Kauai hiking tour shares the finer points of foraging

Kauai Hiking Tours’ Food and Foraging Tour is a fascinating course in survival training. The little red fruit that you may not have given a second look could be strawberry guava — a tasty snack. Branches, leaves and fallen tree trunks can be transformed into shelter. Rub dry twigs together to create friction and, ultimately, fire.

“I encourage guests to see nature in a deeper way, with sharpened senses, because it could be their lifeline one day,” said Jeremiah Felsen, the company’s founder and lead guide. “I teach them about weather patterns and where to find potable water and plants for food and medicine.

Felsen teaches people to study the behaviors of birds and animals. “We can learn many subtle lessons by observing them.”

Felsen grew up in the 1980s and 1990s in Silver Spring, Md., a suburb of Washington D.C., that he described as “very diverse and divisive at the time.”

“There seemed to be a lot of competition and aggression, and I just felt out of place,” he said.

When he was 16, he participated in a summer program for high school students sponsored by the Student Conservation Association (thesca.org) whose mission is “to build the next generation of conservation leaders and inspire lifelong stewardship of the environment and communities by engaging young people in hands-on service to the land.”

“I spent over a month in rural Arkansas, building trails and living close to the land,” Felsen said. “It’s hard to put what happened to me that summer into words. It was inspiring, empowering, a refreshing change from the urban life I had known. I developed a strong connection with nature and a sense of calm that has continued to serve me.”

He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Outdoor Education and a minor in Native American Studies from Northland College in Ashland, Wis. Before moving to Hawaii in 2007, he lived and worked in the U.S. Virgin Islands and in rural areas of Virginia, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina.

A Marine veteran and certified wilderness first responder, Felsen has worked as a backcountry ranger, forest protection officer, wildland firefighter, ropes course facilitator, canoeing and rock climbing instructor and wilderness therapy counselor for at-risk youths. He guided hiking and backpacking trips for other local companies before launching Kauai Hiking Tours in 2013.

“After living on Oahu and Maui for a short time, I settled on Kauai eight years ago because of its beautiful scenery, sense of community and slower pace,” Felsen said. “It’s also the perfect island for hiking because of its varied terrain and many trails.”

The Food and Foraging Tour literally puts participants in touch with the environment. They sample food from the wild, weave cordage from vines, make fire without matches and experiment with different materials to build shelter.

He teaches tourgoers to pay attention and be aware of their surroundings. “Notice dangers and opportunities. Know when to work hard and when to relax.”

When Felsen launched the tour last summer, he was surprised to see how delighted participants were to do something as simple as hunting for ripe guava.

“In ancient times, knowing when, where and how to gather food and supplies was essential,” he said. “Because we now depend on modern technology and conveniences such as supermarkets and drugstores to provide necessities, that awareness is no longer crucial, and we’ve lost our close bond with nature. I hope to change that.”

The Food and Foraging Tour heads to coastal areas on Kauai’s north and south shores, inland jungles on the east side or ridges in Kokee and Waimea Canyon state parks in the west. Among the bounty participants harvest are bananas, breadfruit, coconuts, shrimp, trout, Java plums, mountain apples, limu (seaweed), opihi (limpets), kukui and macadamia nuts and mamaki, which ranks among Felsen’s favorite plants because of its versatility.

Early Hawaiians carved clubs and kapa beaters from mamaki wood and pounded kapa (tapa) from the bark when wauke (paper mulberry) wasn’t available. They used the fruit as a laxative and a dressing for sores and wounds. Mamaki leaves make a soothing tea that can alleviate many conditions, including depression, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and bladder problems.

“Many kamaaina also don’t realize how many amazing areas there are to explore and things to discover virtually in their backyards,” he said. “When people learn about their natural surroundings, they learn about themselves. They understand how special this land is and how they are a part of it. And they have a natural desire to malama i ka aina (protect and care for the land).”

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.