Hawaii (Partial Entry)

I want to open up this post with the note that first, I wrote this entry towards the end of the trip. Second, that it is incomplete and I regret not writing more while I was on the trip because the details would have been a lot more fresh in my mind and also because I was there from Dec 2010 to Jan 2011 and I can’t remember as much now. However perhaps if I re-read the post several times I will be able to remember more details and than fill them in as I go. For now here is an essentially abridged entry. Also I will have some photos from the trip this time around thanks to my generous parents lending me a camera. Enjoy!

~January 2nd 2011

I landed in Honolulu on O’ahu at 10p and took the #19 Bus to Waikiki Beach. Followed a backpacker from Sweden to The Polynesian Hostel Beach Club. All the Hostels on Lemon Road were booked up, but the Polynesian had hammocks that you can rent if the rooms are full. So I got a hammock for a few days for $10/night. It was hanging by the common area on the ground level in open air under open sky. They have a small locked closet were everyone keeps their luggage locked up.

I rested at the hostel a few days and wandered around Honolulu. I was really stressed out during the last few weeks of the semester and I came down with a stress induced cold the morning I left so I took it easy the first few days in Hawaii to try and recover faster. I booked a Flight to Kaua’i so I could hike the Kalalau trail on the Nā Pali Coast.

When I got to Kaua’i I took the bus to Hanalei and camped on the beach at Hā‘ena. I spent a few days seeing Hā‘ena and Hanalei and then I left for the trail. I met a few people that were also going to hike the trail and I left with one of them at 6a the next morning. It was a mile from Hā‘ena to the trailhead but we arrived more or less at dawn and began the hike to Kalalau. The trail is rated a 9/10 in difficulty by the Sierra Nevada club. It’s a demanding 11 mi. hike on narrow slippery rocky trails. The first 2mi is the easiest in some respects because the trail is smoother, wider, and less rocky then the rest. This is because many people hike to Hanakapi’ai beach without hiking the rest of the trail and so there is much more foot traffic on this stretch, It’s a very popular undeveloped and secluded beach. When I got there I walked on the beach for a bit and then got back on the trail. I quickly got a to a fork where I could go on to the middle point Hanakoa or to Hanakapi’ai Falls. I chose the falls and it was a phenomenal choice. The falls was also a very demanding hike and in hindsight I could have hidden my 30lb pack somewhere near the entrance and gone on without it but I wore it ¾ of the way to the falls. Not knowing how long the hike was I was starting to get a little discourage having only seen three or four foot tall water falls on the way up.

However I kept on and was rewarded with a glimpse of the falls. A massive 300ft. plunge into a beautiful blue basin surrounded by sheer cliffs speckled with ferns and moss. The force of the water landing in the basin kicks up a strong cool wet gust that  drives out over the basin and into the immediate valley. There are few places I have encountered that I would describe as genuinely spiritually and soulfully renewing and this is without a doubt one of them. I decided that if I didn’t swim under the falls I would never forgive myself so I stripped down and got in the cold water and swam behind the falls ducking under the water and climbing onto the rocks. I couldn’t help but let loose a deep laugh when I looked back through the water with the heavy cold drops falling on my head.

I started the hike to Hanakoa which was another 4mi. for a total of 8 mi. the first day. I was unprepared for this both mentally and physically however I slept from sundown till sunup and then read in my tent for another few hours before heading out to Kalalau. This allowed me to fully recover. I was cleaning my eyeglasses and getting more water when I met two young men from O’ahu. Dillon and Leon. I ended up rejoining with them later on in the afternoon. They were carrying big packs as well but with surfboards attached to the backs of them. They had run out of water so I offered to filter some for them and they accepted.

Hanakoa valley was a very lush, alive, and wet place. It rained nearly every half hour or so and every living thing there was thriving in that condition. The trail continued to get more and more beautiful and also more varied. Each valley seemed to have a very distinct character and collection of foliage. Though never as lush as Hanakoa some were close. Other valleys were almost all rock and no vegetation whatsoever. The trail continued to narrow down as well. In some places it was only about half a foot wide and in others it had collapsed out completely. There were alien scapes of only berms of red mud and long spidery white roots. All the while the trail continues to have stunning views of the epic mountains and ridges surrounding the valleys. We got to Kalalau at sundown and were welcomed into the camp grounds by Paul.

We all met around the campfire that they built underneath a makeshift shelter using large tree branches and two tarps. It was a great little gathering place with a view of the ocean and the cliffs behind us. There was seven of us in total Dillon, Leon, Paul, Nick, Taylor, Wyatt and Myself. I explained that I hadn’t  packed enough food and they shared some of their oranges from the valley and also some of their stew that they made. After we all ate we went to bed.

The next day I set out to forage for Oranges for myself and the guys to repay them for their generosity. Emptied half my pack and set out to find the orange trees. I was told to follow the river up the valley to find them and I never did even after hiking for hours. But I found many natural wonders along the way and one of several large gardens hidden in the valley. I also found many hideouts and camps. I picked about thirty mangos from the mango trees on the edge of the garden and set off to return to our camp on the beach. On the way back I ran into Rick and mentioned I was low on food. He lead me to his hideout and gave me a rack of ribs and a shoulder from a pig he had trapped, killed, and processed the day before. I shared the ribs with some local kids I met at the falls on the way back. I offered the shoulder but they didn’t seem to interested. When I got back to camp I waited for everyone to gather and then told them about the pig shoulder. Everyone went nuts and I was immediately welcomed into the group from then on.

I went and showered in the falls at the end of the beach. Bathing in falls and streams became a regular occurrence on the trip and I have yet to experience a bath or shower as luxurious and refreshing as them since. After getting all cleaned up we started the cooking fire and waited till we had enough hot coals to cook with. Then we roasted the already cooked pig shoulder to heat it up and coax some of the juices back into the meat. Then we feasted on it and it got real quiet around the fire. After we finished the shoulder we cooked up another stew on the fire and ate that as well. A magnificent day all around. Going to bed was so satisfying each night knowing I had accomplished something during the day and it was easy to because I was so damned tired. But tonight we all stayed up a little longer laughing and talking around the fire. The fire was such a great gathering place. A circle, with shelter and a view, and a purpose. It was just so natural.