Backpacking the Na Pali Coast on the Kalalau Trail

In planning our trip to Kauai, Katie and I decided that we would like to backpack along the Na Pali Coast. The coast is formed by a series of sharp cliffs that are hard to describe, but look really cool. I really wanted to try backpacking it, and Katie was interested because the views from the trail are supposed to be amazing. Also, it is a part of the island that is inaccessible to cars, so the only ways to see it are to hike or take a boat. There is an 11-mile trail, the Kalalau trail, that goes along the coast to a beach where you can camp, but the only way back out is the way you came in. Since my parents would be with us on the trip, we asked them if they would be willing to watch Penelope while we went backpacking. They agreed, so we were able to do the backpacking trip. We didn't want to stay away from Penelope for too long, and we weren't sure how Penelope would handle being away from both of us at the same time, so we decided to try to do the trip in two days with a single night of camping. That was a pretty lofty goal, since it would mean back-to-back days of 11-mile hikes, but we thought we were up for it. As a backup plan, we knew that we could camp at a half-way site only 6 miles in.

We borrowed some equipment from our friends Emily and Joe, so in the end all we needed to get in Kauai was some fuel for our stove (not allowed on the plane) and some matches. I also bought a hand-held GPS unit with my birthday money (thanks Kris and Pieter!) and used that to keep track of our progress. It turned out to be really useful in deciding whether we should push on to the end or stop half-way. We woke up early in the morning to get an early start on the hike. Luckily for us, Penelope woke up before we had to go. I was surprised by how hard it was to say goodbye to her, even though we would only be gone for one night. Being away from her was pretty difficult, and I was glad we decided to keep the trip so short.

As has become my custom on trips like this, I wrote in my journal after each day of our trip. Here is what I wrote (warning, it's long).

Hanakoa Valley
November 27th, 2011 - 4:45pm

Today, Katie and I attempted the 11 mile Kalalau Trail along the Na Pali Coast. Sadly, we did not make it the full 11 miles to camp on the beach. The trail was too difficult for us to do in one day, so we hiked in 6.5 miles, then camped at a midway spot around the 6-mile mark. We didn't have enough energy to make it the 5 more miles before sunset, which would have been too dangerous and risky for us.

The trail started from Ke'e Beach, where we parked our car and put on our packs (thanks Emily and Joe for the loaners). The first two miles of the trail are very well maintained and a popular spot for day-hikers. We made excellent time over those two miles and felt pretty good about ourselves. The two miles ended with a a fairly treacherous river crossing to get to a huge beach with incredibly rough surf. Definitely not a beach for swimming, the waves were huge. After the beach, most of the day-hikers turn around, but we kept going. We had a permit that allowed us to camp at either of the two campgrounds. Our hope was to make it all the way to the end, but we had the midway campsite as a backup plan.

The hike from the beach to Hanakoa valley included the hardest part of the hike: a climb of 800ft over many switchbacks. The elevation was not that much, but the trail conditions were horrible. Lots of mud, and a very narrow trail, with sheer cliffs on the sides. The climb went pretty well but was exhausting. When we got to the top and started heading back into the next valley, we were optimistic that we were still on track to reach the end. The climb slowed us down, but we hoped to make it up as we went.

Unfortunately, the trail was unforgiving, and while the elevation changes improved, the trail conditions got worse. For many parts of the trail, it became about one foot wide and very muddy. Other parts were dry, but narrow all the way, with incredibly sheer cliffs. Looking down was scary. The difficult conditions slowed us down and sapped our energy, all the while we were thinking, "we have to do this again tomorrow."

At one particularly narrow and muddy point, one of my feet slipped off the trail and I caught myself with one leg kneeling and the other leg off the trail. In the process, my water bottle slipped from its holder and fell down into the valley, never to be seen again. Better the water bottle than me. I picked myself up, went a few more feet, and then slipped again, exactly the same way as before. That was a confidence shaker. Luckily, it never happened again, but I don't look forward to going through that section again.

