The "Hippie Highway", the most beautiful hike in the world, the most dangerous hike in the world. Kalalau trail along the Na Pali coast. To be honest, I never heard of it. Come to find out people come to Kauai just to do this trail! Throughout my trip I obviously have been camping and went on my first backpacking trip to San Jacinto in California. After all the hiking I had been doing on Oahu I knew that I had to do this trip. I looked into getting a permit, but they were "sold out". I thought to myself, "What are they going to do to me once I am already there?" I figured it was worth the risk and I would take my chances. The park rangers I encountered thus far seemed to be pretty laid back. The night before at camp I asked around and most people said no one was even out there checking permits anyways. The trail was 11 miles one-way. The campsite I was staying at was a little over a mile from the trailhead and I decided that would be the best place to leave my car overnight.
I woke up Thursday morning and had to prepare my backpack for the two day trip. I decided if I was too tired or enjoyed it so much there was a chance I could camp there for two nights. My supplies included: hammock, sleeping bag, headlamp, flashlight, sweatshirt, raincoat, light pants to sleep in, my "slippers" or flip-flops to change into, 4 bottles of Dasani water and a water filtration system for refills, two apples, two oranges, and 4 sandwiches. By the time I had my pack set and had some breakfast it was already after 9am by the time I set out on the trail. No cell service on the trail so I wanted to make sure I took care of any last minute things, especially if I was going to be gone for for a couple days.
I already knew the first two miles of the trail because I had just done it the previous day. Some people had said the first two miles were the most challenging but I didn't think that could be possible. The first two miles of the trail has quite a bit of uphill with a river crossing right at the two mile mark. From there you can either go to Hanakapiai beach, Hanakapiai waterfall, or continue along the trail towards Hanakoa and eventually Kalalau. It is important to mention that any hike changes drastically when you add a backpack with weight to it. I thought I had lightened my pack significantly from my trip to San Jacinto but I still had heavy fruits and water bottles. I couldn't weigh it but I would say it was about 20 -25 pounds, close to 10 pounds lighter than San Jacinto. The weight didn't seem to bother me at all the first two miles, plus the extra mile from the campsite. I felt good, ready to go. One issue was that the day before on the waterfall trail my boots got pretty wet and were rubbing against the back of my ankles cutting them open. Since they were pretty raw from yesterday I had to double up on my socks to help prevent any further rubbing, which seemed to work really well.
Because of the rugged terrain with hills and valleys my pace was about 2 miles per hour. I know it sounds insanely slow! My plan was to break at Hanakoa for lunch, which was at the 6 mile mark. If for some reason it took me way longer than expected to get there or I was super tired you could camp at Hanakoa as well. The next four miles to Hanakoa after Hanakapiai beach was mostly a ridge line trail filled with switchbacks and overgrown with vegetation. I really felt pretty good at mile 6 and was fairly confident I could continue the rest of the way to Kalalau without any problem. It was only 1pm by the time I got to Hanakoa so I was making fairly good time and didn't find the trail, even with my pack, too challenging.
I knew between mile 7 and 8 was going to be the most challenging section with the dreaded "crawlers ledge". It was briefly described to me the day before that at the campsite as a narrow walkway but very stable and you had a mountain to hold on to for stability. Right around mile 6 and a half there was a very long switchback that was all downhill. It was also slanted downwards and mostly made of loose gravel. I grew increasing nervous and was going very slowly through this area. Most people had hiking poles or sticks with them on the trail. I did not and one slip could send you tumbling down the mountain especially with 25 pounds on your back.
