Thus far, our Kauai experience centered on a lot of hiking and biking. Kyra insisted we spend a day being lazy on a beach, so that’s exactly what we did.
It was only in the 70’s, but the sun beat down hard and we all had our pale winter skin, so we had to lather on the sunscreen to avoid being burned to a crisp.
Kyra loved it. She had a sweet sun bonnet she’d picked up for a few bucks at a thrift store, and it was a perfect accessory to her outfit.
After baking for a few hours, we cruised in the convertible for a bit.
I admit, at the end of the day we all had to apply some aloe. The sun can be a harsh mistress.
You can’t go to Kauai without seeing Waimea Canyon. It may not be as stunning as the Na Pali Coast, but it’s a close second. On the road up the canyon, we were treated to some breathtaking views of a vast green landscape.
I took a few panoramic shots, because even my wide-angle lens couldn’t capture the breadth of what we could see.
As we continued the climb up the canyon road, we were treated to a great view of Waipo’o Falls, a towering 800-foot waterfall.
We passed a few of the crowded viewpoints because we wanted to hit the top: the Pu’u O Kila Lookout. We noticed Kyra had fallen asleep in the back seat. Again?
Up at Pu’u O Kila, we started up the Pihea Trail. We’d been here before, many years ago, and were disappointed by the view. Here’s the photo from 2019, where we looked down into the Kalalau Valley but saw nothing but fog:
And here’s the view this time from almost the same spot:
Some research taught me that there are often clouds in this valley because the moist sea air sweeps in and moves up the cliffs, turning into vast cloud banks. Even though it was sunny in the east, the west was nothing but fog. It was disappointing, but we pressed on.
And then the clouds parted!
It was astounding.
Words really can’t describe the view along this valley to the distant ocean. It was fascinating to watch the clouds move in and out… the view changed literally in minutes, shrouding the scene in fog again…
… and then clearing out to reveal the green and brown and blue far below.
It’s worth noting the shoreline at the far end of the valley is Kalalau Beach, the terminus of the Kalalau Trail and its eleven-mile hike along the Na Pali Coast. It was interesting to see it from such a different perspective.
After some effort, we reached the top of the trail. It’s not obvious from this photo, but two steps behind Kyra and Pepper, there’s a sheer cliff that drops a thousand feet straight down. It’s a little unnerving to peek out over the edge.
We stayed for a while, marveling at the view and chatting with a family from Kauai who’d hiked the trail behind us. Eventually we bid farewell to the valley and headed back to the canyon. We did a few short hikes, basking in each new vista.
Arizona’s Grand Canyon is incredible, but I think I like Waimea even better.
It’s like the Grand Canyon has been sprinkled with waterfalls and greenery!
It was another great day exploring a place unlike any other.
Another fun Hawai’ian place name to say is Ho’opi’i. We hadn’t been here on our previous trip to Kauai, but decided to check it out. The trail descended into a thick forest and crossed a shallow river.
Like many places in Hawai’i, everything was incredibly green. The underbrush was impassible, and vines absolutely covered the trees. It was kind of surreal.
Eventually we reached Ho’opi’i Falls, deep in the forest. They were really cool.
They’re much bigger than they look. After a snack at the falls, we headed back upriver and enjoyed just soaking our feet in the chilly water.
The hike was only a few miles, but (like the Kapa’a Bike Trail) we spent several hours enjoying it. Hiking here is unlike anywhere else I’ve ever been, with new wonders around each corner.
After our wet day on Kalalau, the forecast called for beautiful sunny weather. We drove up to Kapa’a (which is a lot of fun to say) and rented some cruiser bikes. They’re not very fashionable…
… but the trail along the eastern coast of Kauai makes for a wonderful ride. We cruised past several beaches, stopping often to watch the crashing waves.
Of course we had to just relax in the sand as well.
Pepper took a few selfies as we cruised along:
We went up and back along the entire bike trail, covering around sixteen miles in all. It took many hours because of all our stops, but the weather was fabulous. Definitely a fun way to spend an afternoon!
