Exploring History at the Kahana Ditch Trail
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 ...