Hiking the famous Kalalau Trail

If you have ever been to Kauai and are a hiker there's a good chance that you didn't pass up hiking at least some part of the Kalalau Trail. There was no way I was going to miss it. Why fly 4,600 miles and pass it up? But pass it up is what we almost did. We saved the hike for the last day of our trip. We woke up early that day and it was raining like every other morning but you could tell this rain was set in and it sounded like it could rain all day. (The other mornings it would stop by sunrise and didn't do much harm to our plans.) I was thinking I should have listened to my wife who said "You shouldn't wait until the last day, what if it rains?" We went back and forth and ultimately decided to just go for it. The trail in its whole length is 11 miles. We had decided to do the first two miles to Hanakapi`ai beach and then take a two mile spur trail to Hanakapi`ai falls, 8 miles round trip. It was sprinkling as we started on the trail but the it soon stopped as we gained elevation. The start of the trail is very rocky and gradually goes up and then you reach the dirt or in our case the muddy part of the trail. The trail hugs the cliffs for awhile offering views of the coastline and the cliffs ahead. After a few slips and falls and crossing the river for the first time of many, we made it to the beach. The ocean at the beach is very dangerous to swim in and there was actually a sign that was notched every time someone drowned. We took a break and then hit the trail to the falls. Pretty quickly the trail became narrow and muddy.

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Kauai Highlights

So I just got over my jet-lag and I'm already ready to go back to Kauai! I can't think of more idyllic settings: lush tropical forest, beautiful golden beaches and  majestic sea cliffs. Kauai is the oldest of the Hawaiian islands so it's beauty has had more time to be perfected. Unfortunately, we only got to enjoy Kauai for one week but we got to do and see a lot so I thought I'd share our highlights with you.

BEST SHAVE ICE: First things first: I love shave ice (it's not "shaved" in Hawaii) so I was very excited to try the real deal while we were in Kauai. We tried 4 different places and we all agreed that our favorite was Jo-Jo's in Waimea. It was amazing! I got the triple berry special with vanilla ice cream on the bottom and vanilla cream on top and I loved it. My sister got the Haupia special which was coconut shave ice with macnut icecream on the bottom and coconut cream and coconut flakes on top and she said it was one of the best things she had ever eaten. Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture of Jo-Jo's to share with you but this is Wishing Well in Hanalei which was my second favorite but the lady there is really cranky.

BEST BEACH: We loved Tunnels Beach! To be honest, this is the beach we stayed at and we only visited 3 others very briefly but it was so perfect we never felt the need to go anywhere else. First of all, it has the back drop of the NaPali mountains and the famed Bali Hai. Second of all, it is surrounded by huge, half moon shaped reef about 1/8 mile off shore. This reef not only provides excellent snorkeling and diving, it also creates a barrier from the rough surf conditions and strong currents. You can snorkel right off the beach and see beautiful fish, colorful coral, eels, sea turtles and even sharks

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