The Kalalau trail is an 18km (11 mile) hiking trail from Ke'e Beach to Kalalau Beach on the North shore (Na Pali coast) of Kauai. It is known for its sweeping vistas and breathtaking views. Interestingly, it is also known to be very strenuous, and has been called one of the top 20 most dangerous hikes in the US. On a beautiful day like when we hiked, there wasn't too much to worry about, but the main danger comes from intense rains at higher elevation which flow down from the mountains and make normally tepid looking streams into rushing torrents. Flash flooding can occur, and there have been many incidents when hikers become stranded by impassable streams, and have to be airlifted out. Most notably, in April 2014, 121 hikers had to be airlifted out over a two day period because of impassable streams. Hikers have died trying to cross flash flooding streams-- and apparently in December 2012, a woman was thrown from a cliff! After a four-day search, the perpetrator was apprehended and faced second-degree murder charges. Who knew a hiking trail could be so exciting?
But for us, the Kalalau Trail was dry and tame. It was warm and sunny-- we basically couldn't have asked for better hiking conditions. Tom and I only tackled the first 2 miles of the trail to Hanakapiai Beach (4 miles round trip).
View of Ke'e Beach.
Me and Pom on the trail.
The trail was BUSY. There must have been hundreds of other hikers out on the trail. Some were day-trippers like us, but there were quite a few who were tackling the whole trail with their big backpacks. Every few minutes you had to pause to allow someone to pass on the trail, so it was slow going. This was fine with me, considering I am nowhere near as agile as I was 6 months ago! At one point, a woman asked me, "Are you hiking for two?" I misunderstood her, and told her I was hiking with Tom. It wasn't until a few hundred meters later that I realized what she was actually asking. Whoops!
Na Pali Coast views.
Dire warnings.
The trail was for the most part, very dry. There were only a couple sections that were slick and muddy from little streams spilling out onto the trail. We did witness some people drinking from one of these streams (such a bad idea-- waterborn illess, people!), and we also witnessed a couple asking a lifeguard at the trailhead where they could buy water from because they "forgot" to bring some. If you plan to go hiking in 27 degree heat, and you "forget" to bring water... You're an idiot. Consider yourself judged.
Hanakapiai Beach.
Tom and I arrived at Hanakapiai Beach just after 1pm. We settled in to have our lunch, chickpea and hummus wraps, and enjoy the view. There were many people who had the same idea as us, and there was even one man who decided to ignore the signs and go in the water. He didn't go in deep, or try to swim, but still! 83+ people have died at this particular beach!
We also got eyed by this tiny, mangy cougar-- aka, feral cat. He wasn't too interested in getting to close to anyone, but he was checking everyone out. There was also a second black cat who stopped to beg for food. I have no idea how they ended up so far out on the trail. And there were, of course, chickens and roosters everywhere too (just like everywhere else on the island).
Mangy cat-friend.
The whole hike took us about 4 hours round-trip (with a healthy stay at the beach in between). Tom would have liked for us to tackle an extra 2 miles of the trail to get to a waterfall, but I think the 13km trip would have been too much for me at this point. As it was, the whole way back, Pom (again, the pomegranate sized baby), seemed to be sitting on my bladder for most of the hike. I imagine it was like a delightful waterbed for her to relax on!
Pom is giving me some good kicks right now. I think we're done with blogging, and moving on to breakfast! A breakfast that includes ALL THE FRESH FRUIT we bought at the farmers market. Nom.
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