Blog

We were all anxious to set off on another hike, this time in the jungles of Samoa. It had been a little while since we last took a day hike and we had been waiting for this one since arriving in American Samoa over a week and a half ago. Part of the problem was that we were told it was important to get permission and even a guide to take us to Massacre Bay on the North side of the island. While it is respectful to get permission from those that have places at Massacre Bay, it is rather impractical to find people prior to going there. Finding a guide was rather difficult to do and not necessary as long as you ask the locals on how to get to the unmarked rugged trail.

In the mountain village of Aoloau (officially named Aoloaufou) we did speak to some of the residents before finding a family living in a home attached to the village store that had a place down in the valley of Massacre Bay (A’asu Bay). They said it was fine to hike down to the bay. When asking around however on how long it would take for us to hike to the bay, we got a variety of answers from 30 minutes to 2 hours. The truth was that it took our family of 9 (including carrying our 19 month old and walking our 5 year old) just under an hour and a half to go down the rugged trail and slightly more to climb back up.

The reason we were so set on hiking this particular trail was because my wife Kirsten, 25 years earlier had hiked down to this Bay while following some local boys who were on a Boar hunt. At that time there was no trail and no road just over 1 kilometres long from the main road. The kids have heard the stories for years and wanted to go exploring this bay which over a hundred years earlier had been a bustling little Samoan village.

The name of Massacre Bay comes from an event which took place in 1787 when French explorer LaPérouse stopped here for fresh water. Following one successful day of trading with the locals and filling their tanks they returned and had a skirmish with a large number of Samoans. 12 of LaPérouse’s group died in the skirmish as did 39 Samoans.

The trail-head was found after we turned right after a local church in the mountain village to descend a paved road. After driving to the end of the pavement, we parked the car next to a fenced off area where ten cows were hiding in the shade of a large tree. There we saw two men who were keeping an eye on their cattle and were directed to continue down the road to the trail-head. While we had heard there was a road to Massacre Bay, this is definitely not the case. After the pavement stops the two dirt tire tracks continue about a kilometre past four more homes before ending at a large grassy meadow. Halfway down this road Eli realized that he had forgotten his waist pouch that contained his asthmatic puffer and so I ran back telling the others to wait for me ahead in the shade. By the time I returned from the car, everyone was waiting at the beginning of where the trail changed from a wide open road/path to a narrow trail that wound through tall grass.

With the heat of the day coming down on us everyone was tempted to sit down and drink from their water bottles but we had to remind ourselves that the climb back up would be a bit more rigorous and since we were a bit short on water already, we should save it for the return trip.

Hiking down the trail was beautiful and for the most part the trail through the trees shaded us from the hot sun. Rain however from the previous two days left a few small spots a little slick but it was obvious that one should not attempt to hike this trail in wet weather.

I was impressed with how well Teyauna did hiking down this trail. She chatted with me the entire way down as we crept down the mountainside. A few times she tripped over some sticks or stones and then wanted to hold my hand to help steady her on the walk down but she did great. Whenever she expressed how tired she was, I just had to change the subject and talk about something different or encourage her to build up some energy by eating an apple. Jaeden, Dailin and Orin went ahead of us down the mountain and with Teyauna and Eli we went a little bit slower. Dailin carried Zakary all the way down the mountain while Orin carried the heaviest backpack, knowing it would be easier to carry down than up.

About 10 minutes before we got to the bottom of the trail (and not knowing exactly how much further we had to go), we stopped for a short cookie break. It was a tiring hike and we all knew that going down would be the easy part. Elated to reach the bottom of the trail we went directly to a shady little spot under a tree to the West side of the sandy beach. Two dogs were tied up at the home made from Tarps and they barked at us as we descended the last section of trail. Two elderly people live in this Bay although we did not meet them as they were not home when we visited the island.

After stopping to make some sandwiches, we realized that only one of the two cans of tuna made it into our backpacks. With a limited supply we made do with a small sandwich, fruit and cookies before heading off to explore the abandoned village. One home, a run down fale and beach house still remain. Following a number of hurricanes, this village has been decimated over and over with the only lasting landmark being the memorial placed here in the late 1800’s by the French Government.

Kirsten had told us all that there was a waterfall if we hiked upriver and so the kids wanted to continue on exploring. After about 40 minutes of hiking through dense jungle with no trail (and a tired 5 year old at my side), I turned back with Teyauna, Eli and Alyssa. Of course Jaeden, Dailin and Orin were not swayed by the need to help out the littler ones so they continued up river another twenty minutes until they finally reached the waterfall which had a nice platform for them to walk on behind the falls.

Hiking back down the stream, I looked for large flat areas as the rambling up and down climbing was making the journey take much too much time. We had to cross the stream on a number of occasions. It was great to have my Teva sandals which have been the best Pacific hiking shoes ever.

When we finally reached the beach again I was exhausted. Kirsten and Zakary were napping in the shade of our picnic tree and we woke up these tired two when we returned. Teyauna and I stopped for a half hour and swam in the small pool of water created by the stream just before it emptied out into the ocean on the opposite end of the beach. I love swimming in fresh water and it was soooo refreshing to have a swim with the hot sun beating down on the beach. The water at the deepest point was only about three feet deep and so it was perfect for Teyauna who jumps at any opportunity she has to practise her swimming. She loves to splash around and swim the two or three feet to where her dad’s outstretched arms are waiting to catch her.

Eventually the boys returned from their exploration of the waterfall. They too were tired and thirsty. As they have learned however, they knew what to do to quench their thirst. Because they did not know how safe it was to drink the water from the stream, they decided that it would be best to just husk a few coconuts like the locals, to get a drink. They found a sharp stick that they buried partly into the sand, propped it up with some coral rocks and got to work at peeling off the husk from 4 coconuts. It didn’t take them too long and they were ready with coconuts in their packs, for the hike back up the mountain.

It seemed at times that the hike up was steeper than I remembered coming down. In all we had to go back up to the village that is at an altitude of 1340 feet above sea-level. Teyauna was very tired and only 15 minutes into the ascent was asking me if we had much further to go. She was a trooper however and kept a good pace for a five year old in pink sandals. As we passed the only house at the top nearing our vehicle, some vicious looking dogs greeted me as I passed by. The owner in the home called his dogs back and was kind enough to let me know which of my kids had already passed by ahead of me. He was very proud of the solitude his mountain home provided but happy to greet anyone walking along the trail to Massacre Bay. By the time we all reached the top we were extremely tired.

As we approached where we had parked the car, our local Samoan friend at the cow farm told us that he had planned to work down the road a short way today but just hung out around our vehicle to make sure that it stayed safe from the young kids that walk around the area (I didn’t see any other people in this area during the entire day). It was a kind gesture and we appreciated the hospitality the local townspeople gave us. In fact the interactions we had with the two people along the way make the day’s hike that much more special. The adventure and hike to Massacre Bay will be a memory of American Samoa our family will never forget.