The last week has been non stop excitement. I have been running myself sick for the sake of enjoyment. The fever slowed me down a little over the last two days but I was moving too fast to notice it until today. Luckily the fever broke somewhere in between finalizing my taxes, shaving my head, and swimming out to a manta ray.
     About a week ago on Saturday, I ended work with just enough time to cruise to Kawaihai to the Breakwall surf spot. I met up with Tyler, Rogue, Aaron, Kalani, and Peter. Thanks to Peter we all got to ride long boards and caught some great waves. I was Stoked. The next morning Aaron and I went to Puako and got some more good waves, but it was Sunday and there were about twenty people in church at the small break. We worshiped the hydrodynamics of the most high with the rest, but they were a close group and it was hard to catch a wave with everyone else going for the glory.  It was a great way to start the week.
    That afternoon I went down to Pololu valley with Makai on the motorcycle for Shell's birthday. It was the same day as Ranger's birthday and for a gift I was supposed to connect with three random people, I was considering all the missed encounters during the day when two people approached me on the beach. They wanted to trade liliquoi (passionfruit), I traded some dried bananas that I had made and they mentioned they were out of coconuts. Immediately we were off on an adventure to find some nuts. From there it was easy, I connected with most of the campers that night; sharing stories, snacks, and knowledge. I stayed up late into the night talking about crazy topics, and went to bed with the stars shining bright enough to squint my eyes.
     It rained early the next morning so we traded our black sand beach for a sunnier, white sand variety. Nakoa, Kawika, Keoni, and I surfed at 67's and then I opted out of the bigger waves at 69 point for some fun with all the beautiful ladies that happened to show up. We played in the sand until after sunset, and then met up at my house for a movie and popcorn to finish the night off.
    Work the next day was long but easy. I hung out with the manager Dave, and Jason Lindsey owner of Monkeypod designs. He builds treehouses and will be featured on the DIY channel some time in the near future. We had a good day of figuring out what needed to be done, but not a lot of action until it started raining.That night was Onyx's birthday so I rode to their new house and hung out for a few hours. I gifted her some liliquoi mead from October. We sang and danced and all were merry.
   The next two days were long days of consuming first aid information. David Kikau hosted a Wilderness and remote first aid course for Kohala Zipline. It was a lot of information but the final tests were a piece of cake. For the final scenario I had a broken femur, two broken radii in both arms, a massive head wound, and a possible spinal injury. Ezra lowered my broken body a hundred feet via rope to the bottom of the forest floor where I was cared for and carried out of the gulch by four coworkers.Everyone there gained a new idea of how an actual rescue would work out and have a new drive to clear space through the jungle to make for easier exits.
  Wednesday night there was a concert by Yusopha Sidabe from Senegal West Africa. He is a Grammy nominated Kora player who sings, chants, and shares a good message. Everyone should look him up and support him on his journey. My friends and family of lost children laid in a pile listening to the dreamy African harp and watching the stars.
   Thursday was Aaron's birthday. I gifted him a safe ride home from the bars in Kawaihai. We cruised the harbor around sunset, Seafood bar for pupus and to gather the troops, and Blue Dragon for some great music and a lot of moonshine cocktails from which I did not partake. We closed the place down and went back to the harbor to laugh loudly and bullshit where it was allowed and accepted.
  Today I went to work and felt like there was a bubble around my head. I was in a haze of allergies and fever and couldn't wait to get out of there. Unfortunately I had to play manager while Dave and Jason went to Kona, so I stayed there until I was no longer needed and split. I got home and something came over me. It could have been the lack of hot showers for the past month, my constantly sandy itchy scalp, my new found ukus(most likely), or something else. I was over it. As soon as I got home, without thinking about it too much, grabbed the buzzer and shaved my head. I tried to keep it as long as possible but the risers kept getting stuck. After a minute or two of trying all my hair was in the sink. I felt naked but cleaner, like when you strip down after working in a field all day and jump in a pond to clean off. I needed the water. I loaded the dog and my dismembered dreds into my backpack and headed to Kapa'a. Upon arrival I was greeted by a group of friends who all turned in amazement at the sight of my new found ears. When I climbed out of the Pacific, I had to turn and jump back in because of the manta ray only a couple hundred feet away. We swam out to it but after a hundred yards with low visibility the chase was futile. I was close but not enough to see it under water. We took our time going back in and upon regathering a monk seal appeared. We did not want to jump in the water with such a big territorial mammal so we all just waited and watched the water to see if he would come closer. My friends left after realizing he wouldn't return, leaving me with my severed hair to offer unto the ocean and the heavens. After such a event as loosing two feet of hair, I feel it is best to spend this Friday at home, or find some sort of hat to cover my small naked head.

let me show you the ropes

A great weekend at my favorite bridge. Can't wait to go bigger in Hamakua. Video credits to Cory Wells

Even boring weeks

I have failed to write anything for a couple of weeks, because I felt as if there was nothing important that happened. However, even boring weeks are spectacular when I remember where I am. So starting where I left off, I will detail the last weeks of my life that I didn't see as adventurous.

petting zoo

     Last Saturday Peter, Nakoa and I left the north tip of the island on a journey to the south point. Our destination was the petting zoo party, an annual event of talents compiled from the islands for a night of music and performance. It was the best electronic party I have been to in Hawaii. High vibes, beautiful people acting like animals, good DJ's, and good people.

