What a hike! We took the Kalalau Trail on the North Shore today. This is the part of the island that you can't get to by car. If you want to see it, you have to hike or pay for a helicopter ride ($250 per person). We opted to do the damage to our bodies. Even so, the trail is a whopping 11 miles long, so we didn't see all there was to see. In fact, if you want to go past a certain point on the trail, you have to have a permit to camp...it's that far (and difficult).
Two miles in, we arrived at Hanakapi'ai Beach, and all along the trail just before the beach are signs saying "Don't swim!" and "Dangerous Undercurrents!" Another sign said, "Be careful! This many people have died on this beach!" followed by dozens of slash marks and room for more. You get the point...
Of course, Ryan went swimming. I stood on the edge of the surf and still got knocked on my butt.
After a rest at the beach, we headed up to the Hanakapi'ai Waterfalls, which was a gruelling hike over boulders and sliding along the side of cliffs (well, maybe not quite that bad), but it was worth it. It started to rain about a quarter of the way up, which made the trail and the rocks super slick.
We ate lunch right next to the falls, then headed back to the beach for a swim in the rain. (That's the beautiful thing about the weather here: even if it's raining, it's so warm that the rain is more of an annoyance than anything. Sometimes it comes at just the right moment, when you're sweating and just need to cool off.)
6 hours later, we were back at the car and didn't even have the energy to go out to dinner like we had planned. Still, so worth it.
I know it looks like Daddy drowned, but he's just fine, I promise. :0)
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