Native Paths to Volunteer Trails : Hiking and Trail Building on Oahu

O'ahu has a varied, extensive, and distinctive network of mountain hiking trails. Stuart M. Ball, Jr., author of The Hikers Guide to O'ahu, explores the history behind many of the island's trails, beginning with early Hawaiians who blazed routes for traveling, plant and wood gathering, and bird catching. Sugar plantations constructed paths to access ditches that tapped stream water for thirsty cane. The U.S. Army built trails for training and island defense, while those developed by the Territorial Forestry Division and the Civilian Conservation Corps were mainly for reforestation and wild pig control. Most recently, volunteers and hiking clubs have created additional routes solely for recreation. The result of all this varied activity is a large network of just over a hundred mountain trails, a precious resource on a small, populous island.

Stuart M. Ball, Jr., has been hiking in Hawai'i for more than twenty years. He is a hike coordinator for the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club and is author of The Backpackers Guide to Hawai'i, The Hikers Guide to O'ahu, and The Hikers Guide to the Hawaiian Islands. Retired from the Bank of Hawaii, he holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M B A from Stanford University.