[Footsteps crunching, wind, birds chirping]
Aloha, I'm Ranger Tyler and today we're bringing you another "Story of Preservation."
Today's story is all about the 1871 Trail
And that's the section of trail slash roadway running from
Napo'opo'o all the way to Ho'okena.
And for those of you unfamiliar with the park,
the 1871 trail intersects the park at the visitor center
and extends to Ki'ilae Village all along the coastline
Now, the 1871 trail is actually part of the larger Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail
Which is a 175-mile long trail corridor that traverses
from the northern tip of the island, along the western edge,
around the southern tip, and into Puna
And the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail works with partners around the island
to preserve ancient, historic, and modern connector trails
So that we, and future generations, can continue walking in the footsteps of the ancestors.
Imagine a world with no roads.
How about a world with no trails.
It would be really challenging to get around
And that was the reality for the Polynesian voyagers when they arrived
in the Hawaiian Islands, so in ancient times
a network of trails was built to connect people, places, and resources.
The Ala Kahakai National Histroric Trail preserves some of those ancient trails
It generally follows the ancient coastal ala loa,
or long trail that formed the primary routes of travel
There were also shorter, more locally important, trails like the
ala hele, that ran laterally to the shoreline.
and the mauka-makai trails that ran from the upland areas to the coastal areas.
These mauka-makai trails were also known as ala pi'i uka or ala pi'i mauna
And many of these ancient trails were either preserved, like the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail
Or converted into more modern trails, and eventually into the roadways we know today.
The 1871 Trail tells the story of trail evolution
it actually gets it's name from improvements that were completed in...
you guessed it--1871!
These improvements widened the ancient trail to easily accomodate
two horses at the same time. In addition, curbstones lined the path
to help delineate the trail making it so pack animals could easily follow
it without the guidance of their riders.
Around the island, these "two horse trails" were constructed during a nearly
eighty-year period lasting from 1841 to 1918.
In 1918, the trail section north of Hōnaunau underwent futher evolution
when it was modified to accomodate wheeled traffic.
Today it's actually a paved road!
However, the south to Ho'okena was never modified from motorized vehicles
and remains a historic trail, frozen in time
Another historic improvement to the 1871 trail was the construction of
the Alahaka Ramp, the massive stone ramp that connects
the trail to Ki'ilae Village.
Historical accounts collected over the years indicate that access to
Ki'ilae, prior to the construction of the ramp, was via LADDER or ROPE!
So it was pretty dangerous. There's no clear indication as to when
the ramp was actually built, but it most likely occured sometime in
the mid-1800s when a series of large-scale government programs were
initiated to improve public resources such as roadways.
The first reference to a "constructed ramp" is found in a letter
to the Kingdom of Hawai'i's Minister of the Interior dated February 4th, 1868.
In this letter, George Hardy, the road supervisor at the time, says
So we know that in 1868 the road and the ramp were in pretty good condition
But, just like with our roads today, they require maintenance.
And by the late 1890s the Alahaka Ramp had fallen into a state of disrepair.
In a letter dated December 31st, 1897, road supervisor T. H. Wright wrote:
It's good to know that even back in the 1800s
people still complained about the state of their roadways.
So, of course, over the years repairs were made.
But in 1951 a large earthquake caused the upper section of the ramp
to slough off and that continued to deteriorate.
So, when the Park Service came in about twelve years later,
the ramp was once again in a state of disrepair.
So they decided a major stabilization project to restore and strengthen
the Alahaka Ramp. Stabilization efforts consisted of removing the earthquake damaged sections,
clearing away boulders, and rebuilding the entire makai or ocean-facing side
with steel rebar, motar, and stones.
Given its proximity to the ocean and the cliffside, the Alahaka Ramp requires
periodic maintenance and stabilization as a result of high surf, storms and earthquakes.
During its most recent project, which occured from July to August of 2010,
National Park Service crews repaired a damaged portion of the outer face
and stabilized the ramp butress and the trail tread.
This, of course, was no easy feat as the work is located directly on
the steep ocean cliffside.
So, in this Preservation Story of the 1871 Trail, we've seen how
ancient island trails have evolved into historic trails for horses and pack animals.
And how some have evolved even futher into our modern paved roadways.
We've also heard how these modern, historic, and ancient trails are currently
being preserved by the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail,
the surrounding communities, and the National Park Service sites
that intersect these trails.
As the years go on and as Climate Change causes increased storm intensity
and sea level rise, these coastal trails a sustained joint-effort to continue
to preserve these pieces of history and the stories they contain.