Backcountry Waterfall

Imagine you’re exploring Kauai’s backcountry and you come across a stream with some little waterfalls:

Source: Eric R.

Tantalizingly, you can see more falls upstream. You follow the stream further, feeling grateful it’s not too steep.

Source: Eric R.

Further yet, and you’ve found a little slice of paradise:

Source: Eric R.

As you can see from the attribution, I didn’t take these pictures, nor I have seen these falls myself. A friend of friend loves to explore all over Kauai and has found some awesome places. He gave me permission to post these images.

Kauai Garden Teas

I’ve mentioned that we like to do the tourist thing every now and then, and that includes stopping for some Lappert’s ice cream in Koloa when we come back from the beach in Poipu. The last few times we’ve gone, our 2-year old daughter wanted to wander around the shops nearby—they have so many colorful things to look at and some she can touch.

I forgot the name of the first shop, the one with clothes and world crafts, but the second shop to the left is Island Soap and Candleworks. While we made a few frivolous purchases there, at least the products are made on Kauai (I’ll give them a link because I like their solar electricity initiative, too). My wife is a green tea conaisseur, so one of the items we bought was a sachet of Kauai Garden Tea, a product we had never seen before.

At first glance, we thought it was tea grown on Kauai and were eager to try this new agricultural venture. But then I had a doubt because I’ve never heard of anyone growing tea, at least nobody credible. Upon rereading, the wording on the package only implies that the herbs blended with the tea were grown on Kauai. So then we were a bit skeptical and feeling misled.

But it turns out that the tea is quite good. The green tea that they use is not quite consistent with the price (about $20 if I remember right), but it was very drinkable. The blend of lemongrass and lavender gave this particular blend a hint of Earl Grey, which also has a citrus flavor from the bergamot. I liked the tea more than my wife, both because I like herb teas and she is more of green tea purist, but she admitted it had a pleasant, natural taste and the flavors went well with the green tea.

In the end, only the price is a bit steep (could not resist that pun), but maybe because we bought it in a tourist shop. There was a pineapple shaped tea ball that came with it, so that little gift made it seem worthwhile in the end. Unless we can find it retail somewhere else, we probably won’t buy it again for ourselves (how many tea balls can one use). However, we’ll definitely buy more as gifts for our tea-loving friends and family (if you’re reading and would prefer chocolate covered macademias again, just let me know :-).

They don’t have a website or any contact information, so if anyone knows how to reach the producers, let me know in the comments.

Kalalau Articles

I’m running out of titles for Kalalau-related content. I could update the Kalalau Trip Reports with the following links, but these are more newsy than pure hiking stories.

• First, two old articles about volunteer repairs to the trail last summer and fall. These repairs took place after my previous hike and photos of trail conditions, and I haven’t hiked the trail since to see what changed.

  I’m ambivalent about these repairs. In my mind the trail was passable before, so the work is probably cosmetic to make it look safer. I don’t mean to belittle all the work done, but I do worry about the soundness of the amateur repairs. In other words, if the volunteer did widen the trail with masonry work, only time will tell if it holds up to repeated use. On the other hand, I know some people were intimidated by the trail conditions, and it’s unfortunate when that takes away from the experience. And some repairs by the state tend to be shoddy, and all trails are temporary in the grand scheme of things, so it is more likely a good thing to have the repairs done.

  Interestingly, the first article mentions the need for archeology studies prior to trail work by the state. I know that the state has strict rules and maybe the fact is that being a historical trail itself that crosses some archaeological sites triggers the studies for any work. But I also wonder if they might realign sections of the trail and therefore make sure they aren’t disturbing new sites. In any case, I’m curious to see the repaired trail sections and any plans for the new trail work.

• Then, not to scare anyone, here’s a recent first-hand account of a minor accident on the trail that could’ve been much worse. The author doesn’t say where the accident happened, but there aren’t many switchbacks with view of Kalalau near Hanakoa, so I assume it’s the small valley just at the exit of Hanakoa valley, before the balcony trail. The location is important to me, because I’d be interested in knowing if the eroded trail condtion contributed to the accident, and given that the trail in that area is in poor shape, I’d have to hypothesize it was at least a factor.

  Then, of course, I need to discuss how the hiker could’ve avoided the accident. Although she mentions hiking experience, it didn’t sound too extensive to me. If you go backpacking once a year, chances are you don’t go on difficult trails. Kalalau is a difficult trail, but it can still be done by breaking it over 2 days, especially now that Hanakoa is open for camping near the midpoint and before the eroded sections. She admits that continuing past Hanakoa was overexerting herself. The other lesson, I suppose, is to not be too distracted by the views, and always secure your pack and your own footing when you stop to take pictures, drink, etc.

