Kalalau Trail is an 11 mile wilderness hike in and an 11 mile hike back out. You're only allowed to go the first 4 miles without a permit. The first 4 miles takes 6-8 hours for most people. You are climbing over rocks and crossing streams along a steep cliff that is muddy and slippery. The first 2 miles takes you to Hanakapi'ai Valley which has a beach. The next 2 miles (the last 800 feet is a step climb over rocks) takes you to a waterfall.
We prepared for this hike before we even left Atlanta! Waterproof pouches for the phones, waterproo case for the camera, shoes suitable for hiking and getting wet, flashlight, and a Camelbak which is a backpack that has a bladder to hold 64 ounces of water.
We wanted to be on the trail by 7AM so we had plenty of time to enjoy the scenery and still making it out before the sunset. We ate breakfast by the campsite and gave Ariadne a quick FaceTime call. She wasn't impressed by the gorgeous beach as much as seeing us sitting in our tent. "Where is your blankie?" she asked!
The first mile of the hike wasn't too bad. The trail was muddy and slippery at certain points. We even crossed an ankle deep stream. But the view from the edge of the cliff was amazing! Unfortunately most of the pictures are on our camera, so we'll have to add them when we get home.
Then the rain came, and unlike yesterday, it didn't go away. By the time we got to the beach (2 miles in), we were soaked. We enjoyed lunch at the beach and used the compost toilet. Basically it was a toilet in a stall that had no bottom to it. There was a huge hole! Everything went straight to the ground. Hold your breathe and go as fast as you can! Might as well have just squatted in the bushes somewhere.
The last two mike hike to the waterfall was very strenuous. We walked through mud puddles, crawled over slippery rocks, waded through 3 more streams, and climbed huge boulders the last 800 feet. Finally, the beautiful waterfall! When we arrived, we saw people snap a victory shot of themselves with the waterfall in the background and head back. What!?! After all that effort, we were going IN! Putting one toe in the water, we quickly realized why people didn't go for a dip. The water was FREEZING! The waterfall was extremely powerful as it sucked you in the closer you got.
Now the 4 mile trek back out the same way we came! By this time the rain has stopped, but everything was extremely muddy which made going down a steep cliff trail tricky. At the 1/2 marker, we saw a woman who had broken her ankle at 2.5 miles. Without cell signal to call for help, her crew was slowly helping her hobble back down the mountain.
After 9 hours we emerged from the trail from which we began. Tired, muddy, and very wet, but we did it! There was a sign that was not there when we started that rated the trail difficulty as 9/10 today due to the rain making it very muddy. It said do not hike today. Oops!
We returned to our campsite for the evening. After relaxing by the beach, we decided we were too tired to head in town for dinner, we ate Spam (apparently a Hawaiian favorite) sandwiches and Cheez- Its. For dessert we had mangos and strawberry papaya we had picked up at the Farmer's Market!
Love getting to follow along! John Christopher thought the bit about the compost toilet was hilarious and would like to know if you've seen any volcanos. Glad you guys are having a good time!
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