Hardwear Sessions

The plan was to hike the 11 mile Kalalau Trail. At Kalalau Beach we would spend the night in a couple of Lightpath 2 & 3 tents and then head back out the following day. The appeal of Kalalau Beach is that it lies right beneath the sheer, lush green cliffs at the base of the Kalalau Valley (there are some resident hippies living the "high" life in the valley), and is only accessible by foot or kayak. Permits are required, and kayaking isn't available in the winter months. No other trails are available, so anyone that wants to see it first hand has to put in the effort to get there.

Along for the hike were my father-in-law Ed and brother-in-law Nate. We got an early start and quickly realized how long a day it would be as the trail started ascending away from the beach. It only takes a few twists and turns before you are rewarded with awesome views of the Napali coastline stretching as far as you can see. A couple of guys ran by on their morning "jog" and I couldn't help but feel a little jealous of their morning routine.

2 miles in we reached Hanakapi'ai Beach. Nailed to a tree was a tally board with drowning deaths carved into it (about 80+) warning visitors to not swim in the surf. I got the point. Heading back up the wet trail out of the valley we were happy to be wearing the Hurricane Ridge and CTC Mid (both Gore-Tex) from Montrail. Having dry feet on that trail made all the difference as the footing deteriorated. Throughout the day we experienced the variable weather that comes with the north shore of Kauai. Sunny one minute, torrential down pour the next.

The next 4 miles to Hanakoa Valley provided more spectacular views of inaccessible waterfalls and coast line. It was in this section that we got our first taste of the very narrow trail sections that are scattered along the route. Some have no vegetation at all on the outside edge, so a little slip would mean a nice long fall down the sheer cliffs to the ocean below. Add in some nice red mud after a few heavy rain showers throughout the day and the trail became sort of an issue. A bigger issue then I had anticipated.

About a mile after we left the Hanakoa Valley we reached a section of the trail that I knew would be an issue from trip reports I had seen while doing research. The trail becomes very exposed about 100ft above the sea, and narrows down to a couple feet in width. Most people spend some time holding on to the rock walls while they inch their way along this section. It is not recommended in wet weather, and wouldn't you know it started to pour right as we got there. Then the wind started up. On top of that, a couple of hours prior to reaching that point Nate decided to share with me that he was awakened that morning about 3am from a nightmare where he was trying to save us as we hung from the side of a cliff. So, staring at the trail ahead I couldn't think about much else. Thanks Nate. My decision became a bit easier when Ed, without consultation, turned around and started climbing back up the cliff in the opposite direction. I looked at Nate and said, "I guess we are going back." Instead of spending the night we hiked all the way back to the car.

I didn't get to meet the hippies in Kalalau Valley, but I still had a blast. Make sure you do this hike if you are ever in Kauai.