Huge Walk the Length of Saipan Trek

Dear Friends, Family, & Readers:

            I needed to write again, but I swear this is not an addiction.  What I will say is that if I didn’t write about the hike I did this past weekend I forget the feeling of what I had seen and done.  I promise I won’t write as much as last time haha

            This past weekend I used Martin Luther King Day (which we had off from school) to take part in a hike thought up by Dan K. from church.  The hike was partaken by Dan, myself, John J., and Pastor Dickerman from Saipan Community Church.  Our hike was one to be remembered and enjoyed until we got home and stopped moving around.  All four of us go to Saipan Community Church and it was a great time to talk about life, passions, and of course God.  Armed with nothing but water, salty snacks, and our cameras we set out on an ambitious hike. Dan later calculated (using Google) that our hike had been roughly 17 miles.  We met at American Memorial Park and carpooled together up to Wing Beach (many thanks to John’s wife who drove us there!).  From Wing Beach, we decided to walk the entire length down to Garapan (Micro Beach) and then all the way to Pacific Islands Club Resort.  Our plan was to walk as much of the beach as we could and only go up to road ways when we could advance no further on foot.  We saw many great sites some of which I will explain below the pictures I decide to post.  Along the hike, some of my memorable moments included: A stretch of beach that had a lot of large Conical Shells buried in the sand and we decided to see who could find the biggest one (either pastor or myself claimed the prize there), the two moments we were almost chased by a pack of boonie dogs (island strays), and seeing WWII structures I had never seen along the ocean front.  I hope you enjoy the pictures below… remember to click on the picture if you want to see it a bit larger.

Sincerely, Grant

p.s. At the end of the hike, I was not too worse for wear, however, I developed scab marks around my ankles that look like ligature marks.  This was because I had walked in the water a little with my sandals.  When my feet got wet, the straps on my sandals were able to dig in and rub more.  I feel like there is no perfect shoe for an adventure like this, but just thought I would share a helpful hint.

This is Dan, our group leader, taking a nice photo at the southern end of Wing Beach early that morning.  He wanted to do this hike because he is leaving to work in the missions field elsewhere and would like to keep some photo memories of Saipan. Although, he is not lacking for any pictures as Dan is an avid photographer.

All three of the guys in the foreground you can see John on the left and Pastor Dickermen on the right.  In the background, John is reviewing a photo of The Palms resort that is closed but still beautiful.

A chair sunk in to the sand well past Pao Pao Beach.  It was very unique to photograph with no seat and yet overlooking the ocean with a shadow being cast.  If this doesn't speak to someone living in Saipan, I do not know what will...

A dead crab I found on the beach.  I'm not sure what kind this is because it is not an ocean crab it is some other species.  It is too dark to be a strawberry crab... make a baby coconut crab? hmmm (I really don't know)

A picture of a really cool turtle on an abandoned building along the shore.  The message being positive I thought it made for a great photo.

This is a sign we noticed in an area known as the Lower Base of Saipan.  It is the same area where the Tasi Boat leaves for Managaha and where the Dept. of Nat. Resources is on Saipan.  Illiteracy is a big problem among locals.  My prayer is that more and more English teachers will flood the island to help those who need help.

A beautiful picture of Managaha in the distance.

Really cute boonie puppies that we found in some plants along the walk way that leads to the Natl. Guard base on Saipan. Boonie puppies are often abandoned by people, their mother's, or are lead away from their mother by a father.... they then are killed by other male strays, adopted by sympathetic locals, or die of malnutrition.  These will last another day as Pastor Greg gave them some granola bar.

Old growth tress on their last leg and covered in jungle vine and moss making it look like a tropical rainforest.

 I hope you enjoyed the pictures there were many more, but I thought these were some of the most interesting of the trip.

Saipan Time is (Guam Time):