Whales Offshore

We’ve had several periods of very calm seas recently, and some friends borrowed our kayak one weekend to go offshore at Kealia beach. They paddled out over two miles and had an incredible encounter with the whales. It is illegal to approach whales in any boat, and a friend on Maui was cited by a federal ranger for swimming out next to some whales. But if you paddle out and wait, they sometimes approach you.

Our friends saw them surface less than 100 feet (30 m) away, could hear them breathe, and even saw the eye of one that seemed to be looking at them. They also saw the whales wave their flippers and flukes (tails) out of the water, but not so close-up thankfully. Remember that a baby humpback whale is the size of a car, and an adult is the size of a school bus.

Hearing that, my wife and I wanted to go too. So late one afternoon, with ocean still increadibly flat, we put the kayak in the water at Wailua Beach, and then we paddled straight out to sea:

We got some nice views of the coast that we land-lubbers aren’t so used to seeing. Here is Nonou, the Sleeping Giant profile:

And then we saw the whales! First there were several blows, and then one of them was breaching several times in a row. They get far out of the water and come down with a huge splash—it looked like fun to me. I wonder if it was a male trying to impress a female or just someone with an itch. They were still a mile or more away, this is the best photograph I took of them:

Much as we wanted to go nearer, the sun was going down behind Kalepa Ridge, so we had to head back in:

According to the GPS, we were only 1.3 miles (2km) offshore, and whales probably don’t come that close. You can see in the map above that we never went beyond the imaginary line connecting the outermost points of the island.

Back on the beach, we met some other friends who had the same idea and had just landed their kayak as well. Except they had started earlier, went further out, and were approached by the whales, maybe the same ones we saw. They said they were close enough to hear their whalesong above the water.

For the rest of us unlucky whale watchers, we’ll have to be happy with the live broadcast of whalesongs from Maui by whalesong.net. You’ll need the RealPlayer plugin to hear it, but it’s worth installing if you don’t already have it.

Wailua Falls Fenced Off

Every now and then, I like to visit the tourist spots on Kauai, the places locals almost never go anymore. So back in January when I had an hour in Lihue between appointments, I drove to the famous Wailua Falls overlook. The falls were as pretty as ever, with plenty of runoff from the winter rains:

I also discovered the secret to catching the rainbow in the spray below. You have to go when the sun is near the point directly behind your head as you look at the falls. In early January, this happens around noon. In late fall and early winter, the rainbow should still be visible in the morning, but during spring and summer, the sun is in the wrong place. This time, I knew something was different even before I arrived because much of the road to the falls had been repaved. There is still a small section with potholes, and the rest is still narrow and curvy, but it makes the driving much easier. But I wasn’t aware that the State Parks department had entirely rebuilt the lookout area. The parking lot beyond and viewing area haven’t changed that much, but the addition of the rock wall and striping on the road give more security to pedestrians.

One thing that hasn’t changed is that to see the pool below the waterfall, as in the photo above, you need to stand on the wall. I suppose it’s easier to stand on the wall than the old fence, but it would be better if they trimmed the vegetation back instead. Come to think of it, if the State went to all this trouble of fixing the lookout, they should’ve acquired another acre of land nearby and created a small loop with more parking and a physical barrier between the road and the walking area.

Another noticeable difference is the proliferation of warning signs. From the wording on them, they just left the old ones that mention the fence, and added new ones that mention the wall.

You can see in the photo above that there is a fence that begins just to the right of the wall. This fence existed before, and it blocks off an impossibly steep gully that you’d have to be crazy to think you can get down it to the base of the falls.

So far so good, there’s no harm in having more signs, and it may even do some good. But then I started exploring around, as I’m prone to do, and was quickly thwarted.

To the right of the chain link fence is one of the very steep trails down to the waterfall. This is not an official trail, but scores of people have made their way down using directions from the guidebooks. Now, there is a low, temporary-looking fence that runs along the whole area. It doesn’t really keep people out, and indeed the fence is flattened in one spot giving easy access. But it really sends the message that the State Park administration doesn’t want people going to the pool at the base of the falls.

No problem, I think to myself, I prefer the other trail down anyways, it’s more scenic. A 1/4-mile back on the road is a large turnout, now nicely paved with a shiny new guardrail. But the State Parks fenced this whole area off as well, and put up some new signs for good measure. Again, the barrier is more psychological then physical, but it does make the conscientious hiker pause and reconsider.

