For our last full day in Kauai Sara and I checked out the east shore. We drove to the roadend beach at Anini past the campground where we had virtually the entire beach to ourselves. I was pretty snorkeled out after the previous day and so found a picturesque tree dangling over the beach to set a hammock up in (photo above). Sara mostly snorkeled. Both were satisfied.
We had a quick detour to see Kilaeua Lighthouse, which seemed like a nice stretch of coast to packraft around (another time maybe). Then down a dirt road deadending at a cliff, we hiked in search of Pila'a Beach. This too we nearly had to ourselves, just a couple locals hanging out. Here there was a broad fringing reef which created some beautifully calm, clear, and colorful waters. I again spent most of the time comfortably in a hammock while Sara snorkeled, even spotting some rays, This was certainly one of the nicer beaches around. I suppose this day was the closest I came to what most people would consider a vacation.
After an appropriate amount of hammock time, we left and drove south to see Poipu and Shipwreck's beaches before driving to Makena and Clarke's where we camped the night. It was great to be able to spend a little time with them. In the morning Makena's curious chickens made packing difficult, following me wherever I went. Sara and I checked out McBryde Gardens in Poipu to kill a little time (learning that virtually every plant we associate with Hawaii is from somewhere else!), then dropped off the rental car and waited for our flight back to the mainland. In about two weeks I was able to get in three very memorable exploration trips. In many ways this only wetted my appetite to return for some expedition-grade adventures with a keen crew.
After a good night's sleep at Anini Beach and the corresponding sleep-in, I was feeling a little less sickly. Jeff was packed and ready for his afternoon airplane, leaving us with a few hours to further explore the North Shore. I wanted to find Turtle Cove, a lesser known stretch of coast near Princeville with dubious access through an affluent community. We thought we figured out where the trail down the cliff should be but it turned out our guess was incorrect- all we found was mud, a vertical cliff, and mosquitoes. So instead we walked over to Queen's Bath and had a swim in its pool for a bit. Touristy as expected but pleasant enough. We then traversed the coastline east trying to get to the Turtle Cove area. This required a pretty unpleasant downclimb to get to ocean level that Sara and Jeff were not too interested in. I didn't blame them it was not something I really wanted to reverse if I didn't have to. I checked around the corner- no further obstacles. So I opted to go further along the coast leaving the other two to do what they wanted for a couple hours.
This area had one of the more extensive reef platforms I had seen in Kauai, actually making walking pretty easy if you watched your footing. I found the sea cave easily enough, which was an incredibly idyllic spot. Carefully walking through the cave by the light of my phone (so as not to trip on rocks and slumbering sea turtles), I reached the back entrance, also a beautiful spot. Dropping everything but my snorkel gear on a ledge above the water, I waded out to the reef and continued east to where there were a couple deeper water sand and rock coves. And lots of turtles! This was definitely Turtle Cove.
The waves were pretty strong and the resulting visibility was not the best but nevertheless watching about twenty of these turtles go about their business eating sea grass was great. They seemed completely indifferent, even when unexpected waves nearly slammed us into each other. I snorkeled around for a good half hour (would have been more entertaining with Jeff and Sara) and then decided it was nearly time to head back.
Back through the cave I collected my things and found the real access trail easily enough. It turned out to be a lot more obvious from the bottom than the top and I can see how we would have missed finding it. Turned out Sara and Jeff went to Hanalei but I caught up with them soon enough.
View of Turtle Cove from above
After dropping Jeff off at the airport in Lihue, Sara and I opted for a little more North Shore time, driving all the way to Haena for our night's camping. The waves were still somewhat rough but I found a spot with a bunch of turtles at a shallow reef just off the shore. Visibility was poor but the turtle spotting was great. I had a great time continuously watching turtles for nearly an hour. Watching the people on the shore trying to find and snorkel to the turtles (easy but they were making it complicated) was almost as amusing. The day ended with a beautiful sunset. The campground was thankfully quiet apart from the roosters.
With the creeks and canyons still running somewhat high and to be inclusive of Sara, we opted to use Jeff's last full day on Kauai to do an adventure hike into the heart of the island and the headwaters of the Wailua River, known as the Blue Hole. The name itself seems bizarre and inappropriate. Essentially this would be a hike to the bottom of the dramatic bowl of 3000' cliffs and waterfalls that drain Waialeale's wet summit. At it's very back is an interesting alcove with cascading springs and a thousand foot waterfall called the Wall of Tears (a much better name!). The hike had a reputation as one of the harder on the island so I was not expecting there to be too much of a trail. In the end it did take us pretty much the whole day to go about 5 miles.
We had a slow start to the morning as we packed up our camping gear at Anini, drove around to Wailua town and then turned inland. A mostly good but often muddy and rutted 4WD road with several stream crossings put our Jeep Wrangler to good use. We continued until we determined our Jeep speed became slower than we could walk, which put us only a half mile before the end of the road. Time to walk.
A good stretch of road
We strolled down the road, running into some lost Canadians that managed to drag us into their state for about twenty minutes until common sense prevailed and we proceeded to the road end like we should have. From here a faint trail along the left bank was enough to convince me we were on the right track. The couple must have almost immediately taken a hunter's trail and were never to be seen from again. This was one of those up and down over roots and boulders, in and out of forest sort of trails. A find-the-path-of-least-resistance journey. Progress was slow, slower than it should have been, but gradually we approached the steep cliffs and foggy headwall. Jeff and I were both intrigued by the North Fork Wailua River here- incredibly steep but with the right flow much of it looked like it could be packrafted. This was beautiful and natural Hawaii, interrupted only by the near constant mechanical screaming of helicopters overhead.
