Video
The Dependable Mules of Haleakalā
Transcript
Transcript for “HALEAKALA MULES” by Seabury Hall Middle School
[VOICEOVER INTRO TO STORY]
The following story by HIKI NŌ students from Seabury Hall Middle School is about the dependable mules of Haleakala.
[STORY BEGINS]
Haleakala National Park on Maui has been using mules since the 1930s. The crater was designated as a national park in 1916, and it is protected by the Federal Wilderness Act which states: An area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by men. There shall be no temporary road, no use of motor vehicles, no landing of aircraft.
Well, we use mules here in Haleakala because Haleakala is a designated wilderness, so in general, there’s a restriction. There’s no motorized vehicles, motorized equipment, period, allowed.
During the 1930s, the trail system and the wilderness cabins were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
The mules carried all of the lumber, and all of the food and supplies for the crews that built the cabins, and the trails.
Almost a century later, Michael McKinnon, the current animal caretaker, is preparing to lead his mules into the crater on a twenty-eight-mile roundtrip journey.
What do you say, Lefty?
He and his coworkers are packing supplies to maintain the cabin and assist in conservation projects.
I can pack lumber, I can pack plants. Anything you can throw at me up to a certain point, I can get in there on the backs of mules somehow. If you want me to take something into the backcountry for you, I’m gonna do it.
I can cruise in there faster than you can hike. My riding mule, Jake, will move out about four miles an hour.
Hup, mule, hup. Good boy, Jake. Get up, mules. Get up, Toby. Get up Jake.
Haleakala is known as one of the quietest places on earth. To minimize noise pollution, which disturbs both people and the native species, the park strives to use mechanized vehicles as little as possible. Upon arriving at each cabin, there is work to be done, unloading supplies such as gas tanks and wood, and assisting other park workers in the rat eradication program. The eggs of nene birds, an endangered species, are threatened by rats. In addition to traps, the mules have carried in native plants such as ule, aalii, and ahinahina for transplanting.
It is late in the day when they reach their last stop at Paliku. The dependable mules have once again brought the supplies safely and quietly into the crater.
The following day, they make the long journey back across the crater, then up Halemauu Trail, then back to base camp.
This is Innes Asher from Seabury Hall Middle School, for HIKI NŌ.
[END]
Description
Seabury Hall Middle School produced a short film on the continuing use of pack mules at Haleakalā National Park, which aired on PBS Hawaii's HIKI NŌ television program in April of 2016.
Duration
3 minutes, 10 seconds
Credit
Seabury Hall Middle School
Date Created
04/19/2016
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