Three and a half years ago, we took a helicopter tour of the Na Pali Coast on the west shore of Kauai. Since that day, I’ve been looking forward to going back there to hike along the coast. On that first trip, we discovered (to our dismay) that you need a reservation just to park at the trailhead. This time around, I secured a reservation and a permit to hike the first two miles of the eleven-mile Kalalau Trail. The trail is generally known as one of the most beautiful, and most dangerous, hikes in the world. There are points where you’re walking along a cliff with a sheer drop of several hundred feet to the ocean. Pepper and Kyra weren’t too keen on that, but the portion on our permit doesn’t have any of that.
When we started out, the weather was chilly and rainy. It was in the low 50’s– pretty cold when you’re damp and wearing shorts. At the start of the trail, there are plenty of warnings for hikers:
Undeterred, we headed up the trail. It winds along the cliffs and affords some great views of the ocean to the west and the shoreline ahead and behind.
It was amazingly lush and green. With the constant drizzle, it was like walking through a rainforest.
After two miles we arrived at Hanakapi’ai Beach. The sun was shining by then, but a close observer might notice Kyra is completely soaked:
We considered hiking another two miles inland to Hanakapi’ai Falls, but the rain continued to threaten, and that trail is known to be extremely tricky because it fords streams and crosses a lot of rocks– both difficult in the rain. After some time at the beach, we headed back to the trailhead. The rain picked up in intensity and was soon pouring. The trail became a river of mud.
We didn’t let it dampen our spirits, though. By then the temperature had warmed up, so the rain was a nuisance but at least we weren’t shivering.
As we continued, the rain let up for a few minutes and I snapped some pictures of the coast again.
Eventually we came to Ke’e Beach and the trailhead. The sun came out, and a seal flopped onto the sand for a nap.
Despite the occasional sunny conditions, it was probably the wettest, muddiest hike I’ve ever done. Although I still want to hike the full length of the Kalalau Trail, there’s no way I would’ve done it in these conditions. It would’ve been deadly.
So Na Pali continues to stymie me. The next time we’re in Kauai, I’m planning to do the whole thing. It’ll be twenty-two miles round trip, and probably three days in all. Who’s with me?
We gave Kyra a graduation gift like no other. After she finished college in December, we told her we’d like to take her on a special trip: just the three of us, anywhere she wanted. At the time, we didn’t really know what we were getting into. In mid-February, she called and said she wanted to go to either Costa Rica or Hawai’i. The trip would have to happen in a few weeks, because she was about to start a new full-time job and would have some trouble getting time off. We explored the Costa Rica angle for a bit, but in the end none of us knew enough to plan on such short notice, so we agreed that Hawai’i– where we’ve been before– would be a simpler option.
My job was to organize the logistics. I booked flights, reserved rooms at various spots, and arranged rental cars. Kyra’s job was to fill in the rest with the activities and places she wanted to visit.
Away we went! We joined a few hundred people all excited about some time in the Aloha State.
Our itinerary had us spending a week in Kauai and a week in Maui. We started at Wailua Falls, which turned out to be kind of underwhelming because you could just stand on a cliff overlooking it, without any opportunity to hike down.
But hey, I was with my two favorite women, so it wasn’t all bad!
After a few more stops, we decided to hit a shave-ice place along the south shore. There’s nothing quite like a bunch of ice and flavored sugar juice next to the ocean.
We hiked along the Maha’ulepu Trail for a while. Like many place names in Hawai’i, it’s a mouthful, but I worked on pronouncing it until it rolled off my tongue. It’s fun to “speak” Hawai’ian. The views from atop the cliffs were awesome.
The rental car company was running a special that week, and convertibles cost the same as a “compact” car. Why drive a Kia when you can rumble around in a Mustang?
The roof went up and down really easily, which turned out to be a good thing because it would rain for a few minutes while we were driving (stop and put roof up), and then a few miles later the weather would change to bright sun (stop again and put roof down). Regardless, we all agreed a convertible is the way to go.
The most Kauai thing about Kauai is… the roosters. Those guys are everywhere. They wander the parks and roads and forests; they cock-a-doodle-doo all day. I’ve never seen someone feed them, but they’re definitely not afraid of people. At one point we were sitting at a picnic table having lunch and we were gradually surrounded by a gang of them. One of these days they’re going to rise up in revolt.
As twilight fell on our first day on the island, we decided to lounge on the beach and enjoy the sunset. It was, of course, gorgeous.
It was funny to see a massive crowd of people with the same idea:
Overall, it was a pretty lazy day. We headed to the house where we were staying and prepared for the big day ahead…
