ADAM HAYDOCK

If you are camping over night, I suggest pushing for an early start as the sun will be behind the mountains for almost half the day, The total ascent is around 5000feet one way, the switch backs provide shade, water to purify, and the jungle portions will be a bit cooler than being on the spur roundabouts.  There is a desert like section where the trail narrows a bit and has a slighter potential to become risky but if care is taken, it is not bad.

 

 

For the first two miles I was in complete darkness. It was nice and quiet all the way to Hanakapi Beach.  The waves were tearing through this beach as the dim cloudy sun started to work its way through the nightfall. It was an experience in itself to be the only one on the trail in this section until some weary hikers came up from the Kalalau beach. They must have left around 4 am and hiked most of the trail in total darkness.

 



Kalalau Trail, Kauai Hawaii

The beautiful lush rain forest started to take form as the sun slowly created a gray dawn and I no longer needed my partial flickering incandescent headlamp.


Kalalau Trail, Kauai Hawaii

 

I was impressed with the nature of these plants and how unique they looked to other rain forests that I have visited in the past.





Kalalau Trail Kauai, Hawaii

Continuing on past the beach, the trail turned into a series of switchback directions and weaved itself through patches of forest and I followed a mid cliff ridge switching back a bit to the first and second significant spur.



Hanakoa Valley, Kalalau Trail, Kauai.

 This is where the trail started to get interesting. The whole time you follow the trail, you can hear the ocean waves smashing up onto the cliff walls and you can also see the debris from the wall washing away into the ocean from the torrent of wave action created below. Moving around the corner was a valley that had to be followed back to the wall and back up to the next major spur.



Kalalau Trail Kauai, Hawaii

 

The switch back into the valley offered a lot of terrain variation as it gave the trail a lot of personality from being out on a open cliff overlooking the sea, to being in a dense jungle that turns back out on another cliff overlooking the sea. That was one of the amazing attributes that this trail will offer you. 



Waterfall going into the ocean from one of the spurs on the Kalalau Trail.

 bending around this Spur, you could start to see the outline of the Kalalau Beach which appeared to be decently close but with all the switchbacks and spurs to go around, the trail was set to be a lot longer than it looks.



Hanakoa Valley, Kalalau Trail Kauai Hawaii

 The next valley is Hanakoa valley which was a bit bigger than the last valley and also is home to a beautiful waterfall and a pool at the bottom of the falls that I planned on visiting on my return from the beach. At the back of the valley switchback in the jungle is the 6 mile mark and a place where people can camp.  There appeared to be a lot of places to camp so I wouldn't worry too much about not finding a spot to park your weary legs to camp for the night before heading to the falls or the remaining trail.

 



Hanakoa Valley and Falls Kalalau Trail Kauai Hawaii

 You can see Hanakoa falls from the distance but I highly recommend you check this waterfall out as I have heard that it is the better of the two falls and quite a place to relax and hang out. You will prob have the waterfall to yourself.



Kalalau Trail Kauai Hawaii

Continuing on the trail, the environment got a bit drier and the trail kept the hikers along the cliff coast for the majority of the trip. There will be a few switchbacks but you also come up to the notorious section that has been deemed dangerous. Personally, I did not find this section dangerous, rather I found it to be quite easy to walk along as there were many foot holds and enough room for two lanes of hikers coming through but not much more.



Kalalau Trail Kauai Hawaii

 I can see where some people would find it a bit tricky and if it was raining out than it could be a bit more slippery yet I found that there were a lot of places to step and as long as you were paying attention, you will be fine. but pay attention!

 after passing this the mountians were shining with the suns rays cresting over the ridge.

Kalalau Trail Kauai Hawaii The Closer I got to the Kalalau Valley, the more majestic the views became. It was amazing to see the mountains and thankfully the sun was burning through the clouds to get some decent pictures.

Kalalau Trail Kauai Hawaii

 The kalalau Valley was starting to become in sight and the morning was moving on to late morning which I found surprising as I thought it was a couple hours earlier than it really was. I guess time flys when you are on mile 8 on one of the most beautiful trails on the planet.

