Athlete and Adventurer Tutu Lorna Just Keeps Moving! By Sara Stover
L
orna Larsen-Jeyte has always been on the move. The lifelong swimmer and 81-year-old adventurer does not, however, workout for the sake of working out. “It is about being outside and in nature,” she says of the active lifestyle that growing up in Hawai‘i lends itself to. “When you get the blood flowing, it does keep your brain and body healthy. That’s an added bonus.”
own health, in the context of nature. “Communing with nature is spiritual and it happens to be good for your mental and physical health, too,” she asserts. “The more you spend time in nature, the more you love nature and want to care for it. You want to do something about ROD [Rapid ‘Ōhia Death] and other issues!” Lorna recalls the Sierra Club hikes fondly. One of her favorites, however, is a multi-day hike she participated in through Hawai‘i Bound. The hike took Lorna from Pololū Valley to the Honokane Nui Lookout via the ‘Āwini Trail. Known for its diversity, the trail is technical on a good day. Lorna has experienced it during downpours, when mud prevailed and the river levels rose. “It’s still my favorite hike on Hawai‘i Island. One of the best parts is collecting pepeiao, an edible Hawaiian mushroom,” she points out. Lorna has also spent considerable time among the cinder and silverswords of Maui’s Haleakalā Crater Trail. Together with Albert, she has hiked all 11.2 miles of the scenic, difficult trail, on several occasions. “We’ve hiked through the crater to the cabins carrying a 75-pound pack and a tent. Albert and I did that hike regularly until we owned the Kīlauea Lodge.” Unable and unwilling to shake the hiking bug, Lorna has also explored trails in California and in Oregon, where her son now lives.
Lorna’s El Camino de Santiago hike began as an idea hatched while talking story with her best friend over a glass of wine. As a child, Lorna lived in Keaukaha. On the weekends, she would often join her father on hikes in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. “And I was always swimming,” recalls Lorna, who eventually moved to O‘ahu, where she was on the synchronized swim team at Punahou School. “I swam all the way through high school.” Today, Lorna still enjoys swimming in the ocean when she’s not managing her vacation rentals, the Volcano Heritage Cottages.
KeOlaMagazine.com | May – June 2021
Hiking to New Heights Years before she and husband Albert Jeyte owned the Kīlauea Lodge or the Volcano Heritage Cottages, Lorna was a teacher at O‘ahu’s WR Farrington High School and a school advisor for the Sierra Club. As an advisor, Lorna was responsible for taking a group of teens on hikes around the island. “The second hike was on a Ko‘olau mountain trail,” Lorna says, referring to a challenging ridge trail that requires guide ropes for hiking eroded sections. Her fear of heights almost prevented her from attempting the hike at all. “When we got to the ridge, I told the kids I couldn’t do it. They insisted that I could!” Lorna exclaims. Tied together, she and her young hikers conquered Ko‘olau. After that, the group traversed a new trail every weekend, including the Pu‘u Ohia (Mount Tantalus) trail. For Lorna, the most rewarding aspect of those hikes was helping teenagers understand the concepts of mālama ‘āina and mālama i kou kino, caring for the land and caring for their
The map used to hike the El Camino. “We still got lost, but that made it more interesting!” says Lorna.
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