mainland sokehs – Pohnpei Eco-Adventure Guide

Dolen Palikir

Dolen Palikir (“hill of Palikir“) is a long hill in the middle of Palikir that runs northeast-southwest and has knolls at each end. The southern summit is slightly higher than the other at 250 meters. The Japanese capitalized on Dolen Palikir’s geography as they did with most of the high points on Pohnpei. Trench systems cross the path or run alongside it in several places and there are many small rifle pits. The trail begins at the Hadley residence west of the road leading to Iohl and climbs gently through high, waving grass before entering the trees. There it steepens as it meanders through sakau (kava) plantations (the tallest plants are just below the first summit). Near the summit benchmark is a prehistoric pehi (stone platform) linked to a story about Lepen Palikir — the highest chief in the region, but there’s no clear view of the valley here. The hike to the southern point follows the mostly flat ridge, passing many earthen defensive works, but none with cement or stonework. Near the middle of the ridge, the trees open up and provide a view of the panorama below. The most extensive Japanese structure is at the hill’s highest point and consists of three recessed gun sites with stone retaining walls around them and a trench leading down-slope.

Plan for 2-4 hours for this hike. Ask at the house for guides Rihlent Hadley or Denster Louis. Offer $20.00.

Map Guides >> Mainland Sokehs >> Dolen Palikir

By pni-surfclubPosted on October 5, 2013September 3, 2019Posted in camping, hiking & trekking, historical sites, mainland sokehs, prehistoric ruins, world war sitesTagged dolen palikir, fsm, hiking, hills, islands, japanese historical sites, micronesia, palikir, pohnpei, ponape, sokehs, world war sites

Temwetemwensekir Peak

Southeast of Palikir, Pohnpei’s primary mountain system makes an almost 90° turn to the south at Temwetemwensekir (594 m), a prominent peak that dominates the topography and feeds six major rivers. The all-day slog to the top begins up an unpaved road opposite the College of Micronesia national campus. Though the route isn’t always clear and the challenge of the climb is increased by rough terrain and a few steep pitches, once one reaches the palm forests on the ridge, it’s smooth sailing. Hikers are afforded some beautiful views of Nanpohnmal, Palikir, and peaks to the south of the summit area. Japanese trenches and an observation post can also be found at the northeastern corner of the plateau.

Plan for 8 hours for this hike.

Map Guides >> Mainland Sokehs >> Temwetemwensekir

By pni-surfclubPosted on October 4, 2013September 3, 2019Posted in birding, camping, hiking & trekking, historical sites, mainland sokehsTagged fsm, hiking, hills, islands, micronesia, mountain peaks, oceania, pohnpei, ponape, sokehs, temwetemwensekir, trails, trekking

Pwisehn Malek (“Chickenshit”)

The disputed Sokehs-Kitti border is marked by Pwisehn Malek, a strange hill of columnar basalt rock that resembles a cartoon volcano and looms over the road. According to legend, the formation was created by the droppings of a magical rooster — hence the name, which literally means “chicken shit.” Pwisehn Malek makes a fun little half-day hike with a semi-technical free-climb at the end. The 242 meter trail, which can be followed without a guide, begins in Paies at the edge of the Circle Island Road about 0.6 km (0.37 mi) past the College of Micronesia National Campus. The track is generally easy to discern as it snakes up the steep, grassy hillside without crossing private land. The hill has some scattered trees, but is mostly open to the sky, providing excellent views as one climbs. At the top of the hill, a narrow pinnacle of basalt prisms stabs out of the grass not far from the base of the main rock. If you don’t intend to go further, this is an amazing spot for lunch and photos with a panoramic view of the surrounding landscape, including Temwetemwensekir (mountain), the College of Micronesia campus, and the green, rolling topography of Palikir.

The view from the summit is even better, however, so if you’re brave and sure-footed, you might consider the task of scaling it. We can attest that it looks worse than it is. Though the lower pitch seems sheer at first glance, there is actually a series of natural steps created by the vertical basalt prisms, providing excellent hand and footholds. Just take it slow and look around you. Once you get to the top of the first pitch, the remainder is much easier and not so exposed. The summit is rather small and mostly flat. You can see in every direction for miles and miles. We’ve given the climb an informal rating of 5.4X — it is not terribly difficult, but there is no natural protection, and a fall at the wrong place could potentially be fatal. Proceed with extreme caution. It is not advisable to climb on wet days, as the rocks can become slick when wet, or alone, as no one will be there to help you if you hurt yourself. Remember — Pohnpei has fairly basic medical facilities and no rescue service. Use good judgement.

