Sound of Music

With the approach of the Xterra race in a couple of weeks, all the race trails have been cleared and available for not just bikers and runner, but also for us hikers. Every year we take advantage of the opportunity to hike through some of the most beautiful yet inaccessible areas when they are open for a short period. This Sunday we fulfill two goals. One is to hike the upper Xterra trail to the Sound of Music and the Savanna, and the other is to welcome back Chops who has been absent from our hikes for three months. We start at the entrance to Chops' home on Tapochau Road. Since Spring has sprung, and the sunrise is becoming earlier, we kick up our starting time half an hour earlier, at 6:00 a.m. Congregating at the parking area is Handy and Cutie who rejoin us after one month's absence, Thor and Sparky, Ewok, Giggles and Adam, Chops, Spicegirl, Scout, Arron, Boy, Rexplorer, and CC.

The morning air is cool, Thor, Cutie, Handy, Sparky, and Ewok follow Rexplorer's fast pace on Mt. Tapochau's flat and even road.

Soon enough the road is rocky and steep. With lungs splitting, legs screaming, we climb the road toward the top of Mt. Tapochau. Here we can see downtown Garapan and the fuel ship inside the lagoon. Cutie, Handy, and Chops are determined not to fall back, even though this is a tough start for a first hike after a long absence. 

Finally, we are at the entrance of Chief Aikens Road, just below the top of Mt. Tapachau. From here we start the circle hike around the mountain. Taking a short breather are Scout, Cutie, Spicegirl, Thor, Chops, Handy, Sparky, Giggles, Rexplorer, Adam, and Ewok.

Ominous clouds hanging over the sweeping grass field of Sound of Music. The newly opened trail on the left is just wide enough for biking and hiking. Rexplorer and Sparky pointing out the distant points of interest. The view and the tall grass swaying in the breeze are exhilarating, making us appreciate living on Saipan.  

 

Handy spots a tall piece of wood near a rock and decides that it must be an old Japanese funeral stick and he needs to confirm it. Despite falling down in the tall grass, he gets up with Sparky's assistance, then he fights through the bushes, followed by Sparky and Spicegirl, determined to reach his destination.

 

Mission accomplished. He reports that no writing is on the wood but still thinks it is a worn out memorial. Cutie dismisses his claim.

 

We see a flowering passion fruit vine (above). This is a local variety of the "passiflora edulis", also named purple granadilla. Picture of purple flower is the Australian variety and its fruit shown on the right. The fruit is "round or oval, yellow or purple, juicy interior filled with seeds, eaten or juiced.

 

From Sound of Music we enter into a boonie trail. The trail takes us to the dirt trail originated from Waserak. Here the main trail leads to the top of the savanna hill where one could see a broad view. The hikers are tired and wish to have a snack break, so we stop on the trail that goes down to Kanat Tabla, and spread out our snacks on the tall grass. Here everyone find it most comfortable to rest on the soft grass. Rexplorer has left the group to return to his next project.

 

Boy playing with boy.

Thor finds a comfy seat. 

Boy stirring up quite a scene like a bull in the China shop with Spicegirl and Giggles, amusing Adam. Handy rests.

 

Everyone is pretty happy with a bellyful of snacks, and Handy finds time for a nap.

 

Looking like a bunch of pretty relaxed fugitives hiding in the grass, Chops, Sparky, Scout, Spicegirl, Boy, Adam, CC, Handy, Giggles, Thor, Ewok, and Cutie are all amiles and completely unaware that one fugitive is still trying to make a getaway. 

 

On Waserak, this stretch of the road is muddy and gauged out, done with an egregious practice by the giant-wheeled ATVs that also cut through the Savanna area spoiling the natural beauty of the grassland. 

 

This is the largest Birds Nest fern forest we have seen on island. Numerous fern plants stretch out on both sides of the road, and on top of trees. 

 

Another one of the many bamboo forests on island, dwarfing Cutie, Chops, Thor, and Giggles. Everyone is focused on keeping their sure footing on the trail.