Once through that section with my anxiety building there was a group of people headed back. I told them I was kind of scared of heights and that part was challenging for me. They told me the worst part was still ahead and to only go as far as I felt comfortable. When I reached "crawler's ledge" my anxiety was already heightened. When I saw how steep it actually was and I was standing on the edge of a cliff, I definitely freaked quite a bit. I held onto the mountain for dear life and slowly tip-toed my way along the edge, trying not to look down. I assumed that was worst of it was over and breathed the biggest sigh of relief. As I continued along the trail my anxiety did not subside. I still felt as though I was walking along the edge of a massive cliff that at any point I could slip, misstep, and there was nothing to catch my fall. A lot of mile 7 through 8 I walked extremely slowly and held onto the mountain side as much as possible.
Right around the 8 mile mark I got to a part of the trail known as the "red hills", which nobody bothered to mention the night before at camp. This area was basically steep loose red sand with nothing to grab onto to help you along it. The drop-off was dramatic and I started to lose it. I wasn't sure how I was going to get across. I slip all the time on loose gravel while hiking and with nothing to grab on to I would slip some 500 feet into the ocean, I began to panic. Should I turn around? No way!! I just got through the "crawler' ledge" I don't want to do that again. I began to pray and then went over the options. Crawl along the ledge? That would take too long and I wouldn't want to be in area increasing my chances of falling. Run across to get it over with? Hell no!! That would definitely increase my chances of a slip. I would just have to shuffle tip-toe my way across and hope for the best. If I slip try to dig my foot in and ditch my pack as quick as possible. 1,2,3, go! Once across my heart was beating out of my chest and I actually got choked up a bit. Thank God!! I was through it! I saw another group right after this and said, "Oh please tell me it's almost over?!" They said the worst of it was over but I still had about 2 miles. They did warn me that there was one more part of red sand that was a "challenging". My voice started to crack and I said thank you and was dreading this section, praying the whole there. Once I arrived it was totally not what I was expecting. It was a large staircase going downhill and was nowhere near the edge of the cliff...whew!
I arrived to Kalalau beach around 4:30pm and set up camp. The beach was beautiful with caves, a waterfall, and a gorgeous coastline. Unfortunately, my anxiety never really fully subsided. I felt as though I couldn't relax and enjoy myself. I also did not attempt to go find the hippie community that was living out there living off the land, hunting wild boars and goats. I was so physically and emotionally exhausted I went to bed pretty early. I also was confident I wanted to hike back the next day because I was apprehensive about the hike back and any impeding weather changes.
I was so uneasy I could only eat half of one of sandwiches I brought. At Hanakoa, I had one apple and one orange. The next morning I woke up super early and took a walk on the beach and had breakfast at the waterfall. Still not that hungry I ate the other half of my sandwich and an apple. I again set out around 9:30am almost 10am and was already feeling pretty sore and sluggish. I stopped and saw this couple I had seen the day before. I discussed my anxiety and they talked me through how accomplished I should feel and how freeing the experience has been. I gave them two of my sandwiches because they said they were low on food and I continued with confidence along the trail. Along the way giving myself words of encouragement and trying to stay positive. Feeling weak and tired I definitely took a lot more breaks on the way back. As the trail grew increasely difficult on the way back I kept thinking if you can do this without any problem you will be fine once you get to the scary parts.
All of a sudden I rounded a corner and saw the steep mountainous switchback that was right before "crawler's ledge" so it would have been right after it. I saw a barefooted hippie and said, "I did it already? It's over?" She said, "I've never done the trial before but it's all wooded up there." I couldn't believe it!! I had done the "red hills" and "crawler' ledge" without even knowing it!! Feeling so reliefed and grateful I thanked God for helping me and happily made my way through the rest of the trail. Still physically exhausted by the end I got a ride back to camp from a couple I met at the trailhead. The thought of going just 1 more mile seemed near impossible.
On Sunday, after a day of rest I went to the oldest church in Kauai to thank God for answering my prayers and protecting me through that hike. The final song played at church was, "Be not afraid". I totally lost it and cried again because the words go; "Be not afraid, I go before you always. Come follow me and I will give you rest. AROOOO!!!!
🌋🍾🌊🌺🐋🙏🌈🍍
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