Kaena Point (South Access) – April 1, 2012

Les Merrell Memorial Hike

If you haven’t been to Kaena Point before (before this day I haven’t), you are missing out my friend. The hike is hot, but short – 2.5 miles one way. There are two ways to get to the western most point of the island. The first way is from the Waianae Side. The second way is from the Mokuleia Side. The Mokuleia way is a bit longer (but not by that much).

At Kaena Point, there is marine wildlife like no other on Oahu. I saw monk seals, albatross, and whales, not to mention the fish and other sea life. The monk seals were cruising on the rocks near the shore. The albatross were flying all over, so close in fact; you have to duck your head to avoid them colliding into you. The whales are just 100-500 yards off shore spouting water into the air.

With all the wildlife beauty, the hike today was to honor Les Merrell. I don’t know the back story of Les Merrell, but I do know he is a beloved member of the hiking community. To my knowledge, he organized and led the group Oahu Hiking Adventurers (OHA). I joined that group in the summer of 2011 from a referral from my hiking partner Merv. The first and only hike I joined them on was Manoa Middle and Les was supposed to lead the hike. I was interested in meeting Les. Unfortunately, Les had a commitment that day and someone else subbed for him. I wanted to join the group on future hikes, but was hiking frequently with Nate, Merv, Ted, and HTMC during that time, so I didn’t get a chance to meet Les.

In March 2012, the hiking community lost Les in a fall from the Pu’u O Kona windward ridge known as Bear Claw. Les joined a group of 10 other hikers on the Bear Claw hike. The group was doing the left fork and was nearing the home stretch. Les was climbing up or going around a rock faced section. He grabbed a hand hold but the rock gave way and dislodged and Les fell about 150 feet. Randy, one of the hikers (who was on the top already), free climbed his way down to where Les was, but unfortunately there was nothing he could have done. He stayed there until the helicopter was able to get Les off the mountain. A father of two teenage girls, Les's passing greatly affected me as I have children of my own. The hiking community rallied by taking in Les’s daughters and starting a monetary fund to raise money for his daughters. We also wanted to honor Les by doing his favorite hike - Kaena Point.

I met Ted at the Kapolei Sports Authority around 2p and he drove us to Kaena Point. Neither Ted nor I have done Kaena Point, so we were interested. It was hot, but only took us 45 minutes to hike to the lookout as we hiked at a vigorous pace. Around 120 people came out for the hike today. I met hikers whom I only knew on facebook. It was great to meet them in person.

After waiting for about 1 hour, I saw Merv come by and talked with him for a little while. We eventually all gathered and a few people shared their story of Les. It was apparent that he made an impact on many hikers in the community. After listening to everyone’s story, I was able to understand what kind of person he was. His personality made sure that you were taken care of. His heart was made of gold.   

We all waited for the sun to go down. It was a beautiful sunset. I felt that Les was there watching it with us all. I hope we can all honor Les in future hikes and remember his contribution to the hiking community.