Nualolo - Awa'awa'puhi Trail Hike

This is perhaps the premiere hike to see the Na Pali from the west side of the island. I recommend checking the weather forecast and preparing for cold and wet even though it's sunny and warm on the west side.

Update: unfortunately, the connecting cliff trail is now closed indefinitely.

Overview
The trailhead begins in Koke'e State Park perhaps fifty yards before the lodge restaurant and museum parking area turnoff on the right (west) side of the road. The trailhead is at lat/long 22.129406,-159.659774. There is space for just a few cars right there off-road, or park by the museum and walk back. NOTE: If you are mentally hoping for parking at the trailhead to save a little distance, this hike is not for you!
This hike is a big twelve mile loop down from Koke'e over two ridges that define edges of the Nualolo and Awa'awa'puhi valleys of the Na Pali coast. The Nualolo Cliff trail connects the two trails running along the mountain side of the Nualolo Valley, and you need to also get return along the road connecting the two trailheads. You can do either trail alone out and back for a shorter 4 to 5 mile hike.

• Both trails descend about 2000 feet that you will have to climb back up. Doing the full loop you get both for effectively just one climb back.
• Not advisable when wet and muddy unless you are experienced and don't mind a mess.
• The Nualolo is steeper and particularly slippery when wet.
• You can do the loop either direction, but Nualolo to Awa'awa'puhi is recommended. The final climb is on the gentler inclined Awa'awa'puhi and you follow the road mostly downhill to get back to the start.
• The Nualolo Cliff Trail includes a well-known tricky section close to the Nualolo Trail end.
• The Nualolo Trail includes walking out on a somewhat exposed ridge that might be uncomfortable for people with fear of heights.
• As always, use your discretion hiking as conditions can change. This geography is famous for constantly changing, we hope not where you happen to be standing. Bring your version of the 10 essentials and inform someone where you are going and expect to return. 

Nualolo Trail

The trail starts uphill a short ways before starting the long descent to Nualolo point (called Lolo). The first couple miles go through woods punctuated by meadows and clearings. There are some steep sections and the clay can get slick from just a little moisture, but the trail is very well maintained and usually there are handholds available for the tricky parts. Stop and listen for birds here, especially early morning.

Halfway out to the point the terrain gets drier; look for views of Niihau island on the left to the west if it's clear.  Some sections are like toboggan chutes that are easily imagined as filled with rushing water in a hard rain. Past three mile mark the cliff trail branches off to the right, but you will want to go the remaining 1/4 mile out over the narrowest ridges to the point for some stunning views.

Nualolo point panorama

If you were out on a boat looking up into the Nualolo valley, this point would be way up on the right. The valley is ringed on three sides by sheer cliffs extending back from the beach. This hike will encircle the valley around those three sides remaining way up at the cliff tops.
Heading back from the point the ridge gives a wonderful view into the unique geography here with sculpted cliffs and spires a little resembling Gaudi's cathedrals.

Retrace and now take the cliff trail to the left to do the loop hike. Soon you will see scary warning signs along the trail about dangerous cliff. Last February when I was here it was much trickier; this time it was no big deal, but YMMV.

<to be continued>

See more pictures from this hike here.

Mango upside down cake

First iteration making up a recipe: it came out alright, not terrific yet. This is a small portion.
Prepare a muffin pan by greasing the cups with butter. Could be baked in a loaf pan as well.
Preheat oven to 375 F.

• 1 pound mangos (about five small) - peel and cut into chunks or scoop pulp if very soft.
• Melt 1/2 cup butter over heat until just melted. Will use as 1/6 cup and 1/3 cup separately.
• Separate mango chunks from pulp (about half and half) and put in saucepan with 1/6 cup butter, 1/3 cup turbinado cane sugar, and 3 Tbsp rum. Simmer over low heat ten minutes.
• Spoon mango chunks into the bottom of each cup or pan as upside-down topping.
• Optional: sprinkle some Anahola Granola over the mango chunks.
  
• Sift together 1 cup whole wheat flour, 2 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt.
• Beat 2 eggs into the remaining 1/3 cup melted butter, 1/3 cup turbinado cane sugar, 2 tsp vanilla, and the remaining mango pulp and chunks.
• Fold the flour mixture into the liquid without over stirring.
• Spoon batter on top of the mango chunks.

