“Ko‘olau” means “windward,” a nod to the range’s wind-facing orientation on the eastern side of the island. Stretching 37 miles from Makapu‘u in the south to Kahuku in the north, the Ko‘olau spine is the steadfast yin to the yang of seascape at its base. Chiseled by eons of wind and rain, the Ko‘olau Mountain Range is the surviving half of the dormant Ko‘olau Volcano caldera. The few hiking trails that snake along its ridge support human exploration, though tangled overgrowth, snaking tree root systems, and mud-painted surfaces challenge even veteran hikers.
Its apex is Pu‘u Konahuanui, a twin-peaked pinnacle bordering Nu‘uanu Valley. Reaching 3,150 feet skyward, its moody crests are frequently shrouded in clouds and pelted with aggressive winds. The range’s biologically diverse woodlands sustain indigenous ‘ōhi‘a and koa trees along with invasive species such as ironwood, strawberry guava, cinnamon, and night-blooming jasmine. Endemic birds like the red ‘apapane and musical ‘elepaio also call the Ko‘olau range home.
At an elevation of 2,500 to 4,000 feet, the Ko‘olau range’s cloud forests feature vegetation and trees that are more dense and shorter than the same plants at lower elevations. As clouds move in, moisture condenses on the copious moss and fern webbings covering the trees. The branches carry the freshwater droplets down to the soil, feeding the island’s underground aquifer. The air above the range’s soaring heights hosts frequent rain-producing clouds, especially in winter, spawning intermittent streams, pools, and waterfalls. Native Hawaiians observed the nuanced variance of rainfall that graces its slopes and gave names to each—from kili nahe, a soft, gentle rain, to the strong, drenching ua hō‘e‘ele. Kaniko‘o was “a cane-tapping rain, marked by the Ko‘olau wind that blew along with it,” according to Mary Kawena Pukui.
More accessible forest areas where resources of daily life were collected were known as wao nahele (the forest realm). Higher elevations were regarded as wao akua (realm of the gods). The sacred cloud forest spaces where trees and other flora thrived were thought of as extensions of the divine. After asking permission from the gods to enter uka (uplands) with oli (chant), Hawaiians felled native hardwood trees like koa and kauila to create homes, double-hulled canoes, tools, and weapons. They gathered olonā to make fish nets, ‘ie‘ie vines to weave baskets, and many species of plants and flowers for lā‘au lapa‘au (traditional medicine).
Ko‘olau’s verdant beauty inspired poetic Hawaiian sayings and proverbs. “Me he lau no ke Ko‘olau ke aloha” translates to “Love is like the ends [fingertips] of the Ko‘olau breeze,” likening the rapture of true love to a familiar windward zephyr—gentle and invisible, yet ever-present. While driving through the Ko‘olau range near the Nu‘uanu Pali in 1958, composer Alice Nāmakelua was inspired by the hovering mist and cascading waterfalls to pen the mele “Aloha Ko‘olau.”
Aloha ka nohona o ke
Ko‘olau Huli aku
nānā i ke kuahiwi
Pi‘ina i ka nuku a‘o
Nu‘uanu Nounou ē
ka ua lā i ka ‘ili
Ka ne‘e a ka noe
ma mua pono A he nani a
he nani ke ‘ike aku
I love living at Ko‘olau
To turn and look at
the mountains
Climbing the gap
of Nu‘uanu
The rain pelts the skin
The creeping of
the mist right ahead
Is beautiful to see
– Alice Namakelua, “Aloha Ko‘olau”
“Ko‘olau” means “windward,” a nod to the range’s wind-facing orientation on the eastern side of the island. Stretching 37 miles from Makapu‘u in the south to Kahuku in the north, the Ko‘olau spine is the steadfast yin to the yang of seascape at its base. Chiseled by eons of wind and rain, the Ko‘olau Mountain Range is the surviving half of the dormant Ko‘olau Volcano caldera. The few hiking trails that snake along its ridge support human exploration, though tangled overgrowth, snaking tree root systems, and mud-painted surfaces challenge even veteran hikers.
Its apex is Pu‘u Konahuanui, a twin-peaked pinnacle bordering Nu‘uanu Valley. Reaching 3,150 feet skyward, its moody crests are frequently shrouded in clouds and pelted with aggressive winds. The range’s biologically diverse woodlands sustain indigenous ‘ōhi‘a and koa trees along with invasive species such as ironwood, strawberry guava, cinnamon, and night-blooming jasmine. Endemic birds like the red ‘apapane and musical ‘elepaio also call the Ko‘olau range home.
At an elevation of 2,500 to 4,000 feet, the Ko‘olau range’s cloud forests feature vegetation and trees that are more dense and shorter than the same plants at lower elevations. As clouds move in, moisture condenses on the copious moss and fern webbings covering the trees. The branches carry the freshwater droplets down to the soil, feeding the island’s underground aquifer. The air above the range’s soaring heights hosts frequent rain-producing clouds, especially in winter, spawning intermittent streams, pools, and waterfalls. Native Hawaiians observed the nuanced variance of rainfall that graces its slopes and gave names to each—from kili nahe, a soft, gentle rain, to the strong, drenching ua hō‘e‘ele. Kaniko‘o was “a cane-tapping rain, marked by the Ko‘olau wind that blew along with it,” according to Mary Kawena Pukui.
More accessible forest areas where resources of daily life were collected were known as wao nahele (the forest realm). Higher elevations were regarded as wao akua (realm of the gods). The sacred cloud forest spaces where trees and other flora thrived were thought of as extensions of the divine. After asking permission from the gods to enter uka (uplands) with oli (chant), Hawaiians felled native hardwood trees like koa and kauila to create homes, double-hulled canoes, tools, and weapons. They gathered olonā to make fish nets, ‘ie‘ie vines to weave baskets, and many species of plants and flowers for lā‘au lapa‘au (traditional medicine).
Ko‘olau’s verdant beauty inspired poetic Hawaiian sayings and proverbs. “Me he lau no ke Ko‘olau ke aloha” translates to “Love is like the ends [fingertips] of the Ko‘olau breeze,” likening the rapture of true love to a familiar windward zephyr—gentle and invisible, yet ever-present. While driving through the Ko‘olau range near the Nu‘uanu Pali in 1958, composer Alice Nāmakelua was inspired by the hovering mist and cascading waterfalls to pen the mele “Aloha Ko‘olau.”
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