| Sometimes skaters are just blessed with naturally skatetable terrain, sometimes skatespots must be manmade. Wallows falls in both categories, because although it was never designed for skating, it damn well could have been. Being that Oahu didn't have much of a skatepark (see A'ala Park) it didn't matter much, because there were always ditches to skate. Instead of being an ordinary "halfpipe" ditch, Wallows was all about speed lines and carves. Wallows consists of a series of step-down levels, each with their own bowled corners and characteristics (cracks, bushes, drop-offs, etc) and are named accordingly.
The usual session consists of a line of skaters heaving themselves through a series of bowled corners as they make their way to the bottom. That is if they make their way to the bottom. You see, Wallows has a very rough and uneven surface, which has a long history of turning skaters into luncheon meat (in other words: if you fall, you bleed).
Over the years, Wallows has seen many ups and downs in popularity. During the 70s and 80s, it was featured exclusively in many skate and surf magazines. It also has popped up in a few videos, most notably Powell Peralta's "Search for Animal Chin" (although Chin never showed) and in "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2" videogame. There were even contests held at Wallows (one even ended in a mass police raid and the arrest of one concussion master, Vince Krause).
Recently, Wallows has undergone a few changes. Most notably, the state has carved a big fucking chasm in the middle of the ditch to provide access for state vehicles and other brave souls (this disaster roots back to 1988's New Year's Eve flood). The chasm stifles the skater's ability to speed line from bowl to bowl, which was the whole beauty of skating the place. Now you can only hit an odd bowl or two.
Andy Henrie drops in on one of 'Panics' steep walls.
If you continue up the top of the ditch, past Wallows, you will reach a very skateable area called Panics. It has a bowled corner and steep walls.
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In fond memory, Wallows deserves some stars.
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