  I do not fault the hiker for going alone, I think that is still a freedom that should not be discouraged, though you must be aware of the safety aspects in exchange. In the case of the Kalalau trail, this story shows that the risks of hiking alone are not that much greater, given the number of people who do stop to help. People gave assistance and got the word to her family, and rescue personnel hiked in to escort her out. It seems like the system, both formal and informal, for rescuing people works well. There was a similar story in 2006, where an informal chain of good samaritans carried out an injured swimmer by boat (the injuries were much worse, but the person was also doing some extreme off-trail rock-climbing).

• Last, and surprisingly least interesting, is a feature article in National Geographic about the Na Pali coast, including the Kalalau trail. I haven’t seen the print edition yet, but I find the text of the article to be disappointing, and the photos and maps don’t work for me in any browser. The one picture and the thumbnails of the others look impressive, so it seems more like a way of getting pretty pictures into the magazine than a real attempt at covering the issues. I do like their map however, National Geographic always has nice maps:
  
  Source: National Geographic

  Starting with the obvious comparison to Shangri-La and giving only brief and inaccurate explanations of geology and Hawaiian culture, the article mostly centers around the writer’s trek on the trail. And there, predictably, the difficulty is exaggerated, the valley resisdents are stereotyped, and the story of Koolau the leper is told once again. Then the writer goes on to say how the campground is trashed and the ambiance ruined by a boombox. Granted, the “vibe” of the place can change from year to year, and maybe the trash is far more noticeable than when I was there last, but it sounds like the author had unrealistic expectations.

  I am reminded of another misguided travel article about the trail, though not as amateurish because it is, after all, National Geographic. I guess I just have to ask: if a journalist interviews a few people and then writes an article about their vacation, do they get to write the whole thing off as expenses?

Kauai on Your Wall

I’ve mentioned before that I really like maps. I’m a spatial person who likes to know the terrain and how its features interact. Where does this stream go, what’s over that ridge—that sort of thing. I don’t seriously collect maps, but I do have a box full of them at home, as well as a folder full of them on my computer.

But even in this day of GPS and Google Earth, I still think the best maps of Kauai are the US Geological Survey’s “7.5-minute series,” the standard topographic maps at 1:24,000 scale. All of Kauai fits onto 11 maps, called quadrangles. With contour lines, they show all the landforms clearly, down to the smallest ridge, and their use of colors and symbols to denote ground cover (forest, marsh, buildings, etc.) is the most detailed and accurate of any map. For example, here is the area of Kipu Kai, which will be roughly to scale on a 17″ monitor with 1280x1024 resolution:

Ever since I first saw these paper maps of Kauai, I’ve wanted to assemble them on my wall to make a mural. Somehow, I just find it fascinating that you can represent a whole island in the highest detail and it still fits on a wall. The island is huge if you’re just a hiker who likes to explore, but not so huge that it can’t be represented on a human scale. My wife bought me the maps several years ago, but putting them together proved to be a challenge, so I didn’t get it finished until early this year. Fortunately, I have a home office, so the rest of my family doesn’t have to live with my idea of interior decoration:

Notice how the outline of Kauai and some features make it look like the head of a warrior keeping an eye directly on Oahu. It’s also looking straight at me and my desk off to the right.

The challenge in putting the maps together is that the quadrangles do not line up perfectly. Some of the maps in print have been updated more recently than others, so they differ slightly in their coverage. Unfortunately, the center map covering Wai’ale’ale and the two above it and upper-left do not line up with the 6 others around them, so some can line up but not all. You can see the white gap in the photo above.

The finished size is roughly 73 by 89 inches (185 by 226 cm)—within an inch depending on how you handle the overlapping. So the second challenge is having the floor space to work on the maps and the wall space to hang them. The large map is quite heavy and wouldn’t stay up with tape, so I ended up gluing wooden slats to the back and hanging those from strings to a hook in the wall.

There are several ways to get these maps. For the printed paper maps, you can buy them at any number of retailers online— just make sure they have all 11 of the Kauai quadrangles in stock. On Kauai, you can buy them at the Kauai Museum shop in Lihue and the Kokee Natural History Museum, all the way up in Kokee. As far as I know, both places stock all 11 maps so you can make the mural. Wherever you get them, make sure you get the most recent printing you can find of each map.

Digitally, you can download the files for free from the University of Hawaii’s coastal imagery website. You can download the whole island as one map, or click on a quadrangle before selecting the format to get each separately—the geoTIFF format is higher resolution than the JPEG format, but you have to extract it from the ZIP file download. I assume that all of these map files were made from updated sources, so they don’t have the overlap problem of the paper maps. The rest of that website has tons of fascinating maps and imagery for all the islands, with a focus on scientific data about the coastal areas—if you’re like me, you can spend hours surfing there.

