Kalalau, Kaua'i

This was a trip we had been planning, for a couple of months; a 3
day, 2 night camping trip was the perfect getaway adventure that we were
all searching for. Kalalau trail would take us on an 11 mile hike
through some of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring tropical coastline
of the Na Pali Coast.

We had planned and weighed out everything from what was going into
our packs to the mini adventures we wanted to do inside of the valley.
Our rucksacks were packed and we were excited to go, but in typical
Hawaiian Island fashion, a week before our trip, a category 2 hurricane
was forecast to hit the Hawaiian Islands at the same time as our trek
into the Kalalau.

We watched the weather closely on the days leading up to our hike.
The hurricane weakened and was downgraded to a tropical storm. We were
still worried about the heavy rains washing out several of the streams
that we needed to cross along the trail because, in dangerous weather
many hikers have gotten seriously injured or killed trying to cross
flooding streams.

After careful consideration, the four of us decided to still go on
our adventure, but instead of our originally planned two night getaway,
we opted for a 24 hour stay-cation. We would hike in, then hike out
first thing the next morning before the storm hit. Our journey started
at the crack of dawn when my girlfriend, brother and our friend Coral
caught the first morning flight out to Kauaʻi that day.

We took the typical group picture at the start at Keʻe beach, then
off to the trail we went. We kept a steady pace throughout the hike,
doing about 2 miles every hour. The talking and laughing along with the
occasional stops to filter stream water and snap some photos made the
time and miles go by.

That is, until mile eight. Miles 8 thru 10.4 were mentally
defeating as we thought we were much farther than the milestone marker
had led us to believe. Our packs strangely seemed to get heavier and
heavier with every step we took. Just as we thought we were pau, we
quickly got our second wind when we turned the corner and saw the
Kalalau cliffs. The four of us high tailed it to the shoreline.

Once we were inside of the valley, we got to explore some of
Kalalau's hidden gems. We relaxed by the stream and beach, hiked up the
valley to Kalalau falls and even made our way to a hidden beach that
could only be reached by swimming around the coast.

Standing amongst the soaring cliffs and cascading waterfalls,
Kalalau's beauty simply took our breath away; it put us at a loss for
words. We felt a mixed explosion of emotions from exhausted to
energetic, defeated to empowered.

Not sixty paces from reaching our camp site we passed a
"hippie-sign" that I feel encompasses the emotions we felt from
experiencing the wonderment and splendor of the Na Pali Coast. A feeling
I can only describe as "Cosmic Aloha".