camper?”
They each considered this quietly while they walked on . “No,” Pono finally whispered back. “The guy was staying at the Maui Beach Hotel, short term, paying cash. He wasn’t camping out here longer than it took to catch the birds he was after.”
They exited the trees and walked into the wide-open clearing above the path leading into the cloud fore st. “Anyone feel nature calling? We do all human elimination in this area before we go into the sanctuary area,” Takama said.
Pono headed into the underbrush along with Jacobsen, leaving Lei with Takama. She eyed the leathery, fit ranger. “You seem to love your job.”
“ It’s important work. It suits me.”
“ I like it out here, in the forest,” Lei said. “I didn’t expect to like it so much. I haven’t spent much time out in the wild.”
“ The forest really hits some people,” Takama said. “And when it does, you want to protect it.”
Lei tipped her head back, looking at the trees and sky , listening to the wind and the birds. “I guess so.”
Pono and Jacobsen reappeared. “Lead on,” Pono said.
They turned down the path into the cloud forest, winding along a switchback trail through graceful ferns. Birdsong rose around Lei like auditory fragrance as they made their way through lush, flowering ohia trees. Takama led them back to the first blind, from which the poacher had been shot, and Lei gazed over to where the body had been found.
T he ferns had recovered, the leaf mold settled. The spot looked as wild and untouched as the rest of their surroundings. Jacobsen checked a compass reading.
“ I have headings for the blinds we’ve found. Follow me, and try not to break or trample the understory.”
He led them through waist-high ferns, delicate olapa plants, and akala berry bushes heavy with large native raspberries. Lei followed Pono, letting the big Hawaiian forge a careful way behind the ranger for both of them. Progress was slow, and they didn’t talk in case they alerted the camper to their presence.
The next blind was in an old-growth ohia tree, split by lightning and bowed into two separate arches that had continued growing, branches coming up from the downed halves in a mini-grove effect. Without speaking, Takama pointed out the handholds leading to a perch in the middle of one of the arches.
“ You go. You’re smaller. Look for trace,” Pono whispered. Lei nodded, pulling on rubber gloves and beginning her climb. She was glad she wore relatively flexible shoes as she shimmied up into the tree, easily locating the blind’s sweet spot about fifteen feet up off the forest floor.
It was ideal for bird watching, with the crown of a nearby ohia flowering within twenty-five feet. Even as she settled onto the bench made of a nailed branch, she spotted one of the bright red, curved-billed birds on the nearby tree. “I`iwi,” she murmured, having taken some time to memorize the birds’ Hawaiian names.
The showy scarlet nectar feeder hopped from one bright red blossom to the next. Its coloration made sense in its habitat, as it virtually disappeared among identically colored flowers.
“ See anything?” Pono hissed from below. Lei was startled into activity, taking out her high-wattage penlight and shining it over the bench, the bark of the tree, and the branches that surrounded her.
She descended, shook her head. Jacobsen took a reading and struck off in another direction. This time he led them to a small clearing. He gestured to the ground, artificially swept clean. “I think he was here.”
Lei and Pono both w ent to work, scanning the earth. Lei spotted something white under a fern. She dug gently with her hands and uncovered a white cardboard Starbucks cup, holding it up triumphantly.
“ Prints,” she mouthed to Takama and Jacobsen, bagging the discarded cup. She dug some more and unearthed more discarded trash, packaging up each of the items.
“ What’s your most recent camp site?” Pono whispered
They each considered this quietly while they walked on . “No,” Pono finally whispered back. “The guy was staying at the Maui Beach Hotel, short term, paying cash. He wasn’t camping out here longer than it took to catch the birds he was after.”
They exited the trees and walked into the wide-open clearing above the path leading into the cloud fore st. “Anyone feel nature calling? We do all human elimination in this area before we go into the sanctuary area,” Takama said.
Pono headed into the underbrush along with Jacobsen, leaving Lei with Takama. She eyed the leathery, fit ranger. “You seem to love your job.”
“ It’s important work. It suits me.”
“ I like it out here, in the forest,” Lei said. “I didn’t expect to like it so much. I haven’t spent much time out in the wild.”
“ The forest really hits some people,” Takama said. “And when it does, you want to protect it.”
Lei tipped her head back, looking at the trees and sky , listening to the wind and the birds. “I guess so.”
Pono and Jacobsen reappeared. “Lead on,” Pono said.
They turned down the path into the cloud forest, winding along a switchback trail through graceful ferns. Birdsong rose around Lei like auditory fragrance as they made their way through lush, flowering ohia trees. Takama led them back to the first blind, from which the poacher had been shot, and Lei gazed over to where the body had been found.
T he ferns had recovered, the leaf mold settled. The spot looked as wild and untouched as the rest of their surroundings. Jacobsen checked a compass reading.
“ I have headings for the blinds we’ve found. Follow me, and try not to break or trample the understory.”
He led them through waist-high ferns, delicate olapa plants, and akala berry bushes heavy with large native raspberries. Lei followed Pono, letting the big Hawaiian forge a careful way behind the ranger for both of them. Progress was slow, and they didn’t talk in case they alerted the camper to their presence.
The next blind was in an old-growth ohia tree, split by lightning and bowed into two separate arches that had continued growing, branches coming up from the downed halves in a mini-grove effect. Without speaking, Takama pointed out the handholds leading to a perch in the middle of one of the arches.
“ You go. You’re smaller. Look for trace,” Pono whispered. Lei nodded, pulling on rubber gloves and beginning her climb. She was glad she wore relatively flexible shoes as she shimmied up into the tree, easily locating the blind’s sweet spot about fifteen feet up off the forest floor.
It was ideal for bird watching, with the crown of a nearby ohia flowering within twenty-five feet. Even as she settled onto the bench made of a nailed branch, she spotted one of the bright red, curved-billed birds on the nearby tree. “I`iwi,” she murmured, having taken some time to memorize the birds’ Hawaiian names.
The showy scarlet nectar feeder hopped from one bright red blossom to the next. Its coloration made sense in its habitat, as it virtually disappeared among identically colored flowers.
“ See anything?” Pono hissed from below. Lei was startled into activity, taking out her high-wattage penlight and shining it over the bench, the bark of the tree, and the branches that surrounded her.
She descended, shook her head. Jacobsen took a reading and struck off in another direction. This time he led them to a small clearing. He gestured to the ground, artificially swept clean. “I think he was here.”
Lei and Pono both w ent to work, scanning the earth. Lei spotted something white under a fern. She dug gently with her hands and uncovered a white cardboard Starbucks cup, holding it up triumphantly.
“ Prints,” she mouthed to Takama and Jacobsen, bagging the discarded cup. She dug some more and unearthed more discarded trash, packaging up each of the items.
“ What’s your most recent camp site?” Pono whispered
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