Left to right: Garrett, Greg, and Jack climbing southpoint

  We arrived in Ka'u a few hours early so we hung out at the south point cliffs. When I saw how great the conditions were I had to put my climbing shoes on,  I soloed a few routes on the best cliffs I know of on this island. Upon topping out the first time I popped my head up when girl was being provoked over the edge. She nearly kicked me in the face and dropped me in the water 30' below. The next day after the party we returned to the cliffs for a morning baptism. Just what was needed after ten hours of dancing in the desert. A short walk off a cliff, a couple seconds of free fall and whoosh, refreshment. I got a couple more climbs just to avoid the sketchy ladder, then back in the car for the drive home.
     The next day Peter and I spent in the garden harvesting and transplanting. We collected papayas, Cuban red bananas, moringa leaf, mamaki, and some herbs. Then we took the goods we harvested along with some other local fare and headed to the beach for a gathering of friends. We watched the whales party during sunset and carried on the festivities around the kiawe fired grill. A lot more people showed up than we were expecting and the party split for the musicians to jam away from the calypso music that was on the boom box.
On Tuesday morning I awoke to very vivid dreams of Australia and a lot of my family members. The details are unimportant but the weird thing was that I was fully aware it was a dream and didn't alter it. I went to work in the morning but didn't feel like there was much to keep me occupied. I got a order in the mail for some bike equipment. A head light, tail light, gloves, a neon reflective vest, and anti monkey butt powder. I really only need a bike and some storage and I can start cruising around getting the rest of the stuff dialed in.

Getting out my frustrations at work

   Wednesday was a productive day at work, Cory and I tensioned and adjusted a couple of cables to make the ziplines run better.  I tore my first phone book in half with my bare hands.  I scared an x pro football player for the Giants, by planting a banana tree, and when he asked what it was I said "A memorial to that guy last week". There was a gathering after work to say farewell to a few employees as they leave the island in the next month. We all ate a ton of food, and took leftovers for lunch the next day.
     Thursday was uneventful so I left early to go to Kona and get my motorcycle legal. It took longer than I thought to get the turn signals to pass the safety, so I couldn't register it and had to stay at Jack and April's and wait for the morning. That afternoon I spent hanging at the Maka Productions gallery helping unwrap photos and talking about future endeavors. We talked about cameras and some necessary equipment for the summer. Josh and Eric both said Cannon G series would be worth my while.
   In the morning I made it to the DMV early and quickly processed my registration, cruising to work in time for my tour. I had a group of people that were fun but it was still an uneventful tour. After work someone asked what I was doing to Valentines and upon remembering that I didn't want to be alone went to the store to gather my friends; Deschutes Chainbreaker white IPA, and Haggen Daz. When I arrived home to enjoy independence there were friends there talking about the gathering that night. So I ditched the ice cream and beer and went to HIP AG (Hawaii Institute for Pacific Agriculture) for local organic hot chocolate and the company of a lot of beautiful people. I met a particularly amazing woman and left the party satisfied that I could be in the company of friends under the full moon.
    I ended the work week spacey, exhausted from boredom, and uninspired. I knew that I needed some real rest before the "Love Without End" party Saturday night. Peter, Josh, and I left after a nap and a taco dinner. Pete drove to Kona and we made it just in time to see the party start. The theme was a white party (clothes that is.) There was a lot of black light sensitive art featured, as well as dance performances.  We danced to a few good DJ's with a lot of good friends from Kona. The music went into the morning and our party continued afterwards to the honokohau koloko national historic park where we slept in the canoe hale right on the beach. It rained for a few hours in the morning but the grass shack was dry inside. We overstayed in the morning even though we knew we had to leave. The Park ranger found us sitting in the sand with our stuff around but not completely obvious we had been camping, and because we weren't causing trouble he let us go with a written warning. There was obvious frustration from the Hawaiian boys when Ranger Lawless said the US government owned the property and even the water, but they held their tongues. We were out of there immediately. Back home for some R and R.
    Today I'm supposed to be cleaning. Too much social interactions and not enough time at home over the last week has left the house in shambles. I'm going to work on the kitchen for the afternoon until the roommates come back from the garden with more food to process and we start all over again. It is wort the rewards. I only hardly ever go to the store anymore.
   Only a couple more days until I get my bike, I will let you know when I do.
 

