Kalalau Trail

Ron Niebrugge Hawaii, Photos, Travel 7 Comments

Janine on the Kalalau Trail, Na Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii.

Janine on the Kalalau Trail, Na Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii.

After flying over the amazing Na Pali Coast, we just had to hike it!  Unfortunately, without a permit, you are only allowed to hike the first couple of miles to Hanakapi’ai Beach seen below, but that was enough to give us a great taste.  I would love to come back and either backpack or kayak the whole thing.

As with most days we have had in Kauai, we had crazy weather.  We started out in a heavy rain.  I mean, like standing under the garden hose on full blast kind of heavy rain.  But, as you see here, we also had some nice sun.  Down on the beach we had sun and more heavy rain, then back to mostly sunny for the hike out.  When it rains, it rains hard but often only lasts a few minutes.

There are lots of warnings, and the trail can be fairly slippery when wet.  We were in running shoes, and that seemed to help, but it really was slick in places, often next to some extreme drops.

As enticing as the water was on the beach below, the waves were really pumping.  There was a sign at the beach mentioning that heavy surf and strong currents had killed many people there – in fact they had a hash tag tally carved into the sign showing the number of people killed – it was at 82!  That was sure effective – I did not want to become 83!

Comments 7

  1. Daisy & I spent 2 nights camping at this beach in 2000. A feral dog got into our tent and ate a bunch of our food that we needed for our week long backpacking trip into the Kalalau. Who knew that you had to worry about dogs getting into your tent? It’s not like Kauai has brown bears like Alaska. Have fun!

  2. I was just about to ask if you were going to hike this trail. This is one of the most beautiful hikes I’ve ever done. I have almost the same exact photo, only without Janine!

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    Author

    @ Jon Dogs – who would have thought! I bet that was a fun trip to do with your daughter!

    @ Scott I’m glad Janine wasn’t in your photo. 🙂 I imagine that are a lot of photos from this spot as it is one of the best vantage points. Thanks.

    @ Visioplanet Thanks!

  4. Hey Ron, classic shot – glad you got to do the hike. That first couple miles gives you a pretty good taste of the coast. Definitely one of my favorite spots in all the Islands.

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    Author

    @ Russ Thanks! It sure would be fun spending the night along that coast as you well know.

    @ Mike Thanks. Glad I’m not the only one – I often hike in running shoes in Alaska as well – even backpack in them at times.

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