On Tuesday 1/14 we put on our hiking shoes, packed water and snacks, and headed to one of the world’s most beautiful and treacherous hikes – the Kalalau Trail. To get to the trailhead, we went through Hanalei on the Kuhio Highway (not really a highway by New York standards!) and followed the road along the bay and north coast until it ended, literally. You cannot circumnavigate Kauai; the reason is the range of mountains (formerly volcanoes) that are part of the Hono’Onapali Natural Reserve area and Na Pali Coast. A series of connected natural reserves encompass approximately 40- 50% of the Island of Kauai. Because Na Pali’s cliffs go directly into the ocean, there is only a foot trail that will take you part of the way down the northwestern coast. Kalalau is 11 miles long, one way, and ends at Kalalau Beach. Along the way, hikers experience the most amazingly beautiful views, waterfalls and beaches – but it comes with a price.

Warning signs at Kalalau Trail head!

Backpacker magazine calls the Kalalau one of America’s 10 most dangerous hikes, and for good reason. The trail winds along the side of mountains with 300’ cliffs that dump into the ocean. If heights don’t have an effect on you, the fact that the trail is rocky, crumbly and slippery might give you pause. Nevertheless, signs at the entry to the trail don’t seem to stop people from venturing on in flip-flops and looking otherwise completely unprepared for this kind of trek. Despite all of the opportunity for Kalalau hikers to unwittingly jettison themselves off of a cliff, there have been very few known fatalities on the trail itself. The much larger danger is associated with going in the water from the few, small beaches along the way – especially in winter. The surf can be seriously treacherous at times and over 100 people have lost their lives from being pulled out to sea while trying to cool down after a hot day on the trail.

Despite all these warnings, we decided to make a short trek of it and just go the first 2 miles from Ke’e Beach to Hanakapi’ai Beach. I have to say, this is definitely the most rugged trail I have ever been on. Some of the trail is dirt, but a large portion of it is uneven, smooth rocks that get very slippery when wet, even with my aggressive-soled hiking shoes.

I had a few moments of thinking about my favorite trail back home – Treman State Park – which can get kind of squirrely in parts. I often find myself complaining about the lack of money that New York State has for maintaining its state parks. I found myself wishing for even a taste of something like the most wrangled trails back home! For me, every step had to be thought about carefully in order to avoid a twisted ankle, a slip, or a fall. To tell you the truth, it was kind of tiring and I had to take more than a few short breaks along the way.

The Kalalau Trail

Beautiful Na Pali Coast

The views of the cliffs, the ocean and Ke’e Beach far below were so beautiful that it took my breath away time and again. I snapped a few pictures along the way but, just like when we took the catamaran cruise and viewed Na Pali from the water, photos just don’t give it justice. Looking up you see tall spires and peaks shooting up hundreds of feet. Looking down you see the terra cotta jagged cliffs that end on the rocky shore hundreds of feet below. From one vantage point, the trail widened and took a turn south and provided an incredible view down the Coast. On both the way out and back we found a few rocks to just sit and ponder this amazing place.

Hawaiians, who grew taro and other vegetables into the late 1800’s, inhabited several of the major valleys along the coast. They also created trails to link these settlements that are now part of the Kalalau. Since the early Hawaiians were expert sea navigators, they used canoes to access Na Pali’s remote valleys and to travel all over Polynesia.

So, some people were trekking along at a pretty good clip, and others, like me were taking it slower and with more caution. I noticed that it seemed the younger the hiker, the faster the pace! I guess getting older comes with a heightened weariness to falling. As well, being short has its positives and negatives in this kind of walk. Being 5’2”, I have a lower center of gravity, which adds to stability — and, I suppose I have less far to fall if I did. However, at 6’2”, Bill’s long legs definitely gave him an advantage on the steep drops and climbs. The whole time we were hiking, I felt very aware that there was a very steep and long drop just a foot or two off the narrow trail.

It seems like my confidence on the trail should have built over time, but instead, the further I went, the more anxious I got. A few tiny trips and slips on the rocks made my heart skip a beat and my adrenaline surge. At somewhere around ¾ of a mile, I realized that my shoulders were up somewhere around my ears and thought that perhaps I’d had enough for the day. Even though my body was perfectly capable of trekking on for several more miles, somehow my psyche was not. I remembered that this was not the first time I’ve had a reaction to high altitude and steep cliffs so I think it was good to call it a day.

As we headed back down to Ke’e Beach and revisited all of the beautiful vistas along the way, I reminded myself that we have time to come back on another day and go further on the trail. So I bid adieu to Na Pali and promised to come back for more of her splendor.