Expedition: Molokai - Feb 2018

Home Front

Due to demands in the Explorers Guild research department my arrival to Molokai was a couple days after most of the troupe. Luckily Troupe 001 dispatched a handful of our trusted lieutenants so many of my potential logistics concerns were eased. After a lengthy layover and a short island hopper flight with views of Halawa Valley✪, I was embraced at the tiny Molokai airport by the whole group. Wisp took me and my flying companion Denorae through the Line in the Sand ritual, after which we were propelled into the observations of Precise Time.

For temporal observations around the home front, most of them seemed to focus on allowing a natural time flow to  sink in. Instead of focusing on specific times, we concentrated more on our needs when we had them and adjusted our expectations respectively. The airport was the one exception. Here we were to note that this space was an island in an island. That here, our time was connected to the rest of the world whereas the rest of the island gave little care for that time. As we noted this, I switched off my time-keeping mechanism and let myself be swayed by the temporal influences of the island.

For example, using the bevy of snacks, food and resources at our disposal at base camp, we would often explore new recipes with different ingredients. Napoleon and Sunrise lead this interest in the cooking arts. As the food stores were overflowing, it prompted experimentation rarely seen on remote guild adventures. Dessert pizzas, a caramelized pop tart/stout pairing, and a new brownie were of specific note. Kim (one of our hosts) baked fresh bread daily while one night our newest explorer Sebastian prepared a unique chili.

It's on the home front that Kim also introduced the troupe to a traditional pottery making technique involving Raku firing. Here explorers focused their time on making personal tea bowls and letting their own needs and visions guide their art. This process was spread out over the full expedition week, giving it a sense of non-specific time constraint and a focus on working on it when the need dictated. This natural time state opened expressions of art which became clear in the end product. 
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All in all though, our explorations along the home front anomalies challenged explorers to leave behind traditional concepts of time keeping to better tune themselves. Often we would let go of our devices and instead gaze upon the ocean, listen to the birds or inspect the local entomological subjects. Time here was ruled by the sunrise and sunset. Though seemingly foreign to our urban routines, we were comfortable with it. It was not until we ventured to the mountains and the waters that we began to enter truly unknown perceptions of time.

The Mountains 

In the mountains of Molokai there were several temporal anomalies listed in the field guide, though we narrowed our research and focused on one region: Kalaupapa. This journey would challenge the troupe physically and mentally. As the night before had brought rain, we were dubious about our trail conditions. We were lucky to find that the trailhead✪ was open for us. It's here that we were presented with the oddity of potential time. In our lives we have the current life we lead, along with many other potential lives we could have led. In relation to the history of this sector, that of an isolated village for those who contracted Hansen's Disease, we prepared for a long day of deep contemplation.

A heavy fog consumed the trail before us. The troupe would get glances overlooking the path beneath us, but it was of no use. We could barely see the bushes right below our feet. Our one reliable sense was that of sound, as we could hear the ocean far, far below us. We made our way down the twenty-six switchbacks, using the alphabet to name each one after hopeful guardians we wished to look after us on the trek. By the time we got to the last switchback, Zandra, the fog lifted and our destination was in sight. We made our way to the rally point where our guide was intending to meet us. Here the troupe hungrily took in water, fed on our reserves and watched calmly for our escort to reveal themselves to us.

K'ahi did indeed arrive, and with him came the unlikeliest and biggest smile the troupe had ever seen. His disposition was not that of a man consumed by the weight of potential time, but one lifted by it. With his guidance we were led to meet "Boogie," one of the six remaining survivors. Boogie too reflected the joy and exuberance that K'ahi presented, full of smiles and laughter. As K'ahi took us around Kalaupapa showcasing the works of Saint Damien and Mother Marianne, his pearls of wisdom never stopped. Each of us was given something to chew on. "What you can laugh at cannot affect you." "The best way to catch a rainbow is to be the rainbow." "Stories are meant to improve your life, not make them worse."

As lunch rolled around, K'ahi gave us nourishment, and underneath the tremendous sea cliffs told us of the mermaids found in these parts and of Kapualei, a giant 60 foot lizard who prowled the slopes of Molokai. Sensing our curiosity kindled, he continued weaving his story. As the legends of Kapualei got wilder, everyone scanned the cliffs for a view of it. I too sensed that the troupe wanted this to be our quest today. Fortified, we finished our guidance from K'ahi. As the troupe readied themselves for the hike home, he had one further story for me. In his days, he had been visited by a red dragon, and K'ahi's energy and voice were in thanks to it.There is an old captain's warning to be wary of those claiming to be visited by unseen powers, so I scanned his face to see if all of this was a trap, or a warning which the troupe should be wary of. There was no such fear in K'ahi, though. As we all faced the daunting task of the sea cliffs leading back home, his final words to us were, "Don't be bitter, be better."