 

Ewok and Handy emerging from the cave.

 

Good son Adam towing Mom up this rough and uphill trail. We name him "Tow Truck" for now. Ewok, Thor, Cutie, and Chops lead the way.

 

We wonder if the old broken down van is still abandoned on the road. Sure enough, it still is, after three years. It has progressively deterioted. Cutie and Chops checks out the inside, just in case... From Waserak it is a short walk to return on Tapochau Road and our car.  

The hike is pleasant and cool, with a total time of four hours. It is a good five sneakers.

Hill-Hike

After the relatively "easy" hike last week, we decide we need a more vigorous cardio workout this week. The two hills of FEBC Ayuyu Dr., and Kimikaze Trail fit the bill quite well. We will start at the Go-Kart parking, go up FEBC to Kimikaze, then back up Kimikaze, down behind the golf course and return to parking. At 6:30 a.m. seven of us gather at the parking lot. Oh, sorry, Boy makes eight.

 

A joyful Boy gives Sparky a manly welcome, leaving two nice paw prints on Sparky's clean white shirt. Maybe it's the snacks Boy is more interested in. From the parking lot, we walk up to the start of the Ayuyu Dr. and begin climbing the steep hill.

Part way up the hill, we notice, through the thinning trees, dark shapes that look like caves. We decide to explore. We are quite surprised to see these two holes on the mountain side, looking like a skull with two deep set eye sockets buried halfway in the ground. Here Spicegirl, Bruiser and Sherpa contemplate whether these holes have been created by the fallout of the rocks at the base.

 

Bruiser decides to climb up the scree-like hill side to get a closer look at the cave that must have deposited all the loose rocks. Curious Boy follows closely to see it for himself. 

 

Sparky, Thor and Ewok waiting at the entrance to the big caves. Ewok checking out his phone. From here we continue up Ayuyu and Kalebera Road to the trail head of Kimikaze.

 

On the way to Kimikaze, Boy finds a chicken in the boonies and disappears. Spicegirl, Bruiser, and Sherpa go to look for him. He has chased the chicken up a tree. Meanwhile Sparky and Thor waiting at the trail head.

 

We are a bit surprised that the first hundred feet of the trail is so overgrown. Fortunately no mimosa attacking us.

 

Is Sherpa imitating a bird or a plane in the fern forest? The ferns are spread far and wide, and very tall. It is a very beautiful part of the Kimikaze trail. 

Almost near the end of the trail and we notice a series of ribbons leading to the left. We are curious to see where the ribbons will lead us. Here Sparky examines a bundle of pink/blue/yellow ribbons. The trail continues.

The trail winds through the boonies where we can hear a lot of birds. We are careful not to run into any nettings in case they are placed somewhere along the trail. This is one of the old building walls. The trail is very well-marked and pleasant. Eventually we come back out on the main road, a couple of hundred feet from the end of the Kimikaze trail. We decide to take a break here.

Boy meets girl. Girl wins in growling and snapping at Boy.

Mamiko and Sherpa doing a secret dance. Mamiko takes her dogs away before Boy gets any more idea of making friends.

A perfect spot to not only spreading out our snacks and enjoying a roadside break, we can also greet all the joggers, bikers and drivers. After the snack, the group split into two, one group   (Thor, Sparky, and Ewok) decides to take the long route on the road, and the other (Bruiser, Sherpa, Spicegirl, Boy, and Capt. Charlie) opts to go back up Kimikaze. We agree to meet up at the beginning of the trail.

We notice there is a continuation of the trail we have taken earlier. It goes in the other direction. Of course we have to find out where it leads to. This area is completely different, as there are lots of rock formations. Sherpa is tackling one more ascend, while Spicegirl and Boy watch closely. Not wanting to spend more time on this trail even though it looks interesting, we return to the mail trail.

Bruiser and Sherpa in the midst of fern forest. 

