The Kalalau Trail

The Kalalau Trail along Kauai's infamous Na Pali coastline is esteemed as one of the world's greatest treks. However, on paper, this doesn't really make sense. It's an eleven mile trek along a narrow trail carved into the side of rugged mountains that quickly ascend 1,000 of feet from the sea. The fact that the wettest spot on earth is directly above this trail ensures that it is always dangerously wet & prone to disappear completely under the frequent mud slide. There are no restroom facilities aside from the two composting toilets, and all water sources (aka streams, waterfall, ponds, etc.) are known to contain the bacteria leptospirosis...which will inspire a prolonged gnarly flu. And if you do reach the end of the trail, you've got to turn around and hike back the way you came.

On photographic paper, it looks like this:


So as you can see we made a wise decision; and @ 7am on Friday morning we set out on a 3 day (2 night) hike , equipped with the following:

• A "youth" tent from Wal Mart (measuring 5' x 6'), which as you might expect is too small for any non-midget
• Two fleece sleeping bags
  
• Two bags of trail mix, a half pound of steak, 200 oz. of water, water purification tabs, 8 kudos bars that we acquired from stealing children's lunches from a school bus, a gallon of red quinoa, 4 salmon cups, and 6 snickers bars (save the best for last)

The trail certainly did not disappoint in any respect, good or bad. It was long, it was strenuous, it was breathtaking. For the first 6 miles we traveled through rain forest type terrain: winding through dense canopy, crossing streams and stumbling over tree roots. Then somewhat abruptly, the climate changed and we emerged into what was seemingly a desert by comparison. The trail wound along red-barren* (no, not like the delicious pizza) volcanic mountains with amazing views of the transparent, electric blue water below.

*not to be confused with the manufacturer of delicious frozen pizzas


We continued throughout the day, periodically stopping at one of the man incredible vistas to take in the true brilliance of the Na Pali coastline. In front of us an endlessly vast ocean, to the left and right were the silhouettes of nearly vertical mountains; all together it was a vibrant contrast of reds, greens & blues (I'm pretty sure those are the primary colors) that is unparalleled on this planet. And somehow, we made it to the end.


The trail ends in this, worth every step of the 11 mile trek. You can go no further, not that you'd really want to. Many people make it this far and decide not to return. They plant a garden, get rid of their clothes and work on their tan...needless to say, a simpler lifestyle than most.