While we did the first two miles in about an hour, the next four took us about 3 1/2 hours, including rest stops. With 5 more miles to go and less than 5 hours of daylight left, we decided it wasn't safe to go all the way to the end. By the 6-mile campground, we were moving pretty slowly, and I was concerned we would only get slower as we went. It was only about 2pm, so it was pretty disappointing to give up so early in the day, but even if we had made it, we then would have hiked the whole 11 miles back out the next day on very tired legs. And yes, this is me trying to justify our decision to make up for the disappointment of not getting all the way to the end. If we had an extra day, we probably would have gone for it and then laid on the beach the next day to recover.

At the 6-mile campground, we dropped off Katie's pack and my tent and hiked about another half mile to a nice viewpoint. From there, we could see both ways along the Na Pali Coast. It was really an amazing coast, and when we weren't trying to avoid falling off the trail, it was amazing to look at. Of course, some of the best views were actually from the easy first two miles of the hike, but being out along the edge of the cliffs was scary, stunning, exciting, and breathtaking all at once. Quite an amazing trail.

We returned to our campground and picked a nice site. Lots of bugs and no view like the beach campground at the end, but it would have to do. We got water from a nearby stream, and the water felt great on my face. I took a mini bath to get some of the dirt and sweat off, which felt really good. We treated some water for drinking on our hike back tomorrow, and boiled some for dinner. We had beef chili mac and canned corn (go pop-top lid!), and it tasted great. We had some creme wafers for desert. Yummy.

After dinner, Katie curled up in the tent to relax and read a book. I hiked up the trail to a nice clearing to watch the sunset and write this journal entry. The sun is just off the horizon now, so I'm going to take photos now (it's 5:45pm). Then I'll head back to camp and go to sleep.

The Point at Po'ipu
November 28th, 2011 - 9:00PM

Katie and I made it out of the Na Pali Coast today. Last night was super windy at the campground, and the trees made lots of noise. It was a bit hard to sleep, but the temperature was very pleasant.

We both woke up around daybreak at about 6:30AM. We had our standard camping breakfast (oatmeal) and packed up our stuff. We left our packs and did a short 1/2 mile hike into the Hanakoa Valley to see a pretty cool waterfall. It was our consolation prize for not making it all the way in. It was also nice to do some hiking without our packs.

After the waterfall hike, we put on our packs and headed back out on the trail. The weather was a bit overcast, hiding some of the views, but it felt hotter than the day before. While the trail was still difficult, we felt a lot more confident on it was somewhat fresher legs. Still, it was clear that we made the right choice to camp half way in. We were just not prepared to do the whole 11 miles to days in a row.

The hike out was mostly uneventful. We maintained our pace from the day before. We also noticed guava trees growing along the trail, so I started looking for ripe ones to eat as we hiked. About 3 miles in we came to one of the nicer viewpoints along the trail. We stopped for the view, and I bent down on one knee, and asked Katie to marry me, again. I had brought her engagement ring, which she left at the hotel, with me in my pocket. I had always wondered what it would be like to propose in some exotic locale, although in reality the surroundings barely matter when you are proposing for real, and I always enjoy coming up with ways to surprise Katie. When I re-proposed, she looked at me with a surprised/humored look on her face and said, "Of course!" It was a fun moment for us to share. Then we continued on our hike (and no, there will not be another wedding).

After four miles, we came to the end of the hard part of the trail. There was a nice beach, and we stopped to have lunch. Then we loaded up again to hike the last two miles back to the car. While the trail on this part was much better and wider, we were so tired by this point that it was still exhausting. My knees were ready to give out, while Katie's toes were on fire. We just kept pushing on, knowing the end was near, and happy that we hadn't gone all the way in.

At the end of the trail was Ke'e Beach. The day before it was not swim-able, but today it was perfect and calm. WE changed into our bathing suits and went for a swim in the ocean. It felt amazing to wash all the sweat and dirt away. A great way to end a very strenuous hike. After our swim, we loaded up the car and drove to Hanalei to meet my parents and Penelope. We were very excited to see her again. We had really missed being with her.

We all drove back to tour hotel in Po'ipu, fed Penelope her dinner, and put her to bed. Then the rest of us had our dinner. After eating, Katie and I went for a dip in the hot tub. That felt great, too. The perfect ending to our Kalalau adventure.