With that we began our ascent of the mountain. At first we were energized by the thrill of the hunt of finding Kapualei. That energy faded though as the massive climb felt more demanding. We were instead buoyed by our guardians of the trail, named after the letters of the alphabet. Zandra, who had been a welcomed site on the way down, gave us hope on the long journey ahead. Each switchback, we yearned for the pause and protection they offered. The shouts of "chautauqua" rang out often, and it provided us chances to raise our spirits together. The fog that had blanketed our arrival was altogether absent for our climb back up. The overlooks offered sweeping views of the Pacific and Kalaupapa, but Kapualei was nowhere to be seen.

By the time we made it to the top, we each took in one final view of the vista and gave a final sigh of relief. The time anomaly we came in search of was very much present here. The temporal dilation of potential time played out in our search for Kapualei and through the stories gifted to us by K'ahi. Instead of looking at those alternate lives longingly, we each vowed to make the best of the life we were granted, and to do so together.

The Waters

Our adventures to the Mountains and at the Home Front all seemed as a rehearsal for the journeys into The Waters and the phenomena within.

Upon arrival in Molokai our hosts had disclosed that on one night we would be encouraged to help our host's friend Frank at his secret fishing spot. Recognizing that this was an extraordinary opportunity not to be passed up, I made sure that when the time came, I would be there along with others in the Explorers Guild. The troupe was hailed one late afternoon with a message that the day had arrived. We packed our supplies and went off to meet Frank. The nine of us met him down the road and along a path that made its way to the coast. There, we all finally got to meet Frank face to face. With a contagious laugh and a reassuring approach, he gathered us on the beach so we could tie off the nets together. 

We worked as a team, putting together 4 large nets to create one long massive net. We placed it onto a rubber raft and then took it to the ocean. The water was warm, and the sunset spectacular.  As we placed the net across waist-high water, we all stood in admiration of where we were. Frank, who preferred to be called Uncle Frank, charmed us and gave us a confidence of the prize in store for us. I too couldn't help being charmed by Uncle Frank's personality; we chatted about life on the island and his son out on the mainland, whose similarities in life resembled my own. We shared a bond. 

As the final net was laid, Frank led us in an island prayer asking for a bounty for which we could feast on then started to head back in. At that moment, we noticed there was splashing in the nets, our first catch. We got closer and realized it was a turtle. We freed it from the nets and Uncle Frank's eyes lit up, affirming that this was a fantastic omen for us. The clouds and sun gave a brilliant display of colors and light on our walk back in. Before departing, Uncle Frank asked for a volunteer to return with him that night to check the nets. Seeing no one else stepping forward, I accepted the task and promised to meet Frank later that night.

As night took full effect, the clouds covered the sky, and the wind picked up. I had my dinner and awaited Frank's call to return to the nets. Upon returning to the beach, I found that my headlamp was malfunctioning, and that the ocean's tides now completely covered the beach. Uncle Frank was leading me out into the ocean in the dead of night, with no light, a high tide, and his words to "stick close to Uncle Frank and everything will be all right." I did, but in the ensuing quiet between us, my fears began to take over.

Step by step, we walked into the dark of the ocean. This time, it no longer stayed below the waist, but instead came all the way our shoulders. We reached the nets, and Uncle Frank was in a giddy state as he surveyed the bounty of fish waiting for us. Standing in the shadowy waters, I kept the rubber raft steady as he plucked fish one at a time out of the net. It was here in the middle of the black murky water I was confronted with a dark entity, a fear of my own creation, that of my time being up. I was in over my head, in waters unknown and out of control. This fear was real and personified in the shape of a shark, swimming about the murky waters below us. As Uncle Frank worked the net, I searched for the source of my fear so I could make peace with it. What would happen in this uncertain darkness? My thoughts were flooded with visions of the troupe continuing without my presence, and of me being powerless to do anything about it. Visions of the troupe without my presence flooded my thoughts, and I was powerless to do anything about it. Life continues after absence, and the earth cares little for the life of one person. This island and reef were alive, showing me I must confront my own fear of limited time. This was it. This is life. It shall continue on and the legacy one leaves behind is carried by those who choose to be moved by it, or not. 