You can also purchase the National Geographic Topo! software for Hawaii that contains the same seamless map of all the islands, along with the tools to make your own tracks on the maps or download them from almost any GPS. This is fun software, I have the version for California and used to map all my hiking and biking trips. I never bought it for Hawaii because I got my GPS when I moved here, and it had its own mapping software—even though the maps aren’t as nice as the Topo! product. There seem to be two versions of this product, the original one (Windows only) that is cheaper now but with less functionality, or the newer one (Windows and Mac) with 3-D capabilities like Google Earth (both are now in my “bookstore“). I have yet to confirm this, but if you already own a newer version for another state, or the separate upgrade, you can probably get by with the cheaper one because they are the same maps.

One last note about the map mural: I’m sure other people have made this map, but I only know of two other instances. There is one in the volunteer’s bunkhouse at the Koke’e CCC camp, and the other is more accessible in the common room of the Kapaa International Hostel. If you have made one too and found out how to get around the overlap and gap problem, please let me know in the comments.

Kipu Kai, Finally

Kipu Kai is a large cove on the south-east coast of Kauai, between Lihue and Poipu. It has about 2 miles of shoreline, more than half of it sandy beach. This area is nearly cut off from land access by two ridges that go down to the ocean at right angles from Mount Haupu. The wedge of land in between the ridges, as well as the only access road over them is private and closely guarded, but the beach up to the high wash of storm waves is public by law.

The combination of remoteness, seclusion, and sandy beach makes it one of those mythic “forbidden” places, coveted by modern-day explorers. Needless to say, I’ve always wanted to go there.

Few helicopter tours fly over Kipu Kai, but you sometimes get a glimpse of this coastline from commercial airlines landing or taking off at Lihue airport. This image shows the series of cliffs that reach down to the ocean, making access along the shoreline impossible.

This photo shows how Mount Haupu towers 2300 feet (700m) over Kipu Kai, and how the ridges wall it off from the rest of the island. Remember, all images can be clicked on for larger size.

You can also see Kipu Kai from some of the boat tours, as well as one of the ATV rides, but all of them from a distance. Fishing boats must go by here all the time, but to stand on the beach, you have to either jump from a boat or paddle in on a kayak.

With the calm seas we’ve been having recently, fellow adventurers and neighbors Randy and Ronnie proposed we do just that. It was so calm that my wife and I brought along our 2-year old daughter. We had two choices for which route to take, either from Nawiliwili harbor area or from Kawailoa bay at the end of the dirt road in Mahaulepu. It’s about 2 miles of paddling from Mahaulepu and 4 from Nawiliwili, but coming from Kapaa, we figured we’d rather spend the time in the kayak rather than in the car.

That was actually a fortunate decision because we were experiencing Kona weather, with the wind and the swell from the south. That meant that we went against them when they were mild in the morning, and they pushed us along when they both picked up in the afternoon. Here’s the map of our route, which you can download if you have Google Earth.

The easiest place to lauch a kayak at Nawiliwili is at the beach park on Niumalu road, behind the small boat harbor. We had a later start than planned, so to save a bit of time (about half a mile each way) we drove through the Marriott Resort, parked at the bottom and carried the boats onto Kalapaki beach. From there, we had a straight view of our intended route across of the shipping channel, behind the behind the breakwater, and beyond to the farthest point where we turn for Kipu Kai:

The ocean was perfect for kayaking and we were soon out of the harbor and going past the first point. High above us was Kalanipuu (780 ft, 240m), which has an aviation beacon because it’s so close to the airport. From here on, all the ridges and coastline were unseen terrain to us.

Before making the turn around the next point, there is this cove and small valley. The valley is somewhat of an oddity because it is nestled into what looks like a single ridge from either side, splitting it in two. The cove only has a rocky beach, which would make it hard to land and explore the valley.

When we rounded the “furthest” point we could finally see towards Kipu Kai. The waves and wind picked up a bit, now that we were more exposed to the southerly pattern. The coastline here consists of steep ridges, with rocky cliffs that face the sea. After passing the point of the next cliff, we caught good views of the beach already, looking like they were just beyond the next point.

But looks are deceiving from sea level, and we were barely more that half-way there. It took another hour of paddling into the wind and waves to finally reach the small bay at Kipu Kai itself. Mahaulepu is another 2 miles beyond the furthest point in the photo above.

The swells going into the little bay were almost surfable size, which is way too big for a kayak. You can see on the map we got pushed in and had to turn around to avoid getting swept up. Waiting for a lull between sets of waves, we then paddled straight through to the lee of the rocks in this photo.

