Kauila Korner

Today's hike was just south of last week's site, about a mile north of the scenic lookout on the upper road to Waimea. There's little access road and a gate with a "Hualalai Ranch Private Property" sign. The lama forest is full of kauila trees, lots of them. There were also the occasional 'iliahi, halapepe, and ala'a trees, but I really wanted to see the kauila.

Off the road, the terrain is my arch-enemy, a'a lava with fountain grass (because the thick fountain grass obscures the holes and other hazards). Last week, on similar terrain, I fell, which inevitably leads to scrapes, on a'a. But there was no other way to see the trees close up. Cutting across country I came upon a herd of goats, which I had heard (and smelled) before I saw them. The leader was a big Billy goat with a shockingly white rear end. The rest of his body was chocolate brown, like the other goats.

In addition to the many live kauila trees, there were quite a few dead ones, graceful grey skeletons reaching up to the blue sky. Near the end of the hike I came upon a possible clue why. I came up behind (downwind) of a small group of cattle. They were taking it easy in the shade of a grove of trees. When they saw me, the cows noisily stomped away. Since I was more or less following cow trails (since I could see my footing) I passed where the cows had been. In addition to the fresh cow pies, I notice that one of the trees was a kauila, with only a few leaves scattered in its crown. At the base, the bark had been gnawed off up to about three feet above the ground. I'm no botanist, but I'm pretty sure that's a way to kill a tree.

I got a few photos that I'll post later. I also got bloody knees from the nasty thorned lantana that's everywhere under the trees, making it impossible (with assistance from fountain grass, rats, cows, and goats) for the native trees to reproduce. These little pockets of native forest are doomed, I tell you. Doomed. Check back for more cheery posts!