Just for fun, I went to see the top of the falls instead. I really must emphasize that standing at the top of waterfalls is dangerous, the top of the cliff can be slippery, and trying to cross the river there has deadly consequences if you fall in. But the hole in the old fence was still open, so I went to check it out. This area is more secluded and less interesting than the pool, and there is no real trail. But sure enough, there was a new fence going all the way down to the river and more than enough signs for the State to cover its liability.

Update: A reader wrote to say that the little fences were not present last November when he hiked down to the falls from the turnout. He also makes it sound as if the wall was not built yet either, so all the work was probably done in December 2007.

Kuilau Ridge Trail Update

After yesterday’s blog update, today I have news that the Kuilau trail has been “updated.” In my first post about the trail, I focused on the nice views near the picnic shelter at the end. I walked the trail a week ago and some maintenance has made it even better.

The most evident work that has been done is a thinning of trees by the side of the trail, opening up many more views than existed before. This is in the first half of the trail that used to be very shaded, so now it is a little more exposed to the afternoon sun. As much as I’m opposed to “improving” natural areas for aesthetic reasons, I have have to admit I was enjoying the many sights. In the photo below, you can see the trunks and branches that have been trimmed, making a nice view of the green valley and Makaleha mountains beyond.

One advantage to having more light on the trail is that it should dry out quicker and be less muddy. When I looked at the trail again, I noticed that it was very flat and even all the way up. While this trail was never very rutted, it had some places where it wasn’t very flat. Now it’s been graded and some gravel added to make it almost passable by a wheelchair (I did say “almost”).

Similar to what was done on the Moalepe trail further along, I think all this work was done because it is a popular horseback ride from the stables nearby. And since I find it hard to believe that the State did all this maintenance on a trail, I would guess that the stable owners contributed to the effort.

We’ve been having Kona weather recently, where the tradewinds are replaced with Kona winds (from the south or west). This gives different views of the mountains on the east side because now the clouds are being blown over from the other side. I got another picture of Pohakupele, although you can’t really see the distinctive rounded summit in the clouds. This is the peak to the right of the Blue Hole over which it is said the ancient Hawaiians hiked up to Wai’ale’ale. The clouds reveal the deep notch in the north-eastern ridge, and so they probably followed the south-eastern ridge, with appears directly in front of the mountain in this picture:

Because the Kona winds create and push the clouds up from the south, it is clearer over the south shore. In this view looking south, the low point is the Knudsen gap, near the tunnel of trees, and the first major peak to the right is Kahili Mountain.

It’s not that great a picture, and I didn’t really manage to improve it with Photoshop, but I want to include it because it made me realize what is so incredible about the views from the Kuilau ridge: you can probably see 20% of the surface of Kauai from here, and except for the powerline and a few distant antennas, there are no man-made structures visible.

After the good news, the bad news: there was a lot of broken car window glass at the parking lot right at the trailhead. Upon seeing that, we parked 150 feet (50m) further in the larger parking before the river crossing. There is no glass there.

I don’t know if this glass is the result of theft, drug-induced rage or teenage pranks, because this is a popular hangout, and there are jest as many rental cars in each parking. Still, do not leave anything valuable in your car whenever you park at any trailhead or beach, and do not leave anything visible other than worthless items such as towels. You should also hide your guidebook under your seat if you don’t hike with it.

Update: Just to end on a happier note, local reader Erik Burton sent me these photos of hoi, a native wild yam, that can be found along the Kuilau Ridge trail. I’ve seen them before, but never took pictures of them. Hoi (pronounced ho-ee) was a famine food, gathered only when necessary, probably because it is also known as the bitter yam.

The tubers come in all sizes, from golf-ball to large potoato. I think they grow aerially and so you often see them having fallen off the vine and rolled onto the trail. Erik says the vine grows from a large tuber underground, but I’ve never dug one up.

The vine is easily recognizable, with simple dark green, heart-shaped leaves.

More Kalalau Trip Reports

I didn’t have much time to write today, so I did what every good blogger does: link to somebody else’s writing.

I updated my page of Kalalau trip reports with 3 new ones that are worth checking out. It’s like 3 blog posts for the price of none.

I Found Cheeses on Kauai

Kauai is a small place with limited choice in the grocery stores, so if you come from elsewhere and you’re hankering for what you used to eat “back home,” you’re going to be disapointed. Over time, you learn to live without. But sometimes, when you go looking, you just might find, you get what you need. I used to live in the French Alps, just south of Switzerland, and I learned to make and love cheese fondue.

My basic recipe for “real” fondue has 3 cheeses: one stringy one, one flavorful nutty one, and one rich one. In France, those correspond to French Emmental, Comté, and Beaufort; in Switzerland Swiss Emmental, Gruyère, and Appenzeller. I’ve always been on the lookout for good European cheese here, and quickly learned to be weary of the Président Brie and other brands made in Wisconsin. If you care about those things, European cheese is made from milk from cows that do not receive bovine growth hormone.

