Exploring History at the Kahana Ditch Trail

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Kahana Ditch – June 23, 2013

If you’re a hiker who loves to hike to find things and not just enjoy a view or a waterfall, this is the hike for you. The infamous Waiahole Ditch starts in Kahana Valley, and that is where we were heading to today.

The Waiahole Ditch! A manmade ditch/irrigation system that takes water from the windward side and brings it over to the leeward side for farmers to grow their crops. Apparently, this thing started in the early 1900s to grow sugar cane. The idea was to take water from the valleys of Waiahole, Waikane, and Kahana, use gravity to move it towards an area, then continue to use gravity and move it under the Ko’olaus to the leeward side. This unbelievable project cost over 2 million dollars to fund in 1916.

I digress, the plan today was to start near the water tank, take a trail that led to Nakoa. From there, we would go onto Nakoa until a junction appeared. At the junction we would go up a ridge and contour the valley until we hit a tunnel. After the tunnel, we would hike further in the valley until we hit a helipad and water gauging station.

Joining the crew today was OAG Daniel and Erik, along with Katrina, Allison, & David. We met at 8am in the parking lot at the orientation center and shoveled off to Nakoa parking lot.

It was a gloomy day and started to rain. I took out my jacket, what a piece of shit! It gets soaked really fast and just adds weight to my pack. Nakoa is a nice trail, just the mosquitos are the problem. In no time, catching up to us was Ralph and some members of the HTMC clearing crew. We would join them as they hiked the Kahana Ditch.


Near the 2 hour mark, we hit a junction and veered off the Nakoa trail. The hike was gentle with some uphill hiking. The trail was wide because HTMC did some clearing some time back. Eventually, we hit a tunnel. What a cool experience! We could see the ditch and water being diverted. This feat of engineering is ingenious and must be commended. The tunnel was cool, so Erik, Daniel, and I went into it. The water was shin high. After 5 minutes, we emerged out into the light. I was confused on where we were, but Erik saw the ribbon about 15 feet away. We followed the ribbon and picked up the trail, the same trail we were just on, that led us back again to the tunnel.
After the tunnels, we hiked about 45 minutes in the rain to the helipad. This area is cool, as it cannot be seen from the neighboring ridges. We left our bags and continued on to the gauging station. There, it was an awesome sight. We could see the water being diverted into the Waiahole Ditch. So sneaky!

Erik in the tunnel

need help here

old mochi pounding bowl
The hike back was quick as Erik blazed it at a blistering pace. The post meal hike was at Papa Ole’s. The food here is awesome and a must try on the windward side.

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