Bridge swing

My friend Josh jumping off my bridge swing. I will have a completed video from Cory soon.

Chilling with a snow wahine

At the end of our Mauna Kea ski session we met this cool snow lady.

When it rains, waterfalls

Another video of an epic adventure with the Kohala Zipline crew including Cory Wells, the videographer and editor. I also have to give credit to Makai and the doggie cam at the beginning of the film. Sadly there wasn't enough memory or light to capture all of the waterfalls we saw that day, but we did get the best ones at Ice Pond and the other in the picture. These streams only flow when it really pours so when we cancel the zipline tours due to rain this is what it takes. Of course no one wanted to work in the rain so we all got together and played in it instead. After these two waterfalls that you can see in the video we went to Waimea for lunch at Pau, Anna's pond for sunset and more falls, the Mauna Lani for the Waimea film fest where we saw North of the Sun, and Finding Joe, and then hit up the hot tub before heading back to rainy Kohala. Both of the movies I mentioned are amazing. You can find more information about those and other videos at the fest at waimeaoceanfilm.org or click this link to go to the 2014 program ocean film 2014 program

The little blue dot is me, performing a cell phone rescue and a Jackson Chameleon capture simultaneously.

Flyboarding in Kawaihai

This is exactly the reason why I need a Gopro, a cannon G15 and a computer capable of editing the footage. In December my friend Dale let my friends and I flyboard in Kawaihai. We stayed out for hours, cruising until the sun set. Thanks to everyone that made this happen: Kohala Zipline for the cameras to capture the event, Cory for compiling and editing the footage, and Dale for letting us fly your awesome machine. Even though I may have broken the Jetski on our last flyboarding adventure, it is still possible to fly with these guys in Oahu. I think the company is Flyboard Oahu, but if you are really interested and can't find it I could hook you up with Dale's number if you send me a PM.

Cycle Diaries

There, we understood that our vocation, our true vocation, was to move for eternity along the roads and seas of the world.  Always curious, looking into everything that came before our eyes, sniffing out each corner but only ever faintly- not setting down roots in any land or staying long enough to see the substratum of things; the outer limits would suffice. 

-Che-

Motorcycle Diaries

     The universe is on my side, not pushing but keeping me in the flow of this adventure. Yesterday I was asked by Rob, the owner of the zipline, to take a couple guys to the course. They turned out to be a local bike shop owner in Waimea and a professional bike racer who were looking for trails to start a mountain biking tour company this fall. They just so happened to be riding trails that I had done before, looking for the best spots. We got to talking and the conversation just happened to end up taking us to the information that I have been looking for; more ideas about the bike, the trails, and the options.

     When I was hired by Rob he told me to look up the definition of serendipity. Webster says it is the faculty of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for. It is the ability to see these synchronicities rather than  seeking them out. In my case, I am seeking these things but not pushing, just asking. Manifesting the dream out of the ether and making it my reality.

Check one off the Bucket List

I know that I am too young to have a list of things to do before I die, but for all of my life I have been making lists of things to do in the future. Most are obtainable and only a matter of time before they are accomplished. Others are spectacular and only a few people get the chance to complete. I believe that this is one of those experiences.

