Na Pali Coast

We met a lot of interesting people on the trail, like Bill the semi permanently installed camp maintainer at Mile 8.

Tip: bring duct tape. I used up almost all of my mini roll by helping a few people we met whose boots were falling apart, and to secure blister treatment for one of my friends.

We got our (tentative) permits for the last week of May. They’re tentative because they want “better” copies of the drivers licenses of two if the people in my group. They gave me a full 8.5×11 scan of the two licenses, hopefully that’s good enough for them.

This was originally on my list of things to see on Kauai if I had time after I saw Waimea Canyon and the overlook of the valley at the end of the road up to the Canyon. Fortunately, I did have time to drive to the other end of the road around the island and hike about 20 minutes to get to this viewpoint. I sure am glad I did. It was incredibly beautiful seeing this. It was just so beautiful, and looking out along the coast, I really felt at peace with the world. This is a very special place to me. However good the picture is, it really doesnt do the place justice.

We went on a hike up here down to a little beach with a cool cave/water/other beachy stuff. The hike was fantastic because you always had a view. Saw a pod of dolphins off the coast. Even though it rained and the trail was muddy (it was ridiculous) it was loads of fun. One family was trying to make it in flip-flops and I wonder weather they survived . . .

I’ve also been snorkeling off the coast twice. The first time was fantastic, but the second was disappointing, cloudy water and like 3 fish.

Well, technically I haven’t ever been here… I sailed by it on a cruise. But I was so enthralled, so mystified, so awed by what I saw that I needed to add it to places I’ve been, but made sure to add that I want to go back. Next time I go I plan to backpack the trails and visit one of those secluded beaches. My family and I hauled some deck chairs (well my fiancee Tony did) to deck 6 of the Norwegian Pride of Aloha and sat there for hours as we sailed by. We talked, took pictures, and were mesmerized by the view. It was probably some of the most breathtaking sites we saw during our Hawaii cruise!

In January, 2005, Andy and I traveled to Kaua’i from Philadelphia with our main purpose being to backpack the Na Pali Coast of Kaua’i. We didn’t waste any time hitting the trail. After a decent night’s sleep at the Tip Top Motel in Lihue and some excellent banana-macadamian nut pancakes, we drove to the Kalalau Trailhead at Ke’e Beach and geared up.

We got on the trail around 9:00AM with about 50-lbs of crap in each of our packs. The Kalalau Trail is AWESOME–breathtaking coastline, rainforest, prehistoric-looking plants–the type of place that makes you feel lucky to be alive.

Unfortunately, I have severe IT-band syndrome which made most of the 11-mile hike not fun for me. The weight is what really killed me. I had to straight-leg the second half of the hike. Looking back, we should have just stopped and camped at mile 4, 6 or 8, where there are some really beautiful campsites. We didn’t have enough supplies for extra time on the trail, though. So, instead of stopping, we pushed on to our final destination–Kalalau Beach.

About a mile from the beach, you get a glimpse of the beach itself. You can hardly believe your eyes. Everyone you see is smiling as big as you are smiling. :)

When we reached the beach, we set up camp and took a shower in the waterfall at the far end of the beach. I was in severe pain and I wondered how the hell I was going to make it out of there! I basically couldn’t walk. Kalalau Beach is NOT the place to be injured. This place is like the end of the earth. No phones, no electricity. It’s just you and the people you meet there. We met a guy and his dog on the beach. I spied this guy’s motorized raft, but knew that he had landed on the beach illegally. In the winter, landing on Kalalau Beach is strictly prohibited due to the huge, dangerous ocean swells. Hmmmm.

We had a few options–flag down a helicopter and fork out 6K for a ride out of there, wait it out for a few days or find a way to get a boat ride back to the trailhead. Andy was on the case.

I obviously didn’t have access to ice at Kalalau, so I went in the tent to get horizontal and elevate my legs. Andy went to find the dude with the boat. When he found the guy, he was sitting at his campsite with a beer in his hand and a bottle of Thunderbird between his legs. Nice. Sounds like a reliable fellow, right? :)

So, we worked out a deal. If the tide was calm enough the next day, he would give us a ride back to the trailhead at Ke’e–for a fee, of course. Besides the fee, there were a few stipulations. The dude would have to take Andy out first and drop him off about 1/4 mile off the coast with a boogie board and then come back for me. Too much weight in the raft would make it impossible to get over the breaking waves. When Andy told me this, my first reaction was, “NO WAY!” One of the things I have yet to mention is that Andy fell and got a huge gash in his leg around mile 4. I was not big on the idea of Andy treading water 1/4 mile off the shore of the Na Pali coast with a huge gash in his leg. In response to our concern, the dude said, “There are two things we never say on Kaua’i–Tsunami and Sharks”. Perfect.

