Coast Walk

Sara and I wanted to follow up on our previous weekend's expedition to along the coast west from our house. We did the previous hike with some friends who brought their five-year-old daughter. While sharing the waves and the seashell hunts with a kid that young is fun, it also slows you down quite a bit. Thus we opted to try the hike again, but this time as just with us and one of the criminal prosecutors from our office.

The hike picks up about a half a mile up the road from our house. A small dirt road turns off our road near the end of the airport runway and winds back around towards the coast. We parked at the house of one of the employees of the EPA (who we chatted with as he was heading out to another palagi's going away party) and started our hike.

The coast in this section is all tall cliffs of volcanic rock. The dramatic part is the way the waves roll in with full force and break against the base of these rocky cliffs. Along the route we were treated to blow holes that channeled the waves force up through old lava tubes or passages through the rocky cliffs. This can lead to large holes that boil over with white water on large waves or smaller holes that blow tufts of mist up into the air. Or my personal favorite which is a large void at the water line that fires a forceful gust of air through a vertical hole when waves break into the underneath passage. The air has enough force to blast plastic bottles placed in the blowhole forty feet high. These displays are quite unlike anything I've seen on the California or Oregon Coasts.

The lava cliffs also lead to some amazing formations. As the hike continues west from our village the cliffs get taller and the rock jetties turn into long fingers that reach out into the Pacific

and towers rise from the ocean. These formations make the coast walk zig and zag along the contours of the coast. The path hugs the edge of the cliffs and there are a number of interesting features along the way. A personal favorite of Sara and I's is a large cave that isn't visible from the cliff. The only way you can tell is from the vibrations you feel beneath you when large waves break. The whole roof of the cave rattles like a drum-head with a booming thud.

The walk continues for several miles, until is starts to wind down towards the beach in the village of Vaitogi. Here there is a pack of dogs that likes to lurk in the brush and put on a show of how tough they are. A few thrown rocks disperse them, but it's a constant reminder of one of the great public nuisances in American Samoa.

The previous times I had done this coast walk, we had either turned back in Vatogi and returned on the surface roads or retraced our steps along the coast. This time we pressed on and followed the road out to Larsen's Cove. I'd been to Larsen's Cove once before. It was after I left my shirt at Fagatele Bay and had to hike back in to retrieve it. I'd dropped by the beach known as Larsen's Two, since I was already out there on the Fagatele Bay trail and wanted a little extra hiking.

Turns out the all coral beach I'd seen on my previous hike was the much less interesting beach in Larsen's Cove. The trail to Larsen's One, which is accessible from east of Larsen's Cove is a little protected beach that has some spectacular sand and is protected from waves by the fringe reef. Only planning on hiking, I'd

neglected to bring my swimsuit. I regretted this situation when we got to the long sandy beach that it is Larsen's One.

Sara and our prosecutor friend made some time to lounge in the water. I took it upon myself to track down some good seashells. We also made ourselves a promise to either camp or barbecue at this spot in the near future.

After enjoying some beach time, all we had to was hike back to Vaitogi and wait for the prosecutor's boyfriend to drive out and pick us up.

This is a blow hole near the mouth of Larsen's Cove. The pan to the right shows the beaches of Larsen's Two and then Larsen's One.