The Kalalau trail is 11 miles and 5000 feet of elevation change along one of the most rugged and beautiful shorelines in the world. Rated as a Top 1o trip worldwide by Backpacker Magazine, this trail is located on the north shore of Kauai, so it's practically in my backyard. Sadly enough, it's taken me a year and a half to finally organize this adventure with someone, but suffice it to say that it was worth the wait.
Tyler and I left Kalaheo at 4:30 AM in the rain to start hiking on the north shore at 6:00 with only a light mist in the air. Daylight came around right as the mist cleared and the light upon the pali (cliffs) at this early hour was magnificent. The weather was cool and breezy, perfect for making good time along the trail and enjoying the scenery without the burden of sweating buckets. I'd hiked the first 4-5 miles so I tried to avoid taking hundreds of pictures right away. However, I'd never hiked it that early so I succumbed to the beauty of the NaPali coast and snapped a few.
Hanakapiai Beach
Hanakoa Falls
It appeared that we had the trail to ourselves and in fact, we saw no one else until 6 miles into the hike in Hanakoa valley. They were taking a break and one of them was recovering from a nasty spill on the slippery rocks at the Hanakoa stream crossing. He had slipped and caught himself with his right cheek resulting in a nasty cut under his quickly blackening eye. We took the safest route during all the crossings and walked barefoot through the stream rather than risk rock-hopping.
As we proceeded along the trail we alternately dipped into valleys and crested ridges, each more beautiful than the last. Each of these areas had its own microclimate with the flora varying from one to the next. After mile 7 the trail dried out and the terrain assumed the character of Kauai's west shore more than north shore changing from moist, fertile jungle to dry, rocky desert. About the same time, we started to catch glimpses of Kalalau valley and beach enticing us onward toward our goal.
The trail is the diagonally sloping line at the top third of the picture
Continuing on, my photography breaks became more frequent as the scenery became progessively more incredible. From this point onward, I think I lack the vocabulary to adequately describe our surroundings. Upon dropping down over Red Hill into the Kalalau valley I could hardly express my amazement at the surreal beauty of this setting. However, I felt rather sure that never in my life would I find a more stunning view.
After some acclimation to the extreme beauty of our surroundings, we hiked under the tree canopy and found a campsite along Kalalau stream. Shaded by palms with the stream rushing by and the Cathedrals above us, I couldn't envision a better place to spend the next two nights. We organized our camp and took advantage of a slight drizzle as time to sleep off some of the 10 mile hike (the trail continues across the river to Kalalau beach at 11 miles).
View from our campsite upriver
We awakened from a short nap, refreshed and hungry so we cooked an early dinner which left the last couple hours of light open for us to explore the area around camp. We crossed the river and climbed a faint trail to a heiau (sacred Hawaiian burial ground) and then proceeded to a clearing which offered almost 360 degree views. From here we watched the sun set over the northwestern-most point of the island while enjoying the quickly changing shadows on the pali. We descended to our camp in near darkness, crossed the stream and collapsed in our tents after an intensely satisfying day.
The next day dawned clear, cool and beautiful. We made breakfast and pressed strong coffee to jumpstart our day. With only day packs on our back (a great relief from fully-loaded backpacks), we crossed Kalalau stream and finished the last mile of the Kalalau trail to the beach. While lounging on the beach, I found myself facing the backdrop of peaks and spires rather than the ocean with its picture perfect aqua and foam barrels.
As if our setting wasn't satisfactory, we explored along the beach and were not disappointed. When we walked to the westernmost edge of the beach where the rocks met the sea, we timed our scramble perfectly to reach another small beach backed by a large sea cave. We barely noticed the two naked people relaxing at the water's edge. The cave was about 50 feet wide by 100 feet deep and partially contained a calm, but frequently refreshed pool. Knowing the tide was rising, we took our time to enjoy, thinking that being stuck here for 6 hours would hardly be the worst thing that could happen.
We departed for the main beach before our window of opportunity closed. I relaxed in the shade of the cliffs while Tyler caught a few waves with the community surfboard. After awhile, we visited the waterfall which drops into the valley about 50 yards from the beach and serves as Kalalau's freshwater shower. I encountered a friend of a friend and talked awhile about our experiences in Kalalau and various places around Kauai.
Lunch at our beautiful campsite was followed by a foray deep into Kalalau valley to find the legendary hippie community. After several wrong turns and running into many colorful characters, we headed up the valley only to find that the hippie commune was just that - mostly legend. The people that do live in Kalalau are located closer to the beach. One pillar of the Kalalau community was Patrick, a fellow who'd spent most of the past 15 years residing there. We conversed with him in the area of Sacred Stone, one of the few areas in the valley with 360 degree views. We also encountered a small group of guys enjoying one of the "fruits" of Kalalau valley and gaining enlightenment in a sweat lodge. Later, we were invited to hang out at the the "Sanctuary", the tarp village they called home. Wandering the valley, I couldn't help but feel like Alice in Wonderland. When we returned to camp to make dinner, I felt like I'd had one of the wildest, weirdest, most intensely exciting days of my life. Little did I know that a few hours later I'd be following the sound of a tom-tom along the trail with no lights under the moonless sky to check out the Sanctuary - very Lord of the Flies. By the time we returned to camp, we'd hiked nearly 10 miles again.
The Sanctuary
Views from the valley
NaPali sunset
Bedtime was fairly early knowing that we had another 10 mile hike ahead of us. We awakened in the dark to hit the trail by 6:30 and were greeted my a beautiful sunrise over the NaPali coast. Every time we looked the cliffs appeared differently with the sun throwing beams at an ever-changing angle. Oddly enough, I felt invigorated after our many miles of hiking and kept a speedy pace along the trail while relishing the early morning light.
Descending into Hanakapiai valley was culture-shock. Screaming kids, crowds, sunburnt tourists asking inane questions - it seemed too much after two full days of beauty and serenity. The last two miles to the trailhead were hell as I leapfrogged the inexperienced tourist hikers along the trail and made my way toward a shower and cold drink. Cool, freshwater showers at Ke'e beach were better than I could have imagined as were the cold drinks on the way back to civilization. Even by the time I arrived home, my brain was in a tailspin so my discussion with Em of all that had happened was less than succinct. Nonetheless, it must have been enough to entice her, because less than 2 months later she was on the trail with me...coming soon to http://drgebs.blogspot.com/2009/05/simply-put-best-hike-ever-part-2-of-2.html
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