[ MAUKA MAKAI ]
Trekking It's hard to grow up without the ideal of finding the perfect soul mate. Girls often dream of the Cinderella experience, or the knight who will sweep them off their feet for a happily-ever-after fate. Some guys also dream of similar happy endings.
the trails
of love
The perfect someone you're looking for
may be walking right beside youBy Nancy Arcayna
narcayna@starbulletin.com"Everyone is struggling in relationships wondering if they are with the right person," said Don Piburn. By age 40, he had almost given up on finding that special someone. But, he's learned that it's never too late to meet the perfect match. So, don't despair if you don't have a valentine to cuddle up with on Friday. And if you're looking, consider where you're likely to meet a person who shares your interests.
Piburn met Janice Nako on a Sierra Club hike. Six months later, she called to ask him out (she'd gotten his phone number from a mutual friend). "I hadn't seen him at all, but I figured I'll call that nice guy."
KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
A shared love of hiking led to romance for Don Piburn and Janice Nako-Piburn, at left, and Stuart Ball and Lynne Masuyama.
Piburn had seen Nako on a few "Let's Go Hiking" episodes and was flattered. Needless to say, one thing led to another.
Piburn proposed at the second waterfall on the Maunawili Falls Trail. It gets better -- he proposed live as they were being videotaped for another "Let's Go Hiking" episode. "Good thing she said yes," he laughed. "Otherwise, we would definitely have to edit that part out."
"At first, when we sat down on the rocks, I thought he was going to apologize to me for yelling at me," said Janice. "But, he proposed instead."
COURTESY LYNNE MASUYAMA AND STUART BALL
Hiking buddies Stuart Ball and Lynne Masuyama eventually found love along the hiking trail. The couple married six years ago atop Koko Crater, above.
Now, hiking is a weekend ritual for the couple.
"We're both active and enjoy simple things," said Piburn. "We're very compatible."
And both enthusiastically agree that they were lucky to have waited for "right one."
"Our friends told us that we were going to have a lot of adjustment problems since we were both single for so long," said Piburn. But he said they didn't have the problem of individuals who meet in their 20s and 30s when just starting "to grow into the person that you are." Often, couples in such early relationships find themselves changing and growing apart from their loved one in terms of interests, aims and outlook.
"It's a first marriage for both of us," said Janice, who now hyphenates her name. They will have been married six years on April 19.
"Our wedding was the most magical day," she said. Only family members and close friends attended the wedding on the Maunawili Falls Trail. "It was fun and enjoyable -- not stressful."
"We did have to scrub all the algae off the rock so that the trail wouldn't be slippery," Piburn said.
The reception took place at the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club Clubhouse in Waimanalo, and Janice's parents entertained the guests. "My dad sang and played harmonica and my mom told jokes and riddles. My parents used to own a peanut shop (which closed in 1985) and my mom was known as the riddle lady. She would give everyone a sample of peanuts and she would tell them riddles."
"Janice's dad sang a beautiful song in Hawaiian and there wasn't a dry eye in the place. It was just really special. Family is important to both of us," Piburn said.
And the honeymoon continues. Piburn still uses one of their wedding gifts -- a box of magnetic words that he uses to create love poems for Janice -- stuck to the side of their refrigerator, though she's asked him to commit his works to paper for more permanence.
"It's nice because we are both verbally and physically affectionate," she said. "It is one of the things that keeps us close."
Stuart Ball Jr. and Lynne Masuyama met when they were in their 50s, while working at Bank of Hawaii. "At first, we were just hiking buddies," said Ball, describing himself then as "a confirmed bachelor."
So he was surprised when Masuyama gave him "a look" that led to romance. "It was definitely a come-on look," said Ball, who invited her to his birthday party the following week. "We really hit it off."
The couple married a year later atop Koko Crater on New Year's Day. Ball had proposed six months earlier at the garden in back of the East-West Center. It was both unexpected and romantic, said Masuyama.
Koko Crater has been the traditional New Year's Day hike of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club for 23 years, Ball explained. The two now celebrate their anniversary by making a trek, with a bottle of cider, to the top of the crater. They celebrated their sixth anniversary this year.
COURTESY LYNNE MASUYAMA AND STUART BALL
Lynne Masuyama, from left, her husband, Stuart Ball, Don Piburn and Janice Nako-Piburn climbed Mount Olomana together in 1996. Don and Janice, married six years ago, held their wedding reception at a hiking clubhouse, below.
"We would bring champagne, but we don't want anyone falling over," said Masuyama, who got her children from an earlier marriage to attend by telling them it was an easy four-mile hike to the wedding site. She neglected to tell them about the cables they needed to climb and the small land bridges that needed to be crossed.
"It's really a difficult hike," added Ball. They brought extra clothes and changed for the ceremony when they reached the top of the crater. "One of our friends was the flower girl and she was throwing petals all the way down the trail," said Masuyama. They also counted a few unsuspecting "guests," who had just signed up for the annual hike.
Ball and Masuyama continue to enjoy hiking together, but have also become more involved in learning about native birds, plants and the history of the trails.
They also enjoy hiking on nights when a full moon is out, heading to special spots, or going to the beach for a picnic. "Sometimes, we go above Hanauma Bay so we can hear the whales spouting," Ball said.
"We head up the trail before sunset and bring flashlights so we can return after dark."
The main point to remember, said Masuyama, "It's never too late to find the right one. And, if and when you do, it's nice to be married in a special spot."
COURTESY DON PIBURN AND JANICE NAKO-PIBURN
Ridge Hike
Written by Don Piburn I shout "Janice"
for Janice Nako-Piburn
from the high ridges.
Verse springs
from my enchanted heart
revealing the poet,
in a man without rhyme
or sometimes reason.Words of love
for her sister the wind
to whisper
above sparkling stream
and quilted canopy.
Light dances
silver and shadow
across her face
pillowed against my breast
I breathe her and am nourished
by an earth-bound angel
who lures my soul
to these heights
where it soars.My light, my life, my love
With love always,
Don
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