Kauai

[edhaman]

I lived in Hawaii for over 3 years, visiting Kauai several times; and I've been back for a vacation since then. However, I don't have much to add to what's already been said about hiking. At least do the first 2 miles of the Kalalau Trail, which will take you to the first beach. Outside of hiking, I'd recommend taking a ride along the Na Pali coast in an inflatable boat. They depart from the Kekaha/Waimea area on the southeast shore of Kauai. They'll take you into spectacular caves along the coast, and let you swim/snorkel with giant sea turtles.

[cloudust]

Matt - your photography is beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing! - beth

[Kitten]

Agree with everything that has been suggested. The Kalalau trail is a must do in Kauai! Just finished writing a trip report from May (I almost gave up but I thought it might be of interest after reading this thread):

http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepor ... m=tripuser

There is another trip report from 2010 as well:

http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepor ... ki=Include

Don't forget to get the permit way in advance.

Enjoy Kauai!!

[gatorchick]

Hey 14ers folks! I haven't posted here (or hiked a 14er ...) in forever but I still lurk every once in a while.

Anyway, I thought I would bump this thread. I was wondering if any of you who have hiked Kalalau (the whole thing) can comment on how difficult and sketchy it is compared to our 14ers?

My husband and I are planning a trip out there in May to do the whole trail. We did the hike out to the first beach and then up to the falls a couple years ago and have been dreaming about going back ever since! We are doing our homework and well aware of the dangers (river crossings, flash floods, etc.) but I'd love to get some firsthand input from the folks that hike the same kind of stuff we do as to just how hard this thing is (because the internet makes it sound like CERTAIN DEATH ).

We are in very good shape and I'm not worried about the physical aspect of it. I just don't want to fall from a cliff to my death which a lot of the trip reports out there seem to make sound highly likely. I've done a bunch of 14ers including a few Class 3s and haven't had any trouble and we seem to handle exposure pretty well. I keep seeing this trail on all sorts of top 10 lists, including "10 most dangerous trails in the world" and that's disconcerting but then I see Longs on the same list and wonder how bad it can really be? As a side note, I haven't actually DONE Longs but nothing about it screams "certain death" to me.

Google tells me that deaths from people falling from the ledges are actually pretty rare (although it does happen). It looks like what is actually kills people on Kalalau is the river crossings or trying to swim at the beaches. I'm not worried about these things - we're smart, not hellbent on taking a dip, and plan to have permits for a couple more nights than we need in case the weather doesn't cooperate.

Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone that's been there/done that can comment? Kauai is probably a pretty great place to die but I'd rather it not happen just yet!

[greenhorn1]

I hiked the trail to the end and back in a day with my spouse. The trail was dry and weather conditions were good. That may make a difference since the second time I hiked a shorter portion of the Kalalau, it had rained recently and was a slippery mess. The first time though I do remember crawling on my hands and knees, and also crying to myself for several portions of the trail. These portions of the trail were basically a tiny ledge carved out of a cliff with ocean waves crashing into the rocks below. These sections also seemed to be very windy as well which added to my fears of falling down the cliff. My spouse, however, didn't seemed bothered, nor did he crawl on any portion of the trail.
We also encountered several nudists on the hike and at the end of the trail were somewhat dissapointed to see a dirty campground with squatters living on the beach. There was even a library set up in the trees - I don't know if that still exists or not, but kind of takes away from the paradise the area could be if people left no trace and just stayed only a day or two.
Good luck on your hike.

[Breckskier]

I spent a week on Kauai in September and hiked the trail and camped at the end. I found all reports of the dangers to be INSANELY overrated. The so called "crawlers ledge" is exposed but is pretty much a highway about 4 feet wide. You would literally have to trip over yourself to fall off of it. It did freak my girlfriend out a bit but she made it across the section just fine. I have a pretty good pic of her smiling halfway through it. Its only about 50 yds long. The entire trail is nothing more than Class I.

In the spring I would be more worried about the river crossings as the high runoff at that time of the year would be much more of a concern than falling off the ledge.

Definitely plan to hike in one day, spend a full day and hike out the next at the minimum as it is pretty much a full day hike. Be sure to check out the swimming hole up in the forest and hit the community garden for fresh veggies on the way back to camp.

I've been working on a a writeup of the trail but just haven't gotten around to finishing anything more than some incoherent babble yet. PM me if you'd like some more details or any pics.

[climbing_rob]

I've hiked the Kalalau 3 times now, all the way out and back twice, once in a day the other time camping at the end. FANTASTIC trail, I remember about 22 miles roundtrip, very doable in a day really. You supposedly need a permit even if you are not overnighting it, but we didn't bother that time (we did get a permit when we camped at the end). There were a zillion "bums", AKA: Kauai Homeless living out near the end of the trail, kind a messes it up, looks like a "tarp village" out there.

However you do it, do hike all the way to the end.

BTW: I swore next time I went there I'd take microspikes or some other traction device. Really, not a bad idea, a few place it get ridiculously muddy, and mud there is extremely slick. Most of the really slick spots are in the first few miles.

I honestly never once found any part of the trail "exposed and dangerous", as has been said, you'd have to practically throw yourself off of it. But if you do, you will probably get pounded to mush in the surf!

[gatorchick]

Thanks you guys! That was really helpful and kind of what I was expecting (and hoping!) you'd say. We're planning on a minimum of two nights out there so we have at least a day to relax and do some short hikes in the valley.

What kind of shoes did you guys wear? I typically hike in trail running shoes but I'm wondering if I should maybe wear something more beefy for this? I did the hike to the falls in Chacos but I'm thinking that will probably be a bad idea for the whole thing. Microspikes seem like a great idea in the event that it gets slick!

[climbing_rob]

What kind of shoes did you guys wear? I typically hike in trail running shoes but I'm wondering if I should maybe wear something more beefy for this? I did the hike to the falls in Chacos but I'm thinking that will probably be a bad idea for the whole thing. Microspikes seem like a great idea in the event that it gets slick!

Trail runners are perfect, but make sure they have relatively fresh tread (fairly new).

[greenhorn1]

I wore trail runners and pants that zipped off into shorts. Also wore a large rimmed hat since we were hiking from morning until evening in the full sun.

[smrcka]

We were on the Kalalau Trail day after Christmas two weeks ago. One key is watching for dry weather and avoiding wet weather. The river can become uncrossable after rain and your very near the wettest place on earth. I think something like 350 inches per year just a few miles inland. Day before Christmas Eve, 24 hikers had to be rescued because the river rose too high to cross. Even after several days of dry weather the trail was a muddy mess. The primary goal became "don't slip and fall" in the mud and most hikers we saw were not successful in reaching that goal. Beautiful views and a "must do" for any hiker visiting Kauai. I was wearing light hikers but was wishing I had some Tevas or Keens as the mud was difficult to clean off. I was also wishing I had a hiking staff or poles to assist through extra slippery areas. We only made it to mile 2 as I deemed the river to high for safe crossing for my daughter (and me for that matter). I understand the other 8 ore so miles past the river is where there are supposedly some pretty gnarly sections, but we didn't experience any of that. Good luck, have a blast and make sure you swim with the turtles! We used Tour Z Zodiac snorkeling and diving company and it was great.