Volunteers Needed for 2026 Kaiwi Explorations
Our 2026 Annual Ka Iwi Explorations are coming around the corner on the weekend of November 7-8 2026. We warmly welcome support for this year’s hikes as a guide, sweeper, or ambassador.
As for the 2026 hike program, we plan to proceed as follows:
Day 1: Saturday November 7th (Same guided hike format as previous years)
Guided hike lead and sweep (i.e., two per hike group)
Groups of 15 (at the most)
Ridge hike (aka advanced route) start times: 6am, 6:15am, 7am, 8am
Valley hike (aka moderate route) start times: 6:30am, 6:45am, 7:30am, 8:30am
Day 2: Sunday November 8th (*Self-guided hikes w/ trail ambassadors)
Self-guided hikes “on-your-own-pace” style with ambassadors stationed at key points along valley and ridge trail.
Ambassadors will be stationed at key points on trail (e.g., banyan tree, rock cave, and top of ridge, etc.) to ensure hikers remain on path and provide cultural/historical information specific to their designated location. Trail guide information will be shared in advance. We’ll need a total of eight trail ambassadors.
Start times: 6am, 6:30am, 7am, 7:30am, 8am (*Up to 20-hikers will be allowed to sign up per each start time slot).
We would love your support this year and here are the main expectations:
1) Attend the orientation hike and debrief discussion on the morning of Saturday, October 17th 2026 8:00-12:00pm. This applies to both guides/sweepers on Saturday and trail ambassadors on Sunday.
2) Either serve as a (a) hike group lead or sweep for one of the guided hike groups on Saturday November 7th; and/or (b) serve as a trail ambassador at a designated location along trail on the morning of Sunday, November 8th.
3) Attend the Post-Explorations Debrief Lunch or Pau Hana (Date TBD)
Key Dates:
~9/11/2026: We will launch a save-the-date announcement online and social media throughout this month.
~10/1/2026: Hiker participant RSVP page and announcement to launch.
~ Saturday, 10/17/2026 8:00-11:30am: Hike lead/sweeper orientation hike
~Weekend of 11/7-11/8/2026: Annual Ka Iwi Explorations
~*Date TBD*: Post-Explorations Debrief Lunch or Pau Hana
To show our appreciation for your participation, we are offering a small monetary stipend ($100 for Saturday guides/sweepers and $125 for Sunday ambassadors) as a honorarium for your skillset and time.
If you are interested and available on the key dates, please kindly reply reach out to Kendrick S. Chang via email: kendrick@lhkh.org
Mahalo! We are looking forward to another successful Kaiwi Explorations!