As I wrestled with these thoughts, Frank broke the silence to announce that we had enough for one night and led me back to shore. Relief wash over me with each step back. By the time we had made it back to shore, I was no longer searching for my fear in the waters. We counted our haul, then made back for the house.

The next morning, I along with a handful of explorers returned to the beach to find the waters had returned to their calm idyllic state. We pulled the first net up as the sun rose over Maui. At the far ends of the net, a thrashing of fins was heard. I looked up to see a shark tugging at the net. Frank looked at me and said, "With a shark, never approach on the same side of the net." From here he made his way to the end of the net, only to find it had left by the time he got there. We pulled in the rest of the nets and with the sunlight returning I gave a final thanks to the ocean. 

The explorations of time in the waters focused largely on longevity and natural cycles. The explorers that visited here previously spoke of changed views beyond the scope if human life, I have to believe I'm not the only explorer to have experienced this either. During our explorations of the tide pools near the Floating Tree, I found these words in our Stellar Cartography book: "We are explorers of land, sea and time. However much we will explore time, we shall never have time. For whenever we own it, it ends. To our lost and loved ones who owned their time so soon yet exactly on time."

On the waters of Molokai we encountered tide pools, reefs, the pier ✪, humpback whales, sunrises, sunsets and an abundance of color and life. It is my belief that others experienced similar adventures in each of these places, and that my story is simply one of the many corroborating the findings of the earlier guild.

Return Home

In my return home from Molokai, I read back on our Stellar Cartography entries and related them to our field guide. We were unprepared for the diversity of experiences made available to us, but we met each one head on. Together our troupe bonded over ties of friendship and adventure. We were met with new companions, mentors and demonic challenges. Though these challenges were expected to be more flesh and blood, they were not. They were, as our field guide predicted, better identified as anomalies cast out to test us. We did not focus on verifying every one of the anomalies and instead focused our energies on verifying the ones we were most drawn to. I can say now that without a doubt Molokai is special in the abundance of these anomalies. Explorers would be lucky to explore them personally. Our explorers were certainly moved by the legacy of Molokai, and will carry that with them in the hopes that future explorers will continue to discover their own unique experiences here.

There are many acknowledgments to be made for making this expedition possible. First is to our hosts, Rich and Kim, who took in 16 explorers to their home and made us feel welcomed. Kim aided each explorer in making their own raku fired pottery as well as made sure all the logistics of food and car rentals were taken care of well in advance. The group had to be locked in and ready to go almost two months out so that she could carefully plan our arrival. Rich also exhibited patience and ensured that snorkeling and paddling gear was ready for us as well as taking care of our needs to return home.

Additionally, a big thanks is to be given to Rowena who offered this venture years ago and who made it possible years later when we were finally ready to say yes. She exhibited the infinite patience with us (and mostly me) as we asked question upon question so that we could be prepared for the events ahead. Rowena also drove the jeep whenever necessary to help explorers get around.

Which leads me to saying thank you to Turtle-ish and Wisp who were our other drivers around the island and made sure that even late at night when a group of us insisted on going to hot bread we would somehow get there. They were the first to arrive and some of the last to leave, making sure everyone was picked up from the airport and not left stranded.

To our cooks: Sunrise, Napoleon, Sebastian, Wisp, Turtle-ish, Lark, Byzantium, Griffith, Kim, Olivander and anyone else I might have missed putting a hand in the creative end of cooking. Thank you for making sure we were fed and happy. The whole group also pitched in to keep everything clean throughout the house, so thank you to everyone who pitched in.

Thank you to Uncle Frank, K'ahi, Boogie, Captain Danny, whale whisperer Gabe, the lady at the Hot Bread line, our hiking guide and the pilots of each of our flights for welcoming us to your island and sharing your stories.

Lastly, a trip like this also brings opportunities for people to finish their badges. Congrats to our newest - 
Redshirts: Lark, eXmarksthe and Sindra
Light Guardian: eXmarksthe
HonoraryNavigatorandCulinarianawards to: Kim and Rich
Labyrinth Keepers: Zepheer and Panopticon (acknowledged in absence - to presented in person later)
Along with a host of red triangles for feats of daring do good throughout the week.