As you approach the halfway point, you climb gently toward the fenced edge of the mostly native rainforest this trail loops through. Not long ago, this forest reserve was planted with non-native species. The glimpses of cropped fields and non-native plants on the other side of the fence remind you that this native rainforest exists only because it was deliberately replanted and has been protected from encroaching non-native plants and from animals like wild pigs. Your trail curves left, past a fallen log, as you turn away from the fence and continue following the trail according to the brochure.
Common guava
The trail is sometimes hard to follow, particularly where the giant roots of a strangler fig spread across it near the ½-mile point. You need to climb over the roots of this bizarre and unwelcome intruder and then go around the left side of the fig (and the ohia it’s strangling) to regain the trail. You soon close the loop, and turn right to return to the parking lot. Be sure to return the brochure or pay for it at the information sign!
Hiking at Kalopa
Although Kalopa State Park once had a trail system, most of its trails are in such bad shape from lack of maintenance that I can recommend only this Nature Loop and the Jeep Road (Trip 5). Plants in a rainforest—which is where Kalopa is—can grow right back over a trail in no time at all. The current full-time staff of one person at Kalopa has time to maintain only the day-use and cabin areas. The overgrown, rutted, muddy remnants of some of the trails are tagged, but the tagging is inadequate. The slippery remains of the Gulch Rim Trail expose you to a nasty fall and are so overgrown you have almost no views of the gulch that’s supposed to be the attraction. One Big Island resident told me he likes to ride his mountain bike as fast as he can down the Gulch Rim Trail—another good reason to stay off it.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.