Waianae Waterworks Loop Trail – July 15, 2012

Due to the unfortuitous dry weather this weekend, our tubing adventure in Wahiawa got cancelled this past weekend… and thus, we opted to join up with some other hikers in Waianae Valley to do the Waianae Waterworks Trail. The trail was pioneered and is maintained by some residents in Waianae and Makaha Valleys, as well as a few other occasional volunteers. With a crew 25 STRONG, we were lead by Steve Rohrmayr and Gene Witte on a counter-clockwise, 5-mile loop trail throughout the valley. Surprisingly, it was a lot wetter there we had anticipated!!! 🙂

The following words may not exactly describe the photos, and are paraphrased from “Waianae Steve” as he described the history of the valley and trail to us…

This “Waianae Waterworks” hike is dedicated to the hundreds of workers who lived and died creating and maintaining the Wai`anae Sugar Plantation.

The Plantation was started in 1879 started on 25 acres in Wai`anae by Herman A. Widemann.

The Wai`anae Sugar Mill was the first mill developed on Oahu that produced sugar.

The mill boilers were fired up for the first time on January 16, 1880.

The Wai`anae Plantation was one of the most modern and efficient in all Hawai`i.

A railroad was built for hauling harvested can to the mill. It also took workers to and from the fields.

There was even a hydro-electric plant built to provide electricity to the mill operation.

Wells were drilled and tunnels were dug deep into the mountains.

Waianae’s sugar boom continued into the 1940s,

but it faced irreversible setbacks as a result of “a day that would live in infamy.”

The bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 that led the United States into World War II.

World War II meant the end of the plantation.

Drafts and high paying defense jobs created a labor shortage.

By the end of the war the plantation was in bad shape.

Several years of drought, and the fact that the employees voted to join the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union.

This meant higher wages and benefits, and other living costs kept rising.

On October 17, 1946 the stockholders voted to liquidate the company.

As I mentioned earlier, I was surprised how much water was flowing throughout the valley. We passed over two small dams on Kanewai Stream, of which were built to divert water into irrigation flumes for the plantation. Another stream in the valley, Ekaha Stream, had a few nice waterfalls and pools for us to wade in and cool off. The highlights, in my opinion, were the two ~400 ft water tunnels of which were dug in the early 1900’s and used to tap water trapped in the dike systems of the former Wai`anae Volcano. Some of the water pipes we walked on made for great photos as well.

Mahalo nui loa to Steve and Gene for leading us through and educating us about Waianae Valley. I’m sure I was not the only one, but I sincerely apologize for any excessive noise we were making on the trail. Please continue taking groups on these hikes, as your guidance and knowledge of the west side is an invaluable resource for hikers. Thank you again and keep up the great work in the valley.

For more adventures of the Lost Trailblazers, either look at my other blogposts and “Adventures with the Lost Trailblazers” photo gallery. Thanks for visiting and come back again soon!

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