....Kalalau Trail....

We planned to do some hiking on our trip and Jay chose the Kalalau trail for us.  The trail starts at Ke'e Beach, the farthest spot you can drive to on the north shore.  We left Wren for the day with Grandma Sondy and arrived at the parking lot around 8:30 AM.  The trail itself is 11 miles long and leads to Kalalau Beach, which appears on lists as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

There are two side trips along the trail to waterfalls: one is Hanakapi'ai Falls and the other is Hanakoa Falls.  We decided to try for Hanakoa Falls which meant a 6 mile hike in and then a half mile hike off trail.  I anticipated we would be pretty speedy and figured on early afternoon return.

The trail started out pretty rocky and a little muddy and we passed many people loaded up for camping at Kalalau Beach.  The day was gray and somewhat cool - great weather for hiking.  Two miles in we reached Hanakapi'ai Valley, where the falls feed into the ocean and a 2 mile trail to the left leads to the waterfall.  I made sure to take off my socks and shoes before crossing the water so I wouldn't get dirty and had been very careful up to this point to stay clean.  The other day hikers broke away to the falls and we kept on the main trail, which almost immediately turned to muck - an unavoidable burnt sienna stream through red mud.  The walking sticks we found were extremely helpful on our journey and Jay gave me a very helpful tip - keep my stick in the hand facing downhill, otherwise I would propel myself off the side of the hill in the event I slipped and tried to catch myself with my uphill-facing-stick-hand. 

We experienced sun, rain, wind, rain, sun and many beautiful rainbows arching across the ocean.  Campers coming back from the beach exchanged pleasantries and little bits of information about how amazing Kalalau Beach is with us as we squeezed between bushes to let them by on the narrow trail.  We had to stop every so often just to look up and take in the amazing views (and enjoy our pb&j sandwiches!) without losing our footing. 

We knew we reached the 6 mile mark when we came upon campsites and sheltered picnic tables (which were a little too close to the stinky pit toilet, so we snacked as we walked).  We asked some fellow hikers where to find the trail up to Hanakoa Falls and received an iffy response of  "to the left of the water....no, the right".  We headed upstream and Jay crossed over to find a trail, but had no luck.  After spending about 20 minutes in the area we decided to head back, passing what looked to be a trail off to the left of the water.  Oh well!  maybe some day in the future we will go back and make it  to the waterfall and all the way to the beach. It was getting late for us to still have 6 miles back to the car and now the trail was slicker than before from the intermittent rain showers.  Some sections were slow-going up steep and slide-y mud in sloshy shoes but we persevered, watching around every bend for signs of Ke'e beach up ahead.  When it came time to cross back over at Hanakapi'ai Beach we happily trekked over with our shoes on, hoping to rinse out some of the mud.  

I was very excited to get back to the parking lot around 4:30 PM - so much for an early afternoon!  We tossed our walking sticks on the growing discard pile and waited our turn at the rinsing faucet to clean ourselves up a bit before driving home.  We were very excited to get back and see our little Wren - she was a very good girl for Grandma Sondy and they had a great time together.

 

The beach at Hanakapi'ai Falls

If you could only hear the squish of muddy water in our shoes with each step!

We made it!!

...blue waters....

It's hard to ignore the beautiful waters of Kauai, be it from the ocean or the pool.  Our condo's supply closet included backpacks, boogie boards, coolers, bamboo mats, a beach umbrella and snorkel gear. We  took advantage of quite a bit of the provided items and attempted a snorkel outing only to find that just one of the snorkels was in working order.  

We picked up a pool floatie for Wren to try out so she could easily join us in the pool.  It took coaxing and having Water Baby show Wren how much fun it was before Wren warmed up to the idea. Once she got in she had a blast, kicking her legs and being led by us back and forth across the big pool.  It was great!....the one day that she used it.  Wren refused to use the floatie again, but we took it to the pool repeatedly anyway.  

At the end of our first week we were ready to restock some items at Costco and make a day trip to the south coast.  On the way we took a detour to Wailua Falls.  The small parking area was very crowded, so Sondy and I jumped out to snap a few pics while Jay turned the car around.  

We made our way around the island and took Waimea Canyon Drive up away from the ocean.  The 20 mile drive has stops along the way to view the expansive and amazing Waimea Canyon.  We stopped at mile 15 at Koke'e State Park and took a few minutes to tour the museum and take a short nature walk.  Chickens and roosters run free all over the island and Wren had a great time chasing them at the park, shrieking "B!!!" every time a bird was on the move.  We ate our snacks at a picnic table after speaking with some very friendly locals who shared their opinion of the remaining stops on the road and their Ovaltine cookies with us!  Then Sondy and I stopped in the restaurant on site (which was packed, by the way, and the menu looked good!) to find out rental information for the cabins we passed on the drive up.  For around $85 per night they seem like a good option for those planning to get out on the many trails available in and around the canyon.  

From the park we continued to the next two stops to take in the view of Waimea Canyon and Kalalau Valley.  On the drive back down we split off the main drag to try out Koke'e road, which was less windy and seemed faster than our drive up.  

We stopped in Waimea for lunch at The Shrimp Station, which had been recommended by a number of people, including the dude at the Koke'e Lodge restaurant who called me "Bro".  I didn't partake in the shrimp (and instead went next door for shave ice!) but Jay and Sondy did and said it was great!  Wren tried shrimp for the first time and really liked it.  From Waimea we went straight to Costco then back home - that was a long day!  

Tunnels Beach

Wren and Water Baby soaking up some sun. Good thing we caught her using the floatie on film!

Using the pool floatie!  Not quite as effective when you exceed the 33 pound weight limit...

Wailua Falls

Wren chasing chickens at Koke'e State Park

Waimea Canyon