Yesterday, I woke up early with wild and fantastic dreams in my memories. Nakoa was pounding on my door. "Surfs UP!" The bags were already packed as I pulled on  my surf shorts. We were out the door only after checking the surf forecast, 5'-6' northshore; some ono grinds, pumpkin and shiitake quinoa; and a peek at the Mauna kea forecast,  Road Closed. Fine by me, the swell was dying. Nakoa drove down the mud road to the lighthouse as a braddah threw a shakka way over his head while driving his quad up.  "Overhead" Nakoa said.  Neither of us had surfed lighthouse before two weeks ago, when we had a lame day at Kapania and had to redeem ourselves after meeting up with a few friends and eating breakfast. We got trounced but it was just about paying our dues and figuring out the wave from the water rather than just looking at it from shore and talking like we knew what we were doing. The same anxious feeling welled up inside me when I looked out over the coast and saw one surfer a hundred yards off shore and lines off to the horizon. We waited, watching, counting, until I couldn't take it. The white noise of the waves and the uneasy feeling we had talked about earlier, when Nakoa provided us with blessed protection bracelets, were all too real. He was comfortable in the water, I in the snow. He said "Someone is going to get hurt," and for me it would be here in the six foot waves. At the shore I jumped in as the clean up waves were coming in. After the first three feet of white wash hit me I couldn't hear Nakoa yell, I just paddled. Soon he was next to me, we were just going to ride the inside, but quickly found ourselves in the line up next to the guys catching the waves. I knew how to get out of there. I started paddling and as I looked down the twelve foot face something made me stop. Only a glance was needed to share the feeling. After five months of surfing it is still about the excuse to get in the water, not about catching waves. Its about the rush and excitement of looking a giant in the face and quietly backing down without a fight. We paddled in catching some whitewash back to shore and ran up the cliffs feeling victorious and stoked to continue the adventure.
Back at the pad we unpacked and repacked, trading wet shorts for wool and rash guards for underarmor. We were nearly dancing waiting for a call from Greg or Aaron signaling the next move. The webcams were refreshing every 40 seconds as we watched snowplows scrape a path of black out of the clean white background. Still closed. When he answers the phone Aaron sounds iffy, "The doctor says its just sprained. He did all these tests, its not a torn rotator cuff". I know he is the only option to get us to the mountain and even his fiance knows he will regret it if he doesn't show up. His words don't even register. "We will be there in a minute," I say.
     The night before it became obvious to Nakoa his car would be incapable of making it. Oily smoke sneaks out under the hood as we pull in to Aaron's driveway. Nakoa and I enter the house like frogs in a microwave,"What can I do? Can I make food for you? Can I pack your bag? Wheres your Socks, Pants, Long johns." I already have my helmet on. "Were packing your car." It still takes an hour, but it feels like no time.Greg lets me know they are leaving Kona just as we leave Kohala. I drive so Aaron can eat. 
     The GPS reads 7500' as we get out of the car for the first picture on the Saddle Road. Fully automatic tank fire echoes in the background as we pose in front of the white mountain. Still wearing surf shorts and slippers, the air is crisp but not cold. Aaron is now fully experiencing the same excitement that has been brewing in me since the sun rose.
    We stop again at the pu'u before the access road, to gear up and let out some primal yells. Someone told me this is where they filmed part of Planet of the Apes and I know why judging by that animal feeling in my chest. As we are suiting up a couple dudes give us good luck, they said they sat for hours waiting for the mountain to open and now that all their beer is gone its too late to even try. I already know the gate is open but I let them go without argument.  By the time we get to the visitor center Greg and J.C. are nearly ready so we load up and are on the way. The Mad rush of partiers that had been waiting since morning were already gone, so we cruised up without traffic.
   The weather on the summit was amazing. Crystal clear, looking down on the tops of clouds, sheets of white spread out in every direction. Without warning the clouds came in and everything became the same blank canvas.  I strapped into the mini board I had found in the jungle and ridden only once before as a snurfer, a year ago, my first ride down the snow of Hawaii. The snow was perfect spring conditions: not "corn snow" but finer; wet but not slush; and deep, so unbelievably deep.  The mini was short of a real board, with a nose only a few inches off my front foot. I had to have done five somersaults before reaching the truck. People piled in as we drove up to the top of the largest mountain on earth,  making laps on the best lift in Hawaii.
    Aaron got a ride in next, but got lost somewhere in the mix and we had to make another lap before we located him. The snow was real, heavy, and deep. The little board just wouldn't cut it so the bindings had to get switched to the Slayblade. I took two runs and the sky opened back up. J.C. was stripping down to his board shorts as I unstrapped my boots to trade back to Aaron. There wasn't an option, I just had to get naked. Thanks to Greg I got a photo. In memory of Patrick Orton I got a picture of my white butt in front of a telescope, bare foot and shin deep in tropical snow. Aaron got a ride on the board, Nakoa rode down the mountain tandem with a beautiful girl on her boogie board, and even J.C. took the chance to careen out of control head first down a mountain. We finished the day as the snow came in, but we couldn't pass the chance to take a picture with a beautiful snow wahine, coconut bra and all.
     The hypoxia and euphoria faded just as the snow faded into rain, and the day to night. We drove into Waimea soaking wet with sore muscles setting in. There was a snowman to greet us at the Brewhaus, and the first beer of the month couldn't have tasted better. The Red Sea of Cacao and a burger were the perfect way to end the night even if it did take two hours to get our food. All the sudden I was back in a rocky mountain pub, surrounded by bros wearing beanies, t-shirts, and saggy snow pants. There were even ski bunnies with their tight ski pants and pom pom hats. I guess the rumor of an inter-dimensional portal on top of the mountain is true.  God I love Hawaii.

  
Thanks to all the people that made this goal a reality: Aaron for driving up to the visitor center, Lauren for convincing him he would regret it if he didn't go, Greg for the truck, and J.C. the best liftie in Hawaii.