Kerri S Folgen
Interessen: werktagswasserfallwochenendeAussichtspunktebeliebte-routenwandernleichte-anstiegeVielwandererallradbergseebergwiesen
Prämie:
■Karma:198
■Entfernung:129km
■Höhenunterschied:4026m
■Postings:18
■Follower:2
Kalalau Trail
17.01.1995
Being young, dumb, and reckless in the early 90’s, I set out on this hike to the Kalalau Valley somewhat ill-prepared. I was assured by a friend “that it’s an easy hike, you can handle it”. This was the day before the wide-spread internet, so accessing information would have entailed actual work, which I didn’t do lol. Without batting an eyelash, I quickly picked up a sturdy pair of leather Vasque boots, packed my bag, and booked some flights and a week long permit. After hitchhiking to the trailhead, I was most surprised to see a posted article that a Sierra magazine had rated the trail as 9 out of 10 for difficulty! It has since been listed as one of the most dangerous hikes in America. Yikes.
Legend has it that the Valley was a former leper colony and later, where draft dodgers hid out to avoid going to war. There was a large underground collection of locals that lived in the Valley illegally- perhaps some of them were draft dodgers.
Basically it’s 11 miles (one way) of stunning scenery in a steep and rugged setting. Forest, rivers, sea cliffs, volcanoes, waterfalls, goats ambushing us on the trails, mice with huge ears, you name it, I saw it. I have never seen such beautiful stuff in my life. It was grueling for me because of the heat and the weight of the back pack combined with the elevation and we decided to break it up by camping at mile 6, Hanakoa because of some upcoming dangerous cliff areas. I was warned to make sure to shake all my articles of clothing the next morning very carefully as there were deadly centipedes. I went straight to bed without eating and it was the best sleep of my life. The next day we proceeded to Kalalau beach and it was absolute paradise. This was to be our home for the next week. We picked fruit from the trees up in the valley, dove for opihi in between waves (definitely not the safest thing to do), and pooled our food amongst the other campers. It was so harmonious and spiritual.
On our last day, it began to rain. We knew that the trail would be far more treacherous in wet conditions, in particular crawler’s ledge (a very narrow cliff edge) and the river crossings. It was absolutely terrifying coming out to say the least. We were on a timeline as we had rented a hotel over in Maui that night and we did not have the opportunity to make it a two day hike out. When we reached Hanakapiai stream, it was swollen beyond belief. On our way in, we were able to hop over stones. Not so much on the way out. There were oodles of people camped out on either side, waiting for the waters to subside. For some reason, we decided to press on. I can honestly say that this was probably the most terrifying moment of my life. One of the stronger guys I was with managed to get us across the stream by using a rope and going on the outside of us as we simultaneously used our hands to inch down the rope. Our bodies were literally horizontal from the river flow. I do not recommend such foolishness.
This whole trip was such an adventure. I know that the trail has since been modified in places to make it a bit safer as it has become more popular over the years. I would love to go back to see how it has changed. Things I would change if I do go back, I would bring a lighter pack, I would definitely bring poles, and I would have a better water filtering system than relying on iodine tablets alone lol. I would probably also use a hammock instead of a tent.
http://kalalautrail.com/information/#1441874023759-fa988392-b9ad2fdd-048a
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