Bake 25 minutes for muffin pan until done (toothpick test). Let sit then remove from pan while warm.
The amount of mango is variable so adjust the batter to a thick pancake batter consistency by adding flour to thicken or add yogurt to thin.
Caveat: I prepared this with the minimal kitchen here, specifically, no measuring utensils.

First days on Kauai

Off to a fine start here on the island I've been keeping busy enough that I am well behind in the blog, so here's a quick update for now. For now I don't think doing a daily post is important so it'll be in fits and starts. I have a minimal setup here for blogging centered around an ancient MacBook Pro (OS X 10.4) formerly retired and the last thing I want to do is spend hours each day on a laptop. In time I will try to upgrade and get a work flow going, but minimalism fits the lifestyle here well.

Some amazing first sights already: just arriving at Glass beach on Monday, immediately my friend pointed out the considerable splash of a whale breaching out at sea. I saw it easily though it was well out there (no time for a photo) and it must have gone deep because we didn't see much further action. It's early in the season so very lucky to have sighted it. I should be here through the prime whale watching season it turns out.

Glass beach before sunset

Tuesday went up to Koke'e State Park for one of the breathtaking hikes out over the Na Pali coast. I will write up the hike later as another post of its own, but here's a quick description. Koke'e is at about 4000 feet elevation sitting atop the Na Pali coast with tall steep ridges extending out and down toward the see, walling off the many valley wedges that comprise the coastal area on the western side of the island. I headed down the Nualolo Trail leading out over the western edge of the Nualolo Valley to an outlook ending in a sheer drop off. Retracing a bit, the Nualolo Cliff Trail (Update: unfortunately, the cliff trail is now closed indefinitely) leads around the Nualolo Valley connecting to the Awa'awa'puhi Trail which leads to the next outlook up the coast west of the Awa'awa'puhi Valley. The three trails form a loop with spurs leading over tall thin ridges out to the ends of the outlook points, circling the Nualolo Valley on three sides.

All day long the weather shifted from overcast to misty to sunny and back and forth as clouds both white and dark drifted overhead with some patches of blue sky. Back to the car by mid-afternoon, the sun really came out so I hopped in the Jeep and headed to the Kalalau overlooks further up the road, as it turns out just in time.

Kalalau is a very special place in many ways, as the heart of the Na Pali coast it's the picture of exotic tropical paradise and also quite inaccessible, but you can drive to within a short walk of the top of the mountains that encircle the Kalalau Valley and clouds permitting easily catch a gorgeous view of it. While postcards may show the full-on sunny view, yesterday we were treated to an unusual sight. Gaps in those moving clouds by late afternoon shed moving spotlights on the valley walls producing an unusual effect that my photos hardly do justice to, but you get the idea (and I have hand-held video coming). Here's what it was like. And as often happens, within minutes the misty clouds poured in and it was a white-out: imagine those foreground plants with white fog behind.

Kalalau Valley

The road to Koke'e leads up the western edge of the Waimea Canyon which is quite a sight itself. Heading back down the mountain I did a double take from a glance where the road affords a view of the canyon: those drifting clouds that brought mists had moved west and as the sun began to set creating a gorgeous rainbow right of the canyon.

Waimea canyon rainbow

 A couple also from the Pacific northwest that I'd met a couple of times on the trail earlier drove up but the rainbow was one by then. Further downhill I checked the sunset out from the bluffs over Waimea but the clouds were on the horizon so nothing too spectacular to see; however, the full moon was a sight.

See more photos of the past couple of days here: some downtown Hanapepe scenes, more hiking shots, etc.

Sunday afternoon at the beach

After resting up most of the day at the house I headed out late in the afternoon to walk around and see the area. On Sundays Hanapepe is deserted: the tiny convenience/liquor store is about all that's open on the town drag off the highway. Disappointing to the tourists, but later I found where the locals were: at the beach.
Hanapepe Beach Park doesn't really have much beach at all: it's on the water, but all rock wall at the waterline. Nonetheless, several groups were gathered these, hanging out listening to music and talking. Also, a few guys will be sitting out there, often alone, just watching the ocean. I'd say it far better than sitting at home watching TV, at least they have a place they want to be rather than tune out completely. More of this scene was out at Salt Pond Park where there is quite a lot of nice beach indeed.
While in town was sad to see that the Hanapepe Cafe was closed indefinitely. A note on the front door said that the closing was due to health issues, and that the restaurant would reopen in time. In a nice gesture, they recommended local eateries to visit instead. I've had several great dinners at the cafe on the regular Friday Art nights (they only serve dinner Fridays) and was always impressed by the good food and island style service.