Adam Haydock, Kalalau Trail Kauai Hawaii

 The final approach was within site and I wanted to get to the top of a mound and have lunch surrounding myself with the green mountains, valley and the Napoli Coast.

 There was a nice sign at the entrance of the valley resembling the entrance and a warm welcome to the Kalalau Valley.

 As I cooked up some lunch on the valley top, I could see some of the campers coming out of the valley and starting their journey back to Kee Beach and the Kalalau trailhead. The beach was another mile and a half but I stopped where I was so I could give myself time to check out a side waterfall.

 The sun and the humidity added to the challenge to get some quality photos but at least the sun was out which gave the valley some good shadowing and dynamic.

 After lunch I had to start heading back the way I came and as I was walking back,  I could feel the tug to stay in the valley of the Kalalau. I really wanted to stay where I was for hours, maybe even take a nap but time was going to run out fast and I had to start to head back.


Kalalau Trail Kauai Hawaii

 Next time I have to camp here and as a matter of fact, I want to take a kayak to Kalalau and Honopu beach.

 It was a bit warmer and that heat made the switchbacks a bit more sweaty but once I got back into the valleys, it wasn't bad.

 It was nice to see how the trail looked as I headed back to the trailhead as the sun shined on all of the green mountains and lit up the ocean the emitted an electric blue color.

 The waterfall was very impressive! It was multi tiered so all I could imagine was rappelling this fall from the top and imagining swimming in this dark blue pool but time did not allow so I took off back to the main trail.

 Along the way, some of the visitors of the Kalalau were building bamboo lean-to's in the wood just beyond the trail.

 As I continued back towards the trailhead, I was partial to think that I am going to start to run into the hoards of the adventure tourists and people taking a day out from the hotel to do something exciting, which is great but can get rather crowded at times.

As I got closer to the beach I started to see people that have gone beyond the 2 mile mark where you need a permit, naughty, naughty!! I knew I was getting close to the trailhead after seeing that which gave my legs some brief relief.                                     

I headed up the trail and have been striving to make it back to the car in 10 hours from when I left the trailhead at 6 am.

I was passing people left and right as they worked through their challenges of walking up the hills, some might have been a little annoyed that I was passing them by like I was the bad guy.

Finally I reached the top of kee beach and it was just in time as my legs started to scream at me for hiking 10,000ft of elevation, 20 miles, in around 11 hours. It felt like battery acid was pumping through my veins.

There was a large group of people watching the whales jump in the ocean which was actually pretty cool.

I finally made it back to the trailhead after 11 and a half hours, a day trip to the Kalalau has been complete.

It was incredible being on the trail but I wish I camped there and next time around, I will be kayaking to see the sea caves of the Napoli coast and camping on the beach will be most awesome.

The amazing thing about this trail is the variation of the environment that one can find with the reward of having a remote beach to enjoy.

Everyone that enjoys the outdoors should visit this place and stay for a few days or a week.  There are other beaches in the area that are even more remote which is something I cant wait to visit this again next year!

Kalalau Trail

 

Kauai is the oldest of the Hawaiian Islands that appear more like mountain tops that have grown out of the ocean 5.1 million years ago, than the traditional islands you might see in other equatorial destinations.  Kauai and the other 7 Hawaiian islands are in the middle of a dramatic trade wind jet stream that delivers abundant moisture and precipitation to the 8 islands in the middle of the Pacific.

Makauwahi cave, Kauai, Hawaii

 Kauai is composed primarily of a central shield volcano which built the island from layered basalt flows starting some 3.7 km below the surface of the ocean.  The Speleogeneological nature of the island is dominated by basalt lava flows of which have created the Napoli and Okolele formations. These formations have a major role in the flank collapses and Caldera fills, including the one in the Alakai Awamp where the Caldera has been filled in resulting in a region of impermeable water seepage creating what we know today as the Alakai Swamp and Mt. Waialeale, one of the wettest places on earth.

