Day 12: The Kalalau Trail
So began our biggest adventure…..
Bill and I laugh a little when we look at the fact that we packed an entire big suitcase with camping gear for this one trip, this one night. After reading about this trip though, I just knew that I wanted to do it.
First, the facts. The Kalalau Trail is eleven miles of trail that traverses the famous Na Pali Coast – the gorgeous jungle-grown knife-sharp lava peaks that make up this north coast of Kauai. There is no way to adequately describe this trail or give an accurate picture, but to try, basically you are walking on the edge of each cliff, going around the jagged points and into the U-shapes of the valleys, sometimes up high, sometimes descending lower. This is hands down the hardest trail I have ever been on, requiring not only a lot of endurance but also great concentration in placing your feet so as not to fall off the cliff into the ocean.
We started off around 9:30 at Ke’e Beach, where we parked and left our vehicle. Bill was carrying a 35 pound pack with sleeping bags, a beach pop-up tent, his extra change of clothes, camp pillows and towels, first aid, water filter, tiny lantern, and camcorder. I was packing 20 pounds – my change of clothes, very limited toiletries (2 toothbrushes, 2 small tubes of sunscreen, and contact case and solution) (yes, that means no deodorant, no soap, no shampoo, etc – rustic!), guide book and map, advil, arnica gel, 100 ounces of water, and all of our food (mainly Cliff bars – a few other misc things). We meant to get started earlier, but it didn’t happen.
The first two miles of this trail lead up to a ridge then back down to another beach (Hanakapi’ai) with a large boulder-strewn stream. Now these two miles were pretty easy, comparatively speaking. The trail was wide, with roots and rocks to keep footing sure. At the stream, we dipped in to cool off, and filled up on our water.
Miles 2-6 began to show the true colors of the hike. The trail first ascended from the beach up to a cliff, the trail becoming more narrow with each switchback. From here on, the trail was mostly on the edge of each cliff; sometimes there was straggly brush or bushes on the cliff side, sometimes, it fell away in a red dusty slope. Sometimes, it smoothed out with jungle comfortingly on each side. But mostly, it was a foot-wide trail, dropping off to the ocean. But around each point was another and yet another staggeringly gorgeous view of the Na Pali Coast.
Around mile 4, we had used up all our water and the big stream we were expecting at 5 was dry. Fortunately, I had two Naked drinks along to supplement this dry spell, knowing we would be to the Hanakoa stream at mile 6. We finally made mile 6 and quickly shed our shoes and hopped in for a swim to cool off and ate some food and refilled the water.
The next part of this trail proved to be the most dangerous and the toughest yet. First, we ascended out of the stream area where the jungle was still lush and green. All of the sudden, around the point, it became dry red, orange, and yellow sand (think southwest desert). We had heard about this part of the trail and I admit, I was a bit nervous. The narrow trail before was bad enough, but a least was fairly firm soil with only the occasional washout. This was either sand or pads of sliding pebbles. There were sections, sometimes over a foot or so, of washout. Sometimes the trail was about four inches wide. The trail was exactly on the cliff edge and fell to the rocks or ocean down a dusty desert-like slope. If you fell here, you were a goner. When we turned and looked at an opposite slope we had just hiked, it looked like a slash in the side of the red hill.
This went on for about a mile and a half – slow, very careful walking, carefully testing step after step for sureness. The ocean beneath us was turquoise – brilliant and sparkling, teasing with its cool wet promise as we became hotter and dustier. Then the winds started whipping around the points, making us have to be even more careful. Then we hit “crawler’s ledge” as it is affectionately called. This actually wasn’t as bad as other parts of the trail – yes, you inch around a point on a ledge of rock, holding onto the boulder on the inside of the trail, but at least you are on ROCK not sliding pebbles and sand!
Finally the precarious two miles ended, but a little after mile 8, Bill and I off-roaded to a little waterfall (unintentionally) and it took us some time and energy to wind our way back to the correct trail. This was a little discouraging, as it meant that we would get into Kalalau later than we had hoped. But back on the trail we pushed on, tired, exhausted, but soaking in the incredible Kalalau Valley now stretched around us. After mile 9, we began a steep descent down more desert-like points to the stream at ten. These views were without equal!
From mile 10 to 11 was actually a flat path backing the mile-long Kalalau Beach. We walked all the way to the end where Kalalau Falls was, to set up our “camp” down by the fresh water. Our off-road venture put us behind and we got there around 6:30, making our trip total 9 hours. We first went for a quick dip in the ocean, the back to the waterfall to “shower” off. Then we quickly changed into dry clothes, threw our sleeping bags on the sand, and watched the sunset. When it became dark, we threw up the beach tent (a 2-sided shade thingy, mainly for kids) and sank into exhausted but fitful slumber.
So, stars shining overhead, ocean crashing in front of us, a waterfall flowing behind us- what an experience! We had hoped to explore the beach and cave and ocean off to the left of Kalalau but did not have the time. We still enjoyed our brief stay there, although VERY rough. If I did this again, I would want some more time at Kalalau, and maybe a few more personal comforts to go along with it.
All in all, very tough, but very incredible. Don’t worry – tomorrow’s won’t be quite the epic – I’ll keep it shorter! : )