As we paddled in, we got a good view of Mt Haupu looming over the private residence. I was a bit disappointed to paddle so far and have such and “intrusion” on my adventure, but I told myself it meant this was the more sheltered and more scenic of the three main beaches.

We land at last, after 2h15 of paddling it felt good to stretch our legs and rest our arms. We had a picnic lunch in the shade of the rocks of the picture above, since it’s forbidden to walk off the beach into the trees above. There is also a sign that says not to climb on the rocks—I don’t think steep rocky coasts have a public right-of-way like beaches. I have heard they keep a keen eye on visitors to make sure no one is tempted. We did see someone leave the house on an ATV, but I never saw whether they came to watch us or some other ranch business.

Speaking of ATVs, the private dirt road to Kipu Kai goes through the low notch in the ridge above the house. One of the ATV tours goes up to that col, but not down into Kipu Kai, click for the view from up there, and then tell me where you’d rather be.

Then we went to expolre all the beaches we could walk to from here, which included the main beach above, and some smaller ones we saw on the way in. You can see where we went in the yellow path on my Google Earth file. The people on the beach above retreated to the house after we landed, so we had the place to ourselves. They must have been members or guests of the family who own the land, but I’m not sure if anyone lives in the house permanently or wether it’s just a weekend retreat.

At the end of the first beach is a wide expanse of extremely shallow reef. It is very flat and had less than an inch of water, none in places so we walked carefully on it. In little pools that were deeper, there were intact pink coral, sea cucumbers, and in one, juvenile pennant butterflyfish.

After the shallow reef, we climbed through some short rocky stretches to access the further beaches. Here were some nice stretches of sand without footprints, at least until we arrived. These beaches are at the foot of steep slopes reaching up to the high ridges. In places where runoff usually flows down from theses slopes, it has carried the green olivine crystals from the volcanic rock down to color the beach. The reef still continues here, so there is no swimming, just laying on the warm sand and staring up at the cliffs, in a way that reminded me more of Kalalau than any other place.

On the way back to the kayaks, we stayed in the rocky areas instead of the reef and found the two large pieces of maritime trash—yet both very artistic in their own way. My first impulse was to want to take them home, then I realized that I could never carry them on a kayak, and secondly it was their contrast with the relatively pristine surroundings that gave them their character.

Back on the main beach, we could look back and see the other beaches we had walked to. We could also see that the waves were getting larger, so we had better not linger:

With over 4 miles of paddling ahead of us, we never even considered going to the two other main beaches to the south. Those would have to wait for another flat ocean day, and probably be wiser to attempt from Mahaulepu. The swells were noticebly larger than in the morning, perhaps the largest I’ve done in our little kayak. We pitched and rolled a little, but no waves were breaking on us and we were never in any danger of tipping over.

On the first leg of the return, the waves were coming mostly from behind, but at angle. The caused the kayak to turn, and since have a rudderless kayak that the rear paddler steers by changing the stroke, I was working extra hard. Now I understand why ocean kayaks usually have little rudders that can adjust for this. Still, the wind was at our backs and really helping us along the whole way. Plus, once we turned past the big point to head for the harbor, the waves were straight behind us and we could surf a little down each wave. In the end, it only took us 1h30 to paddle back, 1/3 less time than going.

But just because I’ve gotten into the habit of finishing with the bad news, here are two views of the development going on at the Marriott Lagoons, between the port and the airport. You can see the little detour we made on the return paddle in green on the map above.

What a pretty little waterfall I had never seen before, splashing down under the palm trees onto the rocks. Then I realized there is no stream here, and it must either be golf-course runoff or overflow from the artificial lagoons. Our friends thought they might be working on the Lagoons and draining them.

Manmade, yet nowhere near as pretty nor as ephemeral, we could also see one of the developments under construction. This used to be practically a blighted area. In the excess of the 80’s, there had been an ocean-front luxury shopping center for the resort guests. Later it was boarded up and the parking lot overgrown with weeds, only the brewpub survived but they no longer brewed their own beer.

So it was little surprise it was being redeveloped. And from one of their ads, it seemed they were offering low-rise condos, from an aestethic viewpoint better than 4-story boxes or spread-out luxury homes. But on the picture above, you can clearly see that they’ve created a huge artificial hill, to create more valuable real-estate overlooking the ocean. In my mind, that should not be permitted because it destroys the natural topography, crowds the shoreline, and runs the risk of eroding faster. I’ve never been to Ninini (running waters), the little beach you can see below the development, but I’d be willing to bet that many more buildings will now be visible from that beach. And now those visions of Kipu Kai seem even more precious.