Waikapale caves, Kauai, hawaii

Naturally lava tubes would have been created if the lava flows allowed, but with the brittle formations of the Napoli and the Okolele formations, Karst and cave systems appear to be very few on the Island of Kauai.  However, there are a few small caves that I was able to locate on the Island within the time that I was there.  They are all touristy caves and I could also see some other grotto features in cliffs but nothing as extensive as some of the other lava tube systems on the other islands in Hawaii.

Makauwahi cave limestone, Kauai, Hawaii

One of the caves is called Makauwahi.  It is located in the southern region of Poipu near the Heritage trail. there is a small trail leading to the Sinkhole entrance which has a trail that leads through a small hole into a cavern and out into the bottom of the sink itself. Learn about the Heritage trail here.

Makauwahi cave, Kauai, Hawaii

There is a couple hundred feet of passage where a guide takes people on tours of the cave and its history.  The cave is relatively new and has been said to be between 700,000 years and 1,000,000 years old which is pretty new considering the islands were formed only 5 million years ago and typically caves, especially the ones in the Midwest, are around 250,000,000 and 350,000,000 years old. The cave is the only limestone cave on all of the islands which is interesting and has artifacts that can be found inside the cave include early Hawaiians conducting various ceremonies and pieces of extint shell and bone which have been washed into the sink during the last few ice ages.

formations in Makauwahi cave, Kauai, Hawaii

 I found that to be rather interesting as it is a collection dish of sorts throughout the last Holocene and Pleistocene eras.  The Sand is silky smooth and there are some popcorn formations and small stalactites in the cave. It is worth a visit if you are into geology or if you are just in the area, I recommend giving it a look.  The Next cave is called Maniniholo and is a very easy access cavern across the street from lifeguard beach where Tunnels beach is located. 

Maniniholo cave, Kauai, hawaii

Maniniholo Cave appears to be more of an old sea cave that has endured the trials of time and today, it is a dry and dormant cavern with some oxidizing material that can be found on the walls.

Maniniholo cave, Kauai, hawaii

 

Tunnels beach actually has some interesting lava formations in the form of broken up sea cave passage and short broken up lava basalt features 40ft underwater that swimmers and divers can visit when the tides are not ripping through the bay, unlike how it was when I was there.



Maniniholo cave, Kauai, hawaii

Waikanaloa and Waikapale caves are up the road a bit more and provide a impressive entrance which immediately leads to a water filled passage that abruptly ends.


Maniniholo cave, Kauai, hawaii

  From what I understand, the caves watercourse connect with the tides in the ocean and rainfall that lead out into the sea and divers have been in the cave water entrance but I cant find anymore information on where the passage goes or the results from the dive research.  The passage and cave is pretty big, with clear water, and looked tempting to rent dive gear to see where it goes.

Waikapale caves , Kauai, hawaii

 The govt. does not want anyone swimming in there due to Leptospirosis.  Interesting basalt entrances and caves but as far as exploration goes, I believe some of the other islands have more extensive passages than these caves.

Waikapale caves , Kauai, hawaii

 

 

 Last day in death Valley and the weather was a beautiful 72 degrees in Badwater basin with a cool breeze in the shade.  It was a great condition to hike up the mountain for a nice loop trip to pull down Helios Canyon 

 Helios canyon is in the Badwater basin region so it is accessible by any car and is great for a half day trip through a pretty straightforward canyon.

 There is a sneak route which will drop you into the canyon but to get the full effect, I recommend starting from the top.

 The hike up is straightforward regarding the route but does require you to negotiate the scree slopes you will encounter on the way up. 

 The views were really nice of badwater basin and I could see cars driving by as I made my descent down to the bottom.

 There were a few raps that were between 160 and 180ft but the remaining drops were less than 100ft which made for a nice quick pull. You want to make sure you check the natural anchors being used and check the webbing before loading the anchor to ensure that they have not shifted.

 The breeze was a  cool wind and the canyon was dry as a bone.  there is some exposed climb downs but with a little team work, negotiation, and scrambling, it should not require the use of a hand line but I can see where it can be helpful.

 I am looking forward to going back to Death Valley for more canyoneering routes as they have been recently ben uncovered and look quite interesting for a dry pull in the Valley.