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Kauai, Hawaii
Summer skies, stars are falling all along the injured coast
A first glimpse of the Na Pali coast line from the (relative) safety of Ke'e Beach at sunset. This was my first glimpse of the cliffs (if you don’t count the aerial view from the ultralight) and a preview before my next morning’s hiking adventure.
On the north coast of a tropical Kauai stands the Na Pali cliffs, accessible only by boat or trail. I chose to walk. This is a view along the Kalalau Trail, halfway between Ke'e Beach and Hanakapi Beach. I walked the trail eight miles (round trip) rising and falling over muddy red clay to views like this aside 500 foot high unprotected drop offs.
At the start, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources provides a warning::
Caution: Uneven footing because of protruding roots and rocks, loose dirt and rocks, mud and slippery surfaces. Trail is narrow and/or steep in places. Use appropriate footwear. Proceed at your own risk.
This is understandable but. based on my experience, is probably not as dire a warning as there should be. The real danger of the trail is the dirt. The red dirt that makes all those great red dirt t-shirts also is like walking on very slippery clay when wet, and in Kauai, where it rains a lot, that red wet slippery clay is everywhere. And the trail is carved (in places) right into the edge of the cliffs, with direct views down 500 feet to the water. I slipped a lot on the trail, and at the end my calves were caked in red dirt and, as I walked, it was all too easy to imagine that one unlucky slip might be my last.
And if the inherent dangers of a muddy, slippery trail weren’t enough, you then see signs like this. This sign was pretty far from the beach and it would take some time to actually get this high if (and this is a big if) there actually was some type of tidal wave warning, and if I actually knew what that warning was.
Two miles by foot from the nearest electrical outlet lives Hanakapi Stream, where the water fights for its last seconds of clarity before becoming one with the Pacific.
The Kalalau Trail is an in and out trail in two distinct parts. The first two mile long section goes up and over the muddy cliffs and down to Hanakapi Beach, while the second section goes another two miles inland, uphill and across the stream a few times to see Hanakapi Falls. The footing is about the same, but this part of the trail is a lot less fun to be honest. Low, overgrown brush, insects happy to see people and the general poor condition of the trail make you miss all those dangerous drop offs from that first section.
Finally the waterfalls I just came this far to see. Hanapaki Falls is 300 feet high and feels as isolated as it is, although there were (of course) people there despite seeing almost no one else on the trail. After seeing hardly anyone on the trails, it seems somehow that there were always people at the good parts.
The bad part about an in and out hike is that once you get to the end, you have to turn around and do it all over again. Luckily that means you have a second chance to visit Hanapaki Beach, only two miles from the parking lot but a world away from everywhere.
The Kalalau Trail is difficult but not impossible, and certainly feels like an accomplishment when you finish it. The Kalalau Trail is often considered one of the most dangerous in the country, although to be honest, they’re talking about the permit required, full eleven mile long section, not the two mile day hike section I took, although there was most certainly safety issues even in that part. But none of that really matters when you can enjoy views like this. We’ll end the Kauai part of the slideshow with six more pictures from the Kalalau Trail, where I defied an almost certain death and returned muddy but unharmed.