Pwisehn Malek is one of the locations where archaeologists believe stones used in the construction of Nan Madol may have been quarried. How massive basalt prisms were transported from Sokehs all the way around the island to Temwen is anyone’s guess. Bamboo rafts have been proposed, but no one has successfully demonstrated the process with a really large stone. Stones were probably separated from the outcropping using a process of repeated heating and cooling. Fires might have been built at the base of the rock to heat the stones, which were then cooled suddenly with river water, causing them to crack. After that they could be pried off and dragged down the hill.

Plan for 1 hour for this hike. No fees are charged at this location and the hike can be done without a guide.

Map Guides >> Mainland Sokehs >> Pwisehn Malek

By pni-surfclubPosted on October 3, 2013September 3, 2019Posted in hiking & trekking, mainland sokehs, rock climbingTagged chicken shit, fsm, hiking, hill, islands, micronesia, oceania, pacific, pohnpei, ponape, pwisehn malek, rock, rock climbing, sokehs, trails

Sokehs Japanese Sites & Parpwu Waterfall

Historical Sites in Mainland Sokehs

“Military Road” Hike / Bike Tour

One of the most rewarding routes for Japanese World War II-era historical sites follows a road 0.46 km (0.29 mi) northeast of the turn-off to the FSM capital. This track was built by the Japanese in the 1930s to access the many military sites in the area and remains unpaved. Whether it is public or private, however, seems to be a matter of some debate. FSM Telecom, which maintains a mobile phone tower near “Radar Station Hill” and uses the road often, says that the road and the areas immediately alongside it belong to the municipality and that people living beyond the Thomas residence are squatters without legal land claims. Even so, a family living on the south side of the road about 1 km (0.62 mi) from the Circle Island Road insists that everything beyond their house is private. There are two ways for visitors to deal with this issue: either (1) hire a knowledgeable local guide to escort you on your hike (you’ll likely find more with them anyway) or (2) visit the house in question and ask permission yourself. During our fieldwork, we used both options successfully. The road, though unpaved, is in pretty good condition, and as it doesn’t climb much, it’s a great choice for either hiking or biking. You can park your vehicle at the beginning near the Circle Island Road and go from there.

“Bunker Hill”

About 100 m (109 yd) from the starting point, you can cut off the road to the right and climb up the grassy hill, making your way toward the landowner’s house about 200 m (219 yd) to the northeast. This is the place to ask for permission to explore in detail. There are several points of interest worth looking into. At the southwest and northeast ends of the hill, there are bunker-like observation stations that consist of curved tunnels with domed concrete roofs and several gun ports. The southern bunker site is well-hidden with the entrance near the base of a large tree that has grown up in recent years. Entering is a dirty job, but once you’re inside, the structure becomes quite roomy. The gun ports allow light inside. The northern site is close to a large cassava plantation and is kept cleared. You can enter easily from either end. These structures were likely manned by a few riflemen and intended to protect the roads on both sides of the hill. In view of the landowner’s house you can also find a zigzag trench and two gun sites, one of which was probably a medium-sized anti-aircraft gun. No guns remain now. Some people believe a gun at this location shot down the American bomber “Love Bug”. Others say it was one on Dolen Pahniepw.

Paul Thomas’s Hill

Another 277 m (303 yd) further down the road, one comes to the residence of a friendly West Virginian native, Paul Thomas, and his local wife. Thomas enjoys a good chat, and if you ask politely, will happily point you in the direction of several interesting sites on the hill above his house. Easily found are two pairs of bunkers similar to those mentioned already, and between these, three small gun sites and several foxholes. Thomas keeps the hill trimmed and neat; all but one of the sites (the first set of bunkers) lie along the crest of the hill over a distance of about 125 m (137 yd). The hill commands sweeping views of the Palikir valley to the west.

If you want to make arrangements ahead of time, call Paul Thomas at +691.320.4562.

Dolen Pahniepw

The next stop is Dolen Pahniepw. An overgrown trail begins off the right side of the road 0.56 km (0.35 mi) past Thomas’s driveway and runs 0.43 km (0.27 mi) to the summit of the hill. About 300 m (328 yd) along the trail, one comes to the ruins of an army barracks, which consists of concrete house posts,
foundations, and a bombed-out cistern. Sets of concrete steps led to the entrances of the wooden buildings. Some scrounging in the jungle around the site should yield some old Japanese beer bottles. At the end of the trail is a large anti-aircraft gun site, which probably housed a medium-sized gun similar to those on Lenger Island. On the northeast side of the hill, you may be able to locate the foundation of a radio tower, some tunnels, and the chassis of a truck.