The road group arrives at the rendezvous first. We take our photo right by the trail exit: Sparky, Thor, Ewok, Bruiser, CC, Sherpa, Spicegirl and Boy. Of course this is not the end of the hike. We continue downhill, retracing our steps.

The par course circuit was installed along with the building of the pathway during Froilan Tenorio's administration in 1993 - 97. Judging from the condition of the equipment, it is apparent that no maintenance has been kept, and most of the circuits are no longer useful. From the main road, we turn onto the dirt road behind the golf course.

Near the end of the trail behind the golf course, Ewok appears to be sleep-walking. It has been hot and humid. Once again two groups separated to go back to the parking lot. One group (Ewok, Bruiser, Sherpa) continues onto the main Pale Arnold Road, and the other (Thor, Sparky, Spicegirl, Boy, and CC) circles the south end of the golf course.

Boy has a cut on his nose when he goes on a big chase after another chicken over the barbed wire fence. Spicegirl comforts him.

Sparky sitting in the middle of the road while Thor continues downhill. Apparently Sparky is holding Boy to keep him from running off to the main road. Spicegirl puts Boy on the leash.

On Umang Dr. near the main road, Thor and CC find this big tree, mostly leaveless, with dark pods hanging on the branches. The tree has similar shape as flame trees, but the leaves are tiny, and the branches and trunk have horizontal striations. We look around the base of the tree to see if any of the pods have fallen on the ground.

Delighted to find several pods, brown and shiny, with rattling seeds inside. Seeking information from Chops yields the answer that it is called an Ear Tree, native of Costa Rica. CC's further research on Google and Wikipedia: The tree is known as Guanacaste, Caro Caro, Elephant Ear Tree, or Devil's Ear, a species in the pea family. It is popular as a shade tree, shedding its leaves for a month or two during dry season. The pod Thor is holding is called Guanacaste Fruit. Thor opens one section of the pod to retrieve a seed.

Here is the very pretty seed, described as "very hard, resembling small stones rather than tree seeds in their strength and durability. In order for germination to occur, the hard seed coat must be broken to enable water to reach the embryo. Otherwise, they will lie dormant indefinitely." It is wonderful to find another imported tree on island. We will watch for the tree when it has its full thick crown of leaves.

This hike gives us the cardio workout as planned, and we find new caves, new trail, and new tree. It is quite hot and humid, and the total time is @4.5 hours. It is a 4.5-sneaker hike.

  

Two Hikes: Suicide Cliff & Naftan Cave

3/2/14 Suicide Cliff

With several weeks of rain and strong wind, we decide to avoid possibly muddy trails, and stick to a road hike. An early walk up to Suicide Cliff should give us a healthy workout, and also a good view. Everyone is warned to be prepared for rain. Our meeting point is the big Taotaomona tree at the junction of Pale Arnold Road and Kalebera Road. 

Ten happy hikers meet at the tree and proceed up the hill: Rebecca, Sparky, Lek, Emily, WonderWoman, PT Shelly, Rexplorer, Ewok, and Thor on the path to Suicide Cliff. this is the only group picture taken on this hike. Maybe the wind is strong and we are having too much fun socializing, as a result very few photos are taken.

A whole colony of mud wasps "homes" on this tree trunk.

Ewok holding court at the top of Suicide Cliff while we have our usual snack time. Peppy is partially visible to his left. Peppy and Giggles join the group by biking up to the top of the Cliff. Rebecca and WonderWoman in the background. The temperature is pleasant and the breeze is strong. Rexplorer takes a group of adventure seekers to check out a hidden trail that leads to the highest peak at Suicide Cliff, called Pidos Kahalo, while the rest of the group heads back down hill.

We notice a large cairn besides some pepper plants. Thor strikes a pose to show how big the structure is. 

Rexplorer and his explorers rejoin us on the way down. Sparky, Rexplorer, WonderWoman, Lek, and Rebecca enjoy the side trip. Although the hike is on the paved road, we enjoy the cool weather  without a single drop of rain.