After some consideration, we decided to go for it. We’re open to an adventure, right? So, we went to sleep that night, listening to the amazing sound of the ocean, and a little wary about escaping paradise in one piece.

The next morning, we awoke to a very calm sea, which made us feel a little better. But, by the time we packed it in and met the dude on the beach, it was almost noon and the waves were looking monstrous. Scary, but here we go.

The dude told me to wear my rain gear and gave us two garbage bags for our stuff. We wrapped our cameras in the two garbage bags and buried them inside one of our packs–everything else was exposed to the crazy north shore waves–including us. The dude had Andy help him load the boat and he was off. After the boat passed the first few sets of breaking waves, Andy swam off and the dude pulled him into the boat. So, there I was, left standing on the beach, watching my boyfriend and this Thunderbird-drinkin’ dude braving the huge waves. I honestly didn’t think they were going to make it. The dude would get the boat pointed toward the open ocean and put it in high gear and then when he saw the size of the wave, he’d circle back towards shore. He did this about 4 or 5 times with Andy in the boat. I was in awe. The dude told me that I should wear my rain gear so I wouldn’t have to get too wet. What a joke.

Finally, the little red raft disappeared over the waves. About five minutes later, the 18-year-old girl who was with the dude said, “it’s time”. So, I strapped on the only life vest and we walked to the water’s edge. About 10 seconds later, there was the dude in the raft, waving the girl on. She ran out into the water and swam to the boat. She looked half-drowned when the dude pulled her onto the boat. I was shitting. He circled around once and motioned for me to come. I figured, “F it.” I went running for the boat. I felt like I was swimming for me life. I felt the ocean totally taking control and just when I thought I couldn’t swim anymore, I was ripped from the waves onto the boat by the dude and the 18-year-old girl. Holy shit. I was just shaking. I turned my back to the front of the boat and we started our turn of making it over the waves. We circled back about 6 times until we finally made it over. The raft was CRYING. It was filled with water. All I could think of was Andy getting eaten by sharks and me drowning. The last wave we challenged totally enveloped the raft and I could hardly believe it when I wiped my eyes and saw that we had made it beyond the cresting waves.

After the initial shock of making it past the waves wore off, all I could think about was finding Andy. I was hoping that after we made it past the breaking waves that the ocean would be a little more manageable, but we were dealing with 15-20 foot ocean swells. Not so swell. ;)

We scanned the rising and falling swells for Andy on the boogie board. After five minutes of worrying and trying to see out of my dripping glasses, we pulled up next to Andy. The dude came up behind him and said, “Pardon me, do you have any grey poupon?” Andy didn’t look amused. hehe. The duded pulled Andy onto the boat and handed him a gallon milk jug with the bottom cut off. He said, “Bail.” So, we started on the six-mile ride back to Ke’e. The ocean was just huge. The raft would rise up and we’d look down and HOLD ON FOR DEAR LIFE, then CRASH down and get SOAKED. The girl and I had the job of holding the boogie board on top of all the gear that was stuffed into the front of the raft. We were sitting on either side of the front of the raft. It was cold and crazy windy. I caught a few glimpses of the beautiful Na Pali coast through my glasses, which were just dripping. The dude said, “you guys are really calm”. Haha. Calm or crazy. Whatever.

The dude followed the current, so at some points, we were about a mile off-shore. The last thing you want is to be battered into the sharp cliffs. It was the roughest ride I’ve ever taken. Andy bailed water the entire time, and I concentrated on keeping boogie board on top of the gear. It gave us something to do besides shit our pants. Every few minutes, it would start POURING rain. We were getting hammered with waves and the dude spent half of the time wiping water out of his eyes. I wondered how he could steer this thing without being able to see??? After about an hour and 15 mintues, we could see the beach. The water became more calm. The dude said we were almost out of gas, so we were lucky to be near our destination. I have never been happier to be on land than I was when I stepped off that godforsaken raft.

The dude gave Andy a ride to our rental truck, which was parked at Ke’e Beach, about a mile away. Andy said the dude’s car was filled with about 100 pounds of sand and cigarette butts. The 18-year-old girl and I took shelter from the pouring-down rain while we waited for the guys to return.

When Andy pulled up in the truck, I paid the dude 300 smackaroons (totally worth it), and we dried off in the truck and blasted the heat. Starving is an understatement. We went into Hanalei and ate a huge burger and fries for lunch, washed down with a big, cold sodie.

Now THAT’S an adventure.

There’s a couple hidden campsites on the trail that you should take the time to find! I know one in particular under a Hala tree, bordered by a rock wall (that’s perfect for candles) and taro plants. Secluded and peaceful, and a private access to the river.

Do one of the helicopter rides. We went on one last year. At one point of the trip we went out over the ocean and saw whales with their calves in the water below. The Valley of the KIngs was very majestic with it’s tall and narrow mountain spikes. My helicopter pilot was very gorgeous too (lol).