Hawaiian Walkways in National Geographic Adventure February 2006 "Last of the Waimea Cowboys" by Constance Hale Sign on for a day hike with Hawaiian Walkways, an outfitter that is licensed to operate on private lands around Waipio and maintains its own system of trails. The next morning, my guide, Mark Montgomery, picks me up in a van and proceeds to take me and five others on an information-packed drive through forests of eucalyptus, swamp mahogany, and macadamia trees. Then we set off on foot: a four hour hike, featuring a dip in a waterfall and a picnic with gaping views out over the valley, which looms large in the lore of old Hawaii: This is the reputed birthplace of King Kamehameha I and the backdrop for several slack-key guitar classics. As we cross a broad meadow, Montgomery, who has a soft-spoken and sentimental narration style, points out an 'ohi'a tree, with its spiky red blossoms."In Hawaiian legend," he says, "there was once a young couple- his name was 'Ohi'a and hers, Lehua." Apparently, the fire goddess Pele developed a craving for the strong handsome man. But when he spurned her advances, she reacted with fury, killing him in a torrent of molten lava. | 
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"For Lehua, life without 'Ohi'a was not worth living. She prayed for death, and the gods took pity on her. They transformed her lover's bones into the roots of a tree. Out of the barren black lava pushed the 'ohi'a tree. They transformed Lehua into a beautiful red blossom and put her on the tree so that the two could always be together." Montgomery absently fiddles with the wedding band on his finger. "Legend tells us that if we pick one of the blossoms, we are separating the lovers," he says. "They will cry for one another, thus causing it to rain." On our way back into Honokaa, Montgomery points out Mud Lane, a sad-looking dirt road that once served as a major connector between Honokaa and Waimea and is a sponge for 'Ohi'a and Lehua's tears. "It's known for its oatmeal-like mud," Montgomery says. "The horses knew its treacherous path so well that cowboys could come down to the party town of Honokaa, get drunk, and put their horses on cruise control all the way back to Waimea." View Hawaii Ecotourism Association Tour Operator of the Year press release View Hawaii Magazine article View Sunset Magazine article
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