First Attempt up Mt. Tapochau: 1/17/16
Despite a steady drizzle, Cutie and CC walk from their homes on Savana Road to Sparky's home where he joins the team. This is the start of the hike up to the top of Mt. Tapochau, a cardio exercise to kick off the 2016 hiking program. With Chops gone from Saipan, Thor injured, and RedEye not feeling well, the rest of the team are determined to brave the inclement weather and head off.
Cutie is prepared with her umbrella, but Sparky decides to tough it out. Walking past the chicken farm toward the post office parking lot to see who will show up.
Giggles is dressed for rain.
Ewok puts on his rain gear. Sparky signals with a big yawn. It's going to be a good hike!
Giggles, Cutie, Sparky, and Ewok leaving the post office to start the climb up Tapochau Road.
Edge of the road has been washed out. Water is rushing down. Part way up this road, we lose Ewok.
Ewok reappears in his car. Still recovering from the "flu", he decides not to push too much. He informs us that he will meet us at Marcia's gate where we will meet up with her to join the hike.
Mt. Tapochau Road is eroded with water gushing down the middle of the road, sending most cars to the right side of the "gully" where a recently opened portion is still drivable.
Rushing water down the washed out road. Fortunately, walking is fairly easy. Rain comes down quite heavily, and keeps us cool, but not dry. Soon we reach Marcia's house. Ewok is waiting there. There is a note attached to the gate. Marcia is not hiking, but invites us to have coffee. It takes only a second for us to decide to accept her invitation!
Marcia brings out a stack of towels for us to sit on her couch. We remove our muddy shoes, and park ourselves on the couch. Cutie, Ewok, and Giggles assemble our snacks while Marcia grinds coffee beans and makes delicious hot coffee for us. That pretty much settles our agreement to terminate the rest of the hike, especially since the top of Mt. Tapochau is veiled under a cloudy sky.
Sparky, Cutie, Ewok, Marcia, CC, and Giggles enjoying a good visit and tasty treats.
On our way out, Ewok and Sparky discover a flat tire on Marcia's car, Ewok and Sparky help to remove the tire for repair. A rewarding end to a fun partial hike. We all agree to try again next Sunday, weather permits.
Second Attempt: Mt. Tapochau 1/24/16
A nice sunny Sunday welcomes us to our second attempt to conquer Mt. Tapochau. Cutie and RedEye are away, so CC drives to meet Sparky at his place. Thor is still unable, so we proceed to the post office parking lot to see who will show up. Ewok and Giggles are ready to join us, so the four of us make up the team for the Mt. Tapochau climb.
The Tapochau Road has been somewhat repaired.
A finely graded road near Marcia's home, she has to work and unable to join us. We proceed to head up the steep slope.
A most beautiful Saipan morning, clear view of Garapan, and gentle cool breeze, even the steep climb seems easily manageable.
Further up the slope offers the view of Susupe Lake and the villages. The island is slowly but surely gaining back the green foliage and some of the damaged structures.
We make it to the top of the mountain, spread out the goodies and enjoy the sunny sky and blue waters. This is a good place to really appreciate the beauty of our little island.
Ewok, master of the big engine!
Sparky's injured ankle is acting up on the way down. He waits for us at the old MPLA building while we go back to the post office for the car to pick him up.
Since we start and finish at different locations, the final count for Ewok, Giggles and Sparky is about 5.1 miles, and CC at 5.53 miles. Duration is actually more like 3.5 hours. A good hike and very successful conquer of Mt. Tapochau.