At the southern end of the hill near the road, you can scramble up the bank and find a pair of unfinished small gun emplacements, some trenches in the woods, and a defused bomb.

“Radar Station Hill”

The road ends near the FSM Telecom cellular phone tower at the summit of a hill. A footpath continues west to a cement platform for a Japanese radar array, two foxholes, and two circular gun sites. A large bomb crater south of the road makes an excellent tent site for campers with unobstructed views of the whole of mainland Sokehs. Back east down the road, an L-shaped cutting leads to a path and eventually to the site of a generator station with a concrete storage alcove built into the embankment and a rusting motor.

Plan for a half day to full day for this hike/ride, depending on how many sites you want to explore.
No guide is necessary for the Military Road sites as long as you ask permission wherever private land is an issue. However, you are likely to discover much more of interest with a guide who knows the sites. Please visit the Local Guides & Tour Operators page for a list of experienced guides available for hikes around Sokehs, if desired. Offer $25-50 for a group of five or less.

PBJ-H1 “Love Bug” Bomber Ruins

Throughout 1944 and early 1945, the U.S. carried out a brutal bombing campaign of Japanese fortifications on Pohnpei. The only bomber ever shot down was a PBJ-1H (the U.S. Marines version of the Airforce B-25H) nicknamed “Love Bug” and piloted by First Lieutenant William J. Love. On February 6, 1945, while on a mission to destroy targets at the nearby Palikir airfield, the Love Bug was picked out of the sky by an anti-aircraft gun on one of the nearby hills (possibly “Bunker Hill”, Paul Thomas’s hill, or Dolen Pahniepw). The plane burst into flames upon impact, killing the entire crew. After the crash, Japanese soldiers collected the bodies and buried them in a marked grave near the crash site. A monument to the crew used to be found at the burial site, but it was taken apart by looters in the 1980s.

The crew was disinterred and reburied several times during the American Period before coming to rest at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in the U.S. — all except Sgt. David Snider, whose whereabouts were unknown until 1948. The wreckage was not positively identified until 2001, when two aviation archaeologists surveyed the area. The tail section and rudder were still visible in the forest in the 1980s, but the site has been heavily looted since and only a few large pieces remain — the port engine (sans prop), landing gear and wheel, and a portion of a stabilizer. Bits of wreckage are strewn across an area of some 7,000 square meters. Three defused bombs are also said to be in the vicinity, but we were unable to locate them during our visits.

It’s easiest to visit the site from the unpaved water tank road behind the FSM presidential housing facility. No guide is necessary, but you’ll have to ask the officer at the security check-point to let you through. The wreck is found on the forested slope a few meters off the north edge of the road before the water tank.

Plan for 1 hour for this hike. No guide is necessary, but you will need to ask the security guard on the road to let you through.

Nankewi River Vicinity

Ethanol Manufacturing Site

On the banks of Pillapen Nankewi (Nankewi River) the remnants of Japanese industry can still be seen. Neat stone retaining walls frame the river and trenches and pipes form a grid on the north bank. On the south bank are three large fermentation tanks, a variety of other distilling gear, brick ovens built into the hillside, a huge press, a crank, and other rusting machinery. The equipment was likely used to distill ethanol from sugar cane for fuel and other industrial purposes. A great deal of Japanese beer and liquor bottles litter the spot.

Parpwu Waterfall

The rather flat terrain in greater Sokehs doesn’t make for a lot of waterfalls, but Parpwu (a.k.a. “Nan Lohlo” or “Nankewi”) — located on the Nankewi River just behind the now deserted Sokehs Shopping Center — is unusual because it’s so close to the coast, almost in the mangroves. In fact, during very high tides, you can kayak all the way from Sokehs Bay to the falls. The waterfall is a beautiful sight, but unfortunately, upstream piggeries have polluted the watercourse and swimming is ill-advised (even though you’ll see local kids from the area doing just that). Photo courtesy of Bill Jaynes.

Plan for 1 hour for this hike. Its easy to find someone to guide you down to the falls and/or distillery site. Just ask in the area. Offer $6.00.

