BARKING SANDS – We hoped to be able to report that while the beaches of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility remain off-limits to nearly all civilians, Polihale State Park remains a Westside beach option.
Then we tried to drive the road, and turned back after successfully navigating the early part of the road and its huge mudholes and potholes nearly large enough to swallow up a small rental car.
A state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) maintenance worker said the road is in the worst shape he’s seen it in nearly 10 years, and advised those without four-wheel-drive trucks or sport-utility vehicles to turn back not even half way down the five-mile dirt stretch that ends at Polihale State Park.
“This is the good section of the road,” the state worker said, offering that there were two huge roadway lakes near the parking lot that if you don’t veer to the right there you may not be heard from again.
The road is so bad that the DLNR State Parks people stopped issuing camping permits for Polihale for a period of time, telling those wishing to camp that the road is in too bad shape for the state to issue permits.
The unpaved road is always, technically, off-limits to rental vehicles, but many still try their luck.
For those willing to brave the road (calling it “substandard” would be both complimentary and understatement), the reward is a jaunt down one of the state’s largest continuous sand beaches.
The beach begins (or ends) at Polihale State Park, and wraps around PMRF and the Mana Coastal Plain to Kekaha. Polihale is literally the end of the road at the west end of Kaua’i, as Ke’e Beach at the end of Kuhio Highway in Ha’ena marks the other end of the road on the island.
Polihale is also one of the widest beaches in the state.
Polihale State Park is around 140 acres, and has a camping area, picnic pavilions, restrooms and showers, but because of its remote location has been the scene of numerous vehicle break-ins, and just about a year ago was the site of an incident that led to two young Kaua’i men being sentenced to prison time for allegedly attacking gay campers at the park.
A Kaua’i woman was murdered, and her body was left near the Polihale access road, just over two years ago.
There have also been numerous drownings at the state park (13 since 1970, including 11 during winter months and one last year), which is without lifeguard coverage.
According to the book “Hawai’i Place Names, Shores, Beaches and Surf Sites,” by John R.K. Clark, “Polihale” means, literally, “house bosom,” and includes surf, windsurf and swimming sites.
Another Clark book, “Beaches of Kaua’i and Ni’ihau,” explains in scientific language the reasons for the area getting the name “Barking Sands.”
The porous sands have small holes in them, ending in what one scientist called “blind cavities. The structure of the grains explains the reason why sounds are emitted when they are set in motion,” said Dr. James Blake of the California Academy of Sciences.
“The mutual friction causes vibrations in their substance,” and the end result is sound, which has been described to be similar to dogs barking, owls hooting, and thunder.
The traditional Native Hawaiian song “Nohili” talks about the beach and dunes known as Keokekani o Nohili, or “The Sounding Sands of Nohili,” saying the “sounding sands of Nohili” are “widely known:”
“‘Ike ‘ike one kani a o Nohili
Me ka papale a o Polihale.”
Other beaches around the world also have sounding sands.
Eastward down the beach, the access situation changes like night and day. What a difference an international incident makes.
After Sept. 11, all U.S. military bases around the world became off-limits to all but military and civilian employees and those with government business on the bases.
That ended, either temporarily or permanently, a half-century history of nearly at-will public access to the beaches and shorelines of the base, where pole fishermen, throw-net fishermen, crabbers, surfers, windsurfers, bodysurfers, bodyboarders, campers and other beachgoers used to frequent.
In the 1990s, Clark, in “Beaches of Kaua’i and Ni’ihau,” wrote, “One of the most impressive aspects of the facility for the people of Kaua’i has been its very positive, long-term interaction with the civilian community.
“Out of all of the shoreline military installations in the islands, the Pacific Missile Range Facility provides one of the best examples of how a good-neighbor policy can be established and implemented.
“Visitors need only to check in at the security desk with a valid driver’s license, a current no-fault insurance card, and record of a current safety check. All of these considerations by the military for the civilian community have resulted in an excellent relationship between the two for many years.”
That relationship got strained after Sept. 11, and didn’t get any better after a contentious public meeting at the Kekaha Neighborhood Center earlier this year left some attendees feeling the U.S. government no longer trusted them.
The issue, to those being denied access to traditional surfing and fishing sites, is more of access than security. They’re all for security and access.
And firefighter Dellick Numazawa has what seems a very valid point. He is not slowed down for security reasons if the fire truck he is riding on is called to the base, but he is denied access to a favored surf and fishing site when he is not on duty.
Does he turn into a terrorist, or even a security risk, when he takes off his blue fire uniform?
The U.S. Navy in May said the base closure not only at PMRF but at all Navy bases in the state, will remain in effect for the foreseeable future.
That is of some consternation even to some civilian employees working on the base.
The public enjoying the beach areas of the base provided valuable additional sets of eyes that in the past have reported suspicious behaviors to base security.
Those who frequented the base who showed proof of car insurance and filled out some simple forms were issued windshield stickers identifying them as registered civilian users, and with those privileges came also responsibilities to stay out of unauthorized areas.
Even during some range operations and missile launches, portions of the shoreline remained accessible before Sept. 11.
During long holiday weekends, and the annual opening of crab season, tent cities sprung up along the beaches, and Navy and civilian personnel shared the beaches with no problems at all, said one base civilian employee.
While Majors Bay, named for majors who used to be commanding officers and occupied a house on the northern point of the bay, is the most well-known of at least three surf spots on the base, the PMRF shoreline is also home to great fishing grounds, said one fisherman in a position to know.
One plan the Navy is considering would permanently close the base to unauthorized personnel during weekdays, with details being discussed now on how the base would be open to the public on weekends and federal holidays, said Kaua’i County Council Chair Ron Kouchi, who was briefed by Navy officials on the matter last week.
Nothing is concrete yet, and logistical and legal concerns would have to be worked out before such a plan would be implemented, said Kouchi.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
