Sokehs Ridge Hike

Pohnpeian Word of the Day: pwehda = "Why?"

Sokehs rock is the first thing you notice when you come to Pohnpei. As we stepped onto the tarmac some two-and-a-half weeks ago, the only thing I could make out in the pitch blackness was the slowly climbing ridge which abruptly terminates in its signature 600-foot drop-off. To actually attain the summit of the rock itself requires rock-climbing skills, but you can get pretty far down the ridge on a regular hike, and that's what we did yesterday.

Once again, I seem to have gotten myself into a hike I was never physically prepared for, and survived anyway. When we arrived on Daini Street to meet Michaela and the others, I was surprised that a couple in our group decided to stay back - looking at the mostly athletic ones remaining, my stomach dropped a little, but I toughed it out.

The hike itself began with the two-mile walk to Sokehs island, after which the road abruptly turned upward and resolutely stayed that way for the rest of the trek. The first incline had me puffing, but after we turned into the switchback I new I hadn't seen anything yet. I swear the slope had to be some 40 degrees, and the "road" was mostly just loose gravel so it was hard to find purchase at times. I had to stop at least once so that my heart wouldn't explode, but fortunately made it up the rest of the way without incident.

When we arrived at the top, we were rewarded to the sight of the old WWII Japanese gun emplacements. These massive hunks of metal were supposedly dragged up that awful incline by a team of 20 Pohnpeians over the course of a year, because they kept sliding back down whenever it rained. It was well worth the climb to see this piece of history, and take pictures of ourselves climbing all over it like jackasses.

After another short incline, we were finally treated to the best view on the whole island. Atop Sokehs sits a small outpost with a cell-phone tower, and when we climbed to the roof of one of the buildings we could see everything from Kolonia to Palikir. It was humbling to observe the tiny airport runway stretching from end-to-end of one of the islands in the lagoon, where we had landed earlier this month. Off in the distance, you could just make out the thin white outline of the reef. The sight was incredibly beautiful, and we stayed up there for some time just admiring the view and our accomplishment in getting there.

And I slept like a baby when we got back. Today we will begin our orientation at COM...