Map Guides >> Mainland Sokehs >> Mainland Sokehs Historical Sites

By pni-surfclubPosted on October 2, 2013September 3, 2019Posted in hiking & trekking, historical sites, mainland sokehs, waterfalls, world war sitesTagged biking, bunker hill, bunkers, camping, caves, dolen pahniepw, ethanol manufacturing site, fsm, hiking, historical sites, islands, japanese historical sites, japanese military road, love bug bomber wreckage, micronesia, nankewi river, oceania, pacific, parpwu waterfall, paul thomas's hill, pohnpei, ponape, radar station hill, sokehs, trails, trenches, tunnels, waterfalls

Marine Parks

Awak Pah Marine Park

Awak Pah Marine Park is the most well-known of the parks in the area and has a nice big sign right out on the main road. From the parking area near the owner’s house, a 0.2 km (0.12 mi) coral and concrete walkway leads to the water through a dense section of mangrove forests. At the end, there’s a tiny picnic area by the water, a large nahs, and a few other huts that can be rented at an extra cost. The water is shallow and a bit silty on the south side and deep on the west and northwest side where a huge pair of PVC rings have been anchored (a good place to swim). The rock wall by the water is a fun place to jump from, but it can be difficult to climb back out. Snorkeling can be pretty good to the west along the reef wall with lots of small fish and some interesting coral growth. Unfortunately, local visitors have been careless with their garbage and the beautiful reef scenery is frequently ruined by the presence of discarded aluminum soda cans or flashlight batteries — a sad trend on Pohnpei. Water clarity varies from crystal clear to murky depending on the tides; it’s best to visit on an in-coming tide. You can visit Awak Marine Park without making arrangements beforehand.

Paieke Marine Park

Owned by Bryan Damarlane, this pleasant, breezy swim-picnic-camp park is located on a network of dredged coral causeways that extend out into the lagoon at the point where the road begins to turn east toward the Awak valley. A number of thatched residential huts varying in size and a nahs (meeting hut) or two are positioned around the water’s edge for guests at an extra cost. The swimming is good all along the west side, though the shallows tend to be silty rather than sandy. Snorkelers should follow the edge of the reef further out into the lagoon for best results. The kids will love tinkering around in the shallows under the shady trees. Paieke operates on a reservation-only basis.

To make reservations for day visits or overnight stays, call Bryan Damarlane at +691.925.0382.

Pein Ahi Marine Park

This charming, but little-known, park (pictured at top) is found just after Awak Marine Park, but as it lacks a sign, most people drive right by without realizing it’s there. From the road, a beautiful 0.16 km (0.1 mi) stone and coral walkway winds through the picturesque mangrove forests and ends at a grassy picnic area with a nahs and a large fish pond. The family keeps some very curious pufferfish and a few other reef fish in the pond, mostly for the amusement of visiting local children. The swimming all around the outside of the pond walls is excellent with consistently good water clarity. There’s a relatively shallow area on the south side that works well for kids or beginning swimmers and deeper water on the west and north. They also have a pair of large bamboo-pontoon rafts that are fun to cruise around the mangrove fringe on. Except on big holidays, you can usually visit without making any prior arrangements.

Nihco Marine Park

Nihco Marine Park, on the southwest coast of scenic Sokehs Bay is an appealing place for people of all ages to swim, barbecue, and soak up the sun. The park is comprised of a narrow, man-made semi-circle of sand with a placid lagoon in the middle where turtles and reef fish are kept. There’s a white-sand beach on the outer edge and simple thatched huts for either day or overnight visits. Small kayaks can be rented for a few dollars. The place can be packed on weekends and holidays.

To make reservations for day visits or overnight stays, call +691.320.2135 / 2659.

Nihco Surf

Nihco Surf is one of two thriving operations that cater to foreign surfers and tap into the radical power of the now world-famous reef-break at Palikir Pass. The locally owned and managed camp, situated inside Nihco Marine Park, offers six air-conditioned wifi-equipped bungalows that look out over Sokehs Bay; an on-site restaurant; kayak-rental; boat tours; And Atoll trips; and daily excursions to P-Pass, Lighthouse Break, and Mwahnd Pass.

+691.320.2135 / 4659 / 6225 | fax: +691.320.6504
Nihco Surf, P.O. Box 327, Pohnpei, FM 96941
NIHCOsurf@gmail.com
p-pass.wix.com/nihcosurf

Map Guides >> Greater Nett & Western U >> Marine Parks

By pni-surfclubPosted on March 8, 2013October 12, 2022Posted in camping, mainland sokehs, marine attractions, paddling, snorkeling, swimming & picnickingTagged awak pah marine park, camping, fsm, islands, mangrove forests, marine parks, micronesia, nett, nihco marine park, oceania, pacific, paieke marine park, pein ahi marine park, picnicking, pohnpei, ponape, snorkeling, swimming, u