suggestion for next week. It should be a shorter hike.

Kimikaze/AutoBahn

As planned since last week, the hikers gather at the GoKart parking lot. We notice that the entrance to the parking lot has been barricaded. Not to be deterred by such a minor obstacle, Handy drives around the barricade and joins the big trucks and vans. Handy, Cutie, Chops and Capt. Charlie walk to the entrance to wait for Dora, who is a first-timer to the GoKart area. 

We note that there is a large number of people, cars and bikes across the road. It is the Sunday bike race. As we look, we see Peppy getting ready with her bike. She is joining her first individual road race on her mountain bike, so she will miss the hike. We wish her well. We are informed that we may meet bikers on the Kimikaze trail, and the FEBC road. We promise to be on the lookout and get out of their way. When Dora arrives, we head north. The old FEBC road is no longer. Now it is just plain Ayuyu Dr. We agree to take our time going up this rather steeply elevated road, so as not to get winded too soon.

The previously well known FEBC Road is now just Ayuyu Drive.

Handy finds this large rock grown into the roots of the huge tree. It looks imminently in danger of falling on top of Handy's head.

We are able to see further into the boonies as the bushes dry up and branches bare of leaves. This  previously unknown cave appears on Ayuyu Drive as we make our way up the road. We are surprised that we have never noticed it before, apparently the bushes, when full, have hidden the cave. 

 

At the top of Ayuyu Drive, we turn left onto Magpi Parkway (are there magpi in this area?)  At the trail sign, we enter the grassy path and introduce this Kimikaze trail to Dora.

Once again, the open vista on Kimikaze allows us to see the sky, and far into the boonies. The ever vigilant Handy sees these caves (look man-made) on the trail. We veer off to see what we can find that may tell us a little bit of history about it. Other than a couple of pop cans, we find nothing.

Kimkaze trail is well known to have zones of different plants. This is the fern zone. Further down the trail is the orchid tree zone, and "Holly Berry" zone. With most of the trees and shrubs dried out so extensively, the only really green plants are these ferns.

Soon enough, bikers are flying down the trail as we jump off the trail to make room for them. After we exit the trail onto the main road. We have to decide what to do next, whether to turn around and backtrack up Kimikaze, or go to the left and up to Magpi Parkway, back down Ayuyu, or continue onto AutoBahn then decide again which route to finish the hike. We decide to continue onto AutoBahn.

A surprise find on a tangan tangan tree on the AutoBahn trail. The sap from the tree, translucent from the sunlight shining behind it, looks like an amber shell. 

Handy takes a tumble when his leg gets caught on a downed tree trunk. He is not too hurt, and able to get up without trouble. Lots of exercise helps to keep Handy in good shape. 

A surface scrape on Handy's leg, a result of the fall. After a good and thorough cleaning with an alcohol pad, and some ointment, the wound is taken care of.

One of those winding vine that wraps round and round a tree trunk. Dora appears to be caught by the vine.

This pile of trash has been at this spot for a long time, it is slowly being covered by plant growth. This area also has lots of junk cars and other discarded household items. We have seen this scene many times, but have not been able to figure out why anyone would drive all the way out there just to dump the car. These are real eye sores.  

Further down the road, as we look down at a big washed out area, Cutie discovers these eggs resting on a ledge. They look like wild chicken eggs.

We take a long awaited snack break by the road. Notice Handy and Chops have assumed a reclining position. They look awfully comfortable. With the breeze blowing gently, and the temperature under the tree most agreeable, we can almost take a nap right there and then. 

Finally back down the Ayuyu Drive, we decide to take a look-see at the old FEBC compound. The tree lined driveway remains quite beautiful. At the entrance of the compound, we find a family living in the first house, as caretakers. After greetings and introductions, they welcome us to look around as they get ready for church. The compound is well taken care of, and the future residents of whatever housing there will enjoy a great view.

The hike took about four hours, with many stops and exploring of new discoveries. We enjoy the hike a great deal. The hike is a five-sneaker winner:

Next week: Bird Island

  

"Cow Town" by Default

The original plan to hike the Kimikaze Trail turns to dust due to an oversight by Capt. Charlie. Instead of meeting at the Go-Kart parking lot, CC mistakenly adviced everyone to meet at the Last Command Post. Fortunately, the four of us who make it to the hike, decide to change our plan and start our trek from the LCM, and save the Kimikaze for next week. At 6 a.m. Handy, Cutie, Chops and CC head to Banzai Cliff.

On the way to Banzai overlook, we notice a new fence being erected along the coastline. We decide to explore. Walking down along the fence, we find that it goes all the way to the edge of the cliff. The field covers about an acre of cut grass, and another fence on the other edge is also being constructed. We can only speculate what the field will be used for.  

The trail is dry and the trees are bare so we can see into the boonies. We find this old vehicle left rusted and disintegrated in the woods.

Taking our break at the Cow Town Beach. Oops, Chops, sorry, check out the next photo.

Handy and Chops switch seats. Both looking good. Waves are crashing ashore, sun is getting warm. We want to linger longer, but knowing that it will get hot soon, we must pack up and move on.

By the Cow Town gate, we notice much trash has been dumped. It is a shame to see our nature trail being ruined.

A serious looking cow giving us the warning stare.

Another source for speculation. What are these giant boulders being used for?

We had an easy and short hike, perfect for all of us, after having been absent from hiking for several weeks. Next week we will definitely take the Kimikaze trail, and we will meet at the Go-Kart parking lot.