Arrival

Arrived yesterday via Honolulu. On the same flight was none other than Led Kaapana (slack key guitar) who we saw perform last week at Bake's Place. By the way, Bake's Place is a good venue for jazz on the east side of Seattle recently moved into a nice location in downtown Bellevue. Happened to run into Led waiting for a restroom and chatted a bit.

Hawaiian Airlines I highly recommend; they have a good deal called Coach Plus: for $50 extra you get two checked bags and no change fees. The flight was a little late and the connection afforded no time for a meal and I noticed my carry on bag (cameras and laptop, that's personal, not work laptop) felt heavier. By the time we landed on Kauai I was absolutely exhausted; in Seattle I was surprised how light my bags felt but now they seemed at least twice as heavy and about all I can carry.

I picked up a 4WD Jeep rental heading off to Hanapepe where I'll be staying the next two weeks. The rental is twice what I need and very clean and nice, it's the lower level of the owner's home with a separate entrance. Two living rooms overlooking Hanapepe valley with a kitchen, bath, and two bedrooms behind.

By now it's quarter to five and I am famished: Island Tacos is open until five so I called ahead. Arrived just a few minutes past five - no problem - for three Ahi Wasabi soft tacos. The place is not much to look at with picnic tables out front but the tortillas they make themselves and the food is fresh and portions generous. With a little Hawaiian  Habanero Heat it's delicious and very messy. Picked up some food at Ishihara Market and stopped at the Russian Fort to see the sun set but with a lot of clouds on the horizon not much to see. Crashed before eight for a nice long rest.

A crude map of Kauai to show my whereabouts: the white dot is where I am staying. Clockwise from the top, major cities are Hanalei, Analhola, Lihue, and Waimea.
You need a newer browser to see this graphic. See here for version compatibility.

Thanksgiving

The family is gathered at home for Thanksgiving and for many reasons this year it's specially appreciated because it isn't taken completely for granted. The traditional preparation of a bountiful meal together is an enduring ritual, but it's also a nice quiet day with time to contemplate while the turkey roasts in the oven.

This year I'm thankful to have the support of family, friends, and my coworkers to take the time to venture to Kauai. Day after tomorrow I should be on the plane and I recognize how lucky I am to have the luxury and backup to let me pursue it without much guilt. Through no great planning it's working out that I'll largely miss the winter season code this year. That could be a dangerous precedent to set.

Every past visit to Hawaii, even before I discovered Kauai, at the airport checking in to go back home I very explicitly wonder to myself, why am I going back and leaving this place? 

Pre-Kauai I did figure out that one week in Hawaii was a bad plan: I was just beginning to adjust to island life and really enjoy it. I think it only took one trip (to the Big Island) to learn that two weeks was minimum. Kauai then upped the ante: two weeks felt minimal, three was very nice indeed but by no means too long at all.

This trip will let me truly explore the time scale to a whole new level. Already I'm planning on rebooking my return further out. Staying on through Christmas is the best (and only) Christmas gift I could ask for.

For all of this I am thankful.

Hello World

In two weeks I'm booked to fly to Kauai for an extended visit. The plan is very much to go and take it day by day, rather than plan an itinerary. At worst I am at risk of getting bored in paradise, but that's a risk I'm prepared to take.

Since I first visited the island in 2010 it has enthralled me. For 2011 and 2012 vacation, it had to be Kauai: the only question was when and how long I could stay. Now I'm fortunate to up the ante and settle in for a good long stay.

Recognizing that Kauai is more interesting to me than anyone I know, this blog will get the full force of my writings about the experience, sparing friends and family the occasional too-long email. Kauai second-hand doesn't really translate, and it's so remote. Many folks remark, "Oh yes, I've visited Hawaii." ... "Actually, I'm talking about Kauai; Hawaii is the state, each island is rather unique."

My plans for this blog are like this upcoming visit: a work in progress. In addition to my personal travelogue I expect to write about all things Kauai: interesting places, a little history, perhaps about some of the people I meet there.

Why Kauai? From my first visit I was struck by the fact that the road does not go around the island, and it's the places near the ends of the road that particularly draw me: Waimea (south and west) and Hanalei (north). Happily, there are no plans for extending the road.