Kauai or Bust

Mickey and I were long overdue for a "real" vacation. He had been to Hawaii several times for work, but never had time to enjoy it. The last time I visited the islands was in 2003 when I went to Kauai with my brother and some friends. I brought a touristy guidebook full of things to do. Intriguingly, it described a hike that meandered through abandoned irrigation tunnels, some of which were almost a mile long. Now *that's* my idea of a good time! We bought flashlights in preparation for the hike, drove to where the trailhead was supposed to originate, but never found it. We spent several hours (in the rain) walking up a stream trying to locate the dang thing. While we did not get to have a tunnel hike adventure, we had fun mucking around Kauai's wet "Jurassic Park" interior.

For this trip I was determined to satisfy my wanderlust, so I researched activities on the island thoroughly. One hiking trail sounded wonderful: the Nu'alolo to Awa'awapuhi loop. The northwest portion of Kauai contains a beautiful canyon that stretches out long, finger-like projections from the island's peak all the way down to the water. These projections form the striking Na Pali coastline. The Nu'alolo trail starts near the island's highest point (~4600 ft), and travels out along one of the fingers with a 2000 ft elevation drop. At it's end it connects to the Nu'alolo Cliff trail, which meanders along the tops of the cliffs lining the Nu'alolo Valley. It eventually joins the Awa'awapuhi trail, which lies along another finger and takes you back inland. The entire loop runs 11 miles.

When I asked Mickey if he was up for an 11 mile journey, he thought I was nuts. He had never really hiked, and 11 miles is a lot even for regulars. Seeing his dismay, I suggested we abbreviate it to 3 miles and back. Oh, now you're chickening out, he teased. Game on! The full 11 miles it is. We loaded our bags with snacks and several heavy bottles of water. Optimistic and energetic, we drove up Waimea Canyon to the trailhead. If you'd like to see how it turned out, watch the video below. It was certainly the most beautiful hike I've undertaken, and the most treacherous. There were several places where the trail was narrow, precipitous, and/or covered in pebbly slippery soil. To top it off, about 4 miles in Mickey's knee began to protest vehemently. We slowed to a crawl and I thought there was no way we'd complete the loop before dark! With the help of a sturdy walking-stick (thank goodness for trail maintenance and fresh-cut non-rotten branches lying around), he clenched his teeth and hobbled over 7 miles of unforgiving terrain.

Our adventures did not stop there. We had quite an itinerary the rest of our week. It included a helicopter tour of the island, a luau, a boat dive, and a tubing trip through those abandoned irrigation tunnels I wanted to explore years ago (yes! They exist!). The helicopter ride was something we weren't interested in until we found out they do them "doors-off". Moments like these reveal just how compatible you are with your partner. As it turned out, the idea of an open-air helicopter appealed to the crazy streak in us both. It felt surprisingly safe thanks to our superb and almost superhuman pilot Marty. Highly recommended, and you get some unreal pictures.

The boat dive was a trip to underwater lava tubes that had collapsed and left a few arches. There was a swell at the time of the dive, which created a challenging surface current, but once on the bottom things became calm. This was my first non-Monterey dive, and it was quite a different experience. Monterey is all about colorful invertebrates and beautiful kelp forests. Kauai is much more about flashy fish: Angelfish, parrotfish, lionfish and the like. The highlight was seeing a sleeping sea turtle, head tucked under its flipper, and a pufferfish resting on a ledge. Hard to say whether the experience was "better" than Monterey, at least in terms of wildlife. It sure was nice diving with less weight, though I still had to wear a full-body wetsuit (3 mm instead 9).

Our last activity was something we heard about from a local at the Koloa rum distillery. Sugar used to be big business on Kauai. The island was once covered in sugar plantations. However, when Hawaii became a state in 1959, minimum wages were enforced, and as a result the crop lost its profitability (the advent of cheap corn syrup probably did not help, either). The fields were abandoned but the irrigation system that supplied the sugarcane remained intact. This irrigation system consists of miles of tunnels, hand-chiseled by Asian immigrants. Today, an organization hosts tubing trips down those abandoned tunnels for profit. You wear a bathing suit plus helmet and headlamp, sit in your inner tube, and float gently (for the most part - there are a few small rapids) downriver. The tunnels are long - in one case nearly one mile - so it's not for the claustrophobic.

Now we're back in SF. I miss the chirping of tropical birds, and far-off murmur of ocean waves. Next time I have a fruity rum drink, I will think of lovely Kauai.