2 hikers die after falls from trails

A 70-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman died this weekend after separate falls from unsanctioned hiking trails on Oahu, and several other hikers were rescued.

The man died Sunday morning after falling about 20 to 30 feet while hiking on a trail above the Mariners Ridge residential area, paramedics said.

Police said the woman died after falling 300 feet from the Puu Mana­mana hiking trail above Kaa­awa on Saturday morning.

Officials have not made their identifications public.

Fire Capt. Chris Ah Mook Sang said it is unknown whether the man died from the fall or a medical condition. The man was not breathing and had no pulse when fire rescue crews reached him, he said. The man was taken by helicopter to a landing zone where paramedics pronounced him dead. He had been hiking with a local hiking club and was not a visitor, Ah Mook Sang said.

The woman was flown from the Koo­lau mountains at about 1:20 p.m. Saturday and taken to the Queen’s Medical Center in serious condition with "traumatic" injuries to her lower back and a leg, Ah Mook Sang said. Police said she was later pronounced dead.

The Puu Manamana trail she was hiking runs along the ridge that separates Kahana Valley and Kaa­awa.

Jim Yuen, a member of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club, hesitated to categorize the trail as dangerous. "You might say in some areas it might be hazardous," said Yuen, who has been a member of the club for about 40 years. "There are some, what we call, exposure areas where if you do slip certainly the fall is not short, and (that’s) unfortunately what happened to the woman."

Yuen said hiking accidents, while sad, do little to prevent avid hikers from lacing up their boots, and instead serve as a reminder to hike with caution.

"It always leaves an image and sort of a reminder that we also must be very careful," Yuen said. "It’s not necessarily the danger that we enjoy, but just the fact that we can enjoy the outdoors."

Anthony Aalto, chairman of the Sierra Club Oahu Group’s Executive Committee, said hikers need to set out with extreme caution because injuries and deaths that occur on private trails, such as the two the hikers were on, could prompt landowners to limit access to popular hikes. To prevent accidents, he urged hikers to go with organized groups such as the Sierra Club or the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club, which has been around since 1910.

"Hiking is a core activity of ours. … The important thing, obviously, is to do it safely," Aalto said. "Accidents will happen — that’s part of the nature of the game — and we would just urge people to do it in the safest way possible."

In another incident Saturday, Ah Mook Sang said a falling rock apparently broke into pieces above a waterfall along the Manoa Tunnel trail and struck a 33-year-old man and two girls, one 13 and the other 7 years old. The younger girl suffered a back injury and was airlifted from the trail, while the older girl’s wrist was hurt. She was able to walk out on her own. Both girls were taken to the Queen’s Medical Center for treatment. The man, who was part of the same hiking party, declined treatment for a minor leg injury.

State Department of Land and Natural Resources spokes­woman Debo­rah Ward said none of the three trails are sanctioned by the state, and that the department urges hikers to only set out on public trails maintained by the Na Ala Hele trail system.

Also rescued by fire crews Sunday was a group of six hikers who spent the night in the cloudy Koo­lau Mountains. Ah Mook Sang said the male hikers, ages 17 to 21, set out at 10 a.m. Saturday and planned to hike the Pupu­kea Summit Trail to Laie but decided to turn back because of the heavy clouds. They called for help at about 6 p.m., but rescuers were not able to reach them until the morning. The Fire Department helicopter also picked up a hiker Saturday who fainted at the top of the Koko Head Crater trail at about 10:14 a.m.

DLNR Director William Aila said hikers should be responsible for themselves.

"They need to make a determination for themselves whether the surroundings and the trail is safe enough to go (on), and if it’s not safe enough to go, they shouldn’t go," Aila said.

He also urged hikers to use the Na Ala Hele system and "stay away from the trails that are advertised in the books" because those trails are often on private property.

Yuen said it’s not right to pass judgement on hikers who need rescuing because a small group hiking a hazardous area can come out fine, or a large group of hikers on a relatively easy trail can run into trouble.

"Let’s face it, any time you go outdoors there is some hazard somewhere," he said. "You can’t judge those things."