3/9/14 Naftan Cave

The improved weather is encouraging for us to venture back out to the trails, and visit a cave overlooking the ocean. Our starting point is at Hawaiian Rock Quarry. Since some hikers are not familiar with that location, we decide to meet at Herman's Bakery on Airport Road. By the time we arrive, Bruiser and Sherpa-Jane are already enjoying donuts and coffee inside the bakery. We are soon joined by Dora and Cowboy, Thor and Sparky, and Ewok. Our little caravan head to Hawaiian Rock. By the time we reach the camp, Spicegirl and Scout also arrive with Boy dog, who looks very handsome with his new harness.

We begin on the Naftan trail. 

Partway on the Naftan trail we find a long overhanging rock. Evidence of smoke stained "roof"  could mean this area has been used long ago as a shelter.

Thor, Dora, Cowboy, Sherpa, Sparky, and Rexplorer on Naftan trail. Soon we turn right for the lower trail above Obyan. At the end of the lower trail is the entrance to the cave.

Rexplorer helps Thor lower herself down this steep drop and careful not to get cut on the sharp coral rocks. The blue rope is already in place to assist.

Sparky tries the frontal descending technique on the upper drop. 

Coming down on the second drop, the other way works better. We are fortunate that the rocks are quite dry and not as slippery as they would have been when wet.

Our first glimpse of the cave windows. Rexplorer is approaching toward the upper chamber.

Meanwhile, Cowboys helps Dora down the first drop-off.

One of our favorite activities: taking each other's pictures.

Rexplorer nears the edge of the cave, a silhouette against the aqua blue ocean below.

Sherpa-Jane, Thor, Ewok, and Sparky relaxing in the cave chamber enjoying the view. Sparky sitting close to the edge. Thor wants to bring a book and read the day away...

Down in the main cave chamber, Scout takes a photo of the love-birds Cowboy and Dora. Spicegirl is listening to Boy who is not able to come down to the cave. The drop off is too steep and high, and Boy is now too heavy to be carried down :-(

Waves rise up to the ledge and then drop like mini waterfalls.

Looking out the window, we can see Tinian across the channel. Today the water is fairly calm. One can imagine how the channel would have looked like a week ago when white caps were within the lagoon, and how the howling wind would have sounded like in this cave.

On the other side of the chamber is this rugged rocky formation facing a much larger window to the ocean. Scout has the whole view to himself.

View from the smaller window where the main chamber is. Tinian is to the left in the distance. Rexplorer contemplates his next move.

Ewok decides to leave with Rexplorer, ahead of the group. We take their picture separately from our group photo. 

We spend some time looking at the changing colors of the water, depending on whether the sun is out or behind the clouds. For a moment we see a turtle floating on the surface of the water, but it quickly descends back to the deep.

Sparky makes his way back up through the main cave. It is quite roomy and could hold a large number of people.

Thor climbs up without aid, and Boy is overjoyed that everyone is back to keep him company. Here he is supervising Thor's progress while Sparky gives encouragement.

Tis the season of the invasive vine commonly called Chain of Love. Lovely as it is, it is destructive to other plants as its tendrils spread far and wide, covering plants and choking them  to their eventual death. This beautiful flowering vine is also called Coral Vine, Bride's Tears, Cadena de Amore (Chamorro), and the scientific name is Antigonon Leptopus. 

Boy insists on showing off his new harness before he will let us take our group photo!

Group photo taken beneath the big taotaomona tree on the cross trail: Spicegirl, Scout, Sparky, Thor, Sherpa-Jane, Dora, Boy, Cowboy, CC. Ewok and Rexplorer gone.

If you have never seen new born birds, here are three of them huddle in the nest waiting for mommy to come back with food. We admire them for a while and let them stay on the branch otherwise undisturbed.

A very pleasant hike, good weather and great cave exploring. Five Sneakers!