About half way up distance-wise the valley walls began to close in like a gateway and we had a brief swim in the two waterfalls plunging here. I was pleasantly surprised at the sculpted rock and deeply scoured pools, which gave me good hope for other high quality canyon features around the island.
Refreshed, we now followed the trail up the tributary creek north of the Wailua which had several nice bedrock channel sections and a steep climb out to an intervening saddle. The walls and waterfalls began to tower around us. We passed the one group of people we would see on the hike.
Once on top of the first saddle we could begin to see where we were in the steep walled bowl and the Wall of Tears became visible. We still had a fair bit of up and down to do crossing several small incised creeks. The last saddle had a small clearing, and since a snack break was called for, I played around a bit with the drone I had brought. This place had such a narrow view of the sky that I could not get a GPS lock, which essentially crippled the drone. Another ten minutes and we reached the point where we could go no further. A spectacular alcove filled with cascading water.
The return was uneventful but still very slow. Portions of the trail seemed even harder to follow in the reverse direction. We only had just enough daylight to get out of the maze of roads.
We returned to Anini Beach for another night of camping.
After a remarkably dry week in Kauai, 24 hours of well-timed heavy rain hit Wailaelae, soaking the swamp and swelling the headwaters that feed Waimea Canyon. The rain gauge data at the summit as well as the stream gauge near Waimea town both looked great (950cfs our run would be in the end) so Jeff and I were both a go to packraft the elusive Grand Canyon of the Pacific. Because of the hassle involved in getting a whitewater kayak to Hawaii, I suspect it is a lonely run- frequently in condition, rarely done. This was said to be an excellent kayak run and was our top wet weather priority for Kauai. Nine miles of fun Class III whitewater and a two mile flatwater runout back to Waimea town. As far as I know the Waimea has not been descended by packraft.
Waipo'o Falls seen from a lookout while scouting
Sara dropped Jeff and I off at the top of the Kukui Trail, the only reasonable access to the canyon bottom, early and bright. It was still raining in the headwaters but here there was only the lightest mist and dainty fog clinging to the hillsides. The landscape was stunning with the early morning shadows. The analogy to the Grand Canyon certainly seemed apt, despite the smaller scale. The upcanyon views in particular were fantastic. The trail provided surprisingly easy access- we were at the Waimea in less than an hour, no root clinging necessary, the mud the right amount of tacky for grip.
The first sight of the river looked good. Wanting to gain a bit more length, we followed the old road upcanyon, crossed the river at a waist deep crossing, then traversing along the left bank. About 500m below Koai'i Stream progress slowed and we decided to suit up and inflate. We ferried across the river and walked the road upstream a bit more to get a little more action. Tannin stained whitewater, lush vegetation, red cliffs, wispy fog. Time to paddle!
The river was surprisingly steep prompting one or two quick scouts before we realized the river was comfortably read-and-run, at least at the flows we had. The river was fundamentally pool-drop in its character, but also notable was the varying channel widths. When wide the river would turn into a barely navigable garden of shallow boulders (more water would have been better). When narrow it would be a roaring ride through wave trains and holes (more water would still have been welcome). The rapids were nice and long, often approaching a quarter-mile in length before ending at a calm brown pool.
Though the scenery in the headwaters above our put-in is arguably more dramatic with taller cliffs and towering waterfalls, the middle reach had much varied scenery to offer with lush vegetation clinging to red cliffs and trees forming overhanging corridors scenically enveloping the river. We appreciated the rare signs of humanity, save the omnipresent helicopter tours overhead. Few river features posed a challenge (I stayed upright the whole time), but it was all excellent fun and hours of smiles. One of the better drops and holes was just above the power station dam, which we couldn't help but take several runs a piece on. The dam itself was also cleanly runnable.
Three frame sequence below:
The further downstream, the sunnier the day, the lower the annual rainfall, the drier the vegetation. We started to see cacti clinging to the cliffs. All of this led to a more open feeling to the river and surrounds. More read-and-run enjoyment continued. We were starting to wonder how much river we had left! The photos and videos speak more effectively than my words.
Eventually we passed a couple bridges and houses at about the same time the Class III ended, telling us that we were nearing the end. We floated out the last couple slow miles to Lucy Wright Park in Waimea. The beach showers provided a convenient cleanup station. We packed up, texted Sara, and walked to town for some food and shave ice. Our trip was well timed as a torrential downpour started within about 20 minutes, which we appreciated from the overhang of the L&L.
Soon we were reunited with Sara who had a nice morning hiking around the Alkali Swamp. With some day still left, we went to see how cranking Wailua Falls was (very!) and to take the root clinging climb down to the pool's edge to appreciate the force of mist and thundering roar.
Continuing north, we stopped in at Queen's Bath in Princeville, which was looking dramatic under the stormy skies and higher seas. Sara and I appreciated being temporarily dry while Jeff had fun getting blasted by the whitewash of waves.
We ended the day camping at Anini Beach. A good day all around.
Thanks to Sara and Jeff for a very memorable run through a special place.
