Kalalau Trail, Na Pali Coast (Pt 2/5) – July 14 2011

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Arriving in Lihue around 6am, the Lost Trailblazers (Jenelyn Castillo, Jennifer Liu, Reanne Solomon, David Chatsuthiphan, Troy Takara and myself) made sure to eat a caloric McDonalds breakfast and purchase the rest of our camp checklists at Walmart, i.e. alcohol and bottle water, since most stores are not open around that time… NOTE: Walmart does not sell Bacardi 151 (Fail for the Jens and Reanne, lol). We set off for Haena around 715am, and reached the Kalalau trailhead by 9am.

Needing to repack to accommodate water and other gear, as well as needing to park the rental car at a nearby residence, we didn’t start the trail until ~ 930am. NOTE: I would recommend either getting dropped off at the trailhead, or parking your rental car elsewhere than Kee Beach for the duration of your trip.

After taking several group pictures and reading some of the informative signs, we were off.

The beginning of the trail, up until Hanakapiai is wide and well kept (Above: Kee Beach and Haena in background).

Lost Trailblazers at the first stream crossing, one valley before Hanakapiai.

Within an hour or so, we reached the Hanakapiai Beach Lookout.

We appreciated the view for a bit, before making the stream crossing at the trough of the valley. Some of us rock hopped, while other took off their shoes and went barefoot. Please be careful while crossing, the rocks are extremely slippery… particularly if the stream is much higher than usual from rain, as it was for us the morning of our trek into Kalalau.

Hanakapiai is not open to camping, though it is a common day hike or swim for both locals and tourists. The Hanakapiai Valley trail, which leads to a large waterfall, is also a popular hike for many when not actually backpacking the entire Na Pali Coast to Kalalau. Be careful if you swim here, as the westward current is very strong, particularly later in the day.

Coming out of Hanakapiai is a grinder. This is probably the longest switchback of the entire Na Pali Coast, and many of us were feeling the weight of our 30-50 lb packs digging into our hips.

At least the views were amazing to keep us motivated and to push on to Hanakoa.

Wherever there were elevated boulders to sit/rest our packs on, we took a break. It also made it easier to put our packs back on since we didn’t have to pick them up from ground level.

Another switchback in the valley just before Hanakoa. Note the canoe rest spot notched into the coastline.

We eventually arrived at Hanakoa valley around 230 pm or so.

Hanakoa valley is the near half-way point or 6 mile mark TO Kalalau Valley.

We took another break and fueled up in a shaded area next to some small waterfalls.

We headed out of Hanakoa around 3pm and we’re greeted by this sign soon after.

This area of the trail is probably the most narrow and eroded.

Both the inner and outer part of the trail is absent of vegetation and extremely steep, and the wetness of the trail did not add to any doubts of safety.

One missed step and you could go sliding into the ocean…

… but not before bouncing around down the side of the cliffs. Right Seth? lol.

Once out of the most dangerous eroded cliff area,

we encountered more steep eroded areas… just not as dangerous (Note the arch in the lower left part of the photo).

But at least we were motivated because we caught glimpses of Kalalau Beach off in the distance.

There are also several mile-markers on the trail to motivate you (or demotivate you, depending on how you feel at the moment).

And before we knew it, we were there! or at least almost there. The sign is not the end point and is ~ 9.5 mile mark, and the 10 mile mark is near Kalalau Stream.

Regardless, the victory was worthy enough to unpack my tripod for several group pictures.

Just after the sign was the red dirt hill of tears… as some of my friends call it (from previous Kalalau Trips). The significance is from when you have come back up the hill. There are no switchbacks on it and therefore fairly graded.

When the steepness subsides, you are just around the corner to the campsites.

… and we made it just in time for the sunset on Day 1 (around 630 pm). I think we could have made it to Kalalau much sooner, but the wet trail made the footing much less stable with our heavy packs. If the trail was dry, I’m sure we would’ve arrived at least an hour earlier. We took 6.5 hours to get from Kalalau to Haena with lighter packs and good weather, so your time on the trail may just depend how wet it is, the quality of your conditioning and how heavy your pack is.

Note this is a 5-part series. Preparation, further write-ups and Kalalau Photo Gallery can be found at the top of the page.

To view this location on a Google Map also known as my “Adventure Map“, Click Here. To view all the photos from our trip, click on the Kalalau 2011 Photography Gallery. For more adventures of the Lost Trailblazers, either look at my other blogposts and “Adventures with the Lost Trailblazers” photo gallery or check out Troy’s Blogspot and David’s website “UnrealHawaii.com“.