When Costco moved in, they brought a constant supply of Comté and Gruyère at a good price, which was a great improvement. And then just before Christmas, I saw real Swiss Appenzeller at Safeway. I’d seen some Emmental at various places, but one day we melted the much cheaper Norwegian Jarlsberg from Costco, and I knew it was the perfect stringy substitute.

So, eventhough spring is practically here with this great weather, the nights are still chilly and a fondue is still in season. Here is my Kauai fondue recipe:

• Jarlsberg from Costco, Comté from Costco, Appenzeller from Safeway

  in the ratio 2:2:1 for a total of 1/2 pound of cheese per person, rounding up for hungry people. So for 4 people, I think I had 1 lb each of Jarlsberg and Comté and 1/2 lb of Appenzeller. Always remove the rinds. For best results, shred the cheese if you have a food processor, otherwise just cut it up as small as you can, and mix it all together.

• 1/4 cup white wine per person, rounding up to match the cheese. I used 2006 Clos du Bois Chardonnay and it worked great, I think the 2006 Mirassou Chardonnay I just found at Safeway for $10 would work just as well. Get 1/2 bottle per person at least, because what you don’t cook in the fondue, you drink with it.
• 1/4 to 1/2 clove garlic per person, depending on taste.
• The bread is important too. I was going to buy it all at Costco because it looked just right, but fortunately my daughter wanted to eat some in the store, and I found it to be too dense. So I only bought the package of 5 little breads we had opened. Much as I hate to say it, Safeway makes the right kind of French baguette, crispy and crumbly on the outside, light and fluffy inside—regular or sourdough, depending on what you prefer (real French bread is in between). In the California, Acme Bread was the closest to French artisan bread I could find. Count on a half-baguette per person, at least.
• The choice of fondue pot is also important. We have had several fondue sets over the years, but my wife got rid of the pots because they had teflon or aluminum. In the end, we use our everyday stainless steel pots, and the thick bottom works great to spread the heat once we move it to the burner on the table.

Make the fondue just before you eat it. If you haven’t cut the bread beforehand, ask your guests to do it now. Cut the bread roughly into 1 inch cubes.

The original recipe I learned said to cut the garlic and just wipe the fondue pot with it, but we like garlic in our house, so we just press it and put it all in. Then add the wine and heat it over medium heat. Enjoy the fumes, because that’s where all the alcohol goes. Just as tiny bubbles start to form, add a handful of cheese and stir with a wooden spoon. As soon the cheese loses its shape, add another handful and stir again. Soon it looks like thin melted cheese, so just keep adding handfuls as soon as the previous softens into the mass. Turn the heat down and keep stirring to keep it from bubbling.

After all the cheese is melted, there is usually some separation of a thinner liquid on top of the mass of cheese, and you want to keep that to a minimum. Instead of stirring vertically around the pot, I use the flat of the spoon to lift the thicker cheese up and over the liquid part to increase the mixing. When you can’t get anymore of the thin liquid to mix in, move the pot to the burner at the center of the table and serve immediately.

You don’t need special prongs to dip the bread, just push the pieces onto forks and dip into the thicker cheese at the bottom to coat well. Stir occasionally, and keep the pot hot enough so the cheese stays liquid, but not so it bubbles and burns on the bottom—that’s where the thick pot really helps spread the heat. You may have to take a break and put the pot back on the stove to add heat and stir it again.

There is a theory that you must drink wine with fondue. The cheese is very greasy, and the alcohol helps keep it in suspension. Drinking water will cause the solids to separate in your stomach and make it hard to digest. That’s the theory at least, I haven’t tried to disprove it, and I ‘ve never been sick.

When you get to the bottom of the pot, there will be some thick cheese stuck to the bottom, the hotter your burner, the harder the crust will be. If you’re still hungry, put the pot back on the stove to get even heat, and crack an egg or two over the cheese. Stir in a little and then let it cook. Scoop out and serve with the remaining bread.

Finally, don’t try to clean out the fondue pot, just fill with water and let soak overnight.

PS: Costco and some of the grocery stores sell the pre-made fondue that comes in a pouch in a box. You just heat and serve, and it is usually made from authentic Swiss cheese, so it is fairly good if you don’t want to make the recipe from scratch.

PPS: I make no apologies for that cheesy pun in the title. The right combination of cheese, wine and bread in communion with good friends and maybe the right music can be nearly a religious experience for me.