We managed to almost miss the trailhead and to go the opposite way round the loop from that which we intended, but somehow we tackled the steady uphill climb in the hot sun to reach our goal. The long walk up a paved road to the trailhead isn’t all that much fun.
Food, entertainment, deadly drinks and good friends (and I don’t mean the guy in the pink grass skirt).
You have to do it at least once.
Half price sushi on Sundays at Sansei. Whoo hooo!
Magnum… (or is that Blue Steel?)
Saturday morning we joined the HTMC for a Kalihi hike on the Kamanaiki trail. This is a nice moderate hike with just a few narrow, steep sections – nothing too hairy. The start of the trail is unique. Narrow stairs ascend right between two houses and continue up to a water tank. After the tank, the trail mostly follows a ridge up to a clearing with a view of the Kalihi Valley on one side and Kamanaiki Valley on the other. Squawking chickens and barking dogs composed the sound track.
Check out Friday nights at Hank’s featuring lobster hot dogs and truffle mac n cheese. It’s BYOB. I suggest hitting the hobo liquor store on the corner for some vodka to add to your lilikoi lime soda or pineapple slush.
Sadly no hike this week, but kayaking right off the beach at HCHQ helped make up for it. And we’ve proven that Moksha floats! Papillons are supposed to hate the water, and while I wouldn’t say that he loves it, he tolerates it well. I’m not sure if he enjoys swimming or is terrified or a little of both…
We followed up kayaking with a foray to my new favorite watering hole. OK, now I know this isn’t sophisticated, but I’m serious. Where in Honolulu can you find a huge bar with dark wood and chandeliers and sofas and a trivia machine, except…. The Spaghetti Factory?! We were drawn there by a craving for starch and cheese and a certain lightness of the wallet. We’ll go back to sprawl on the sofas with a $15 bottle of sangiovese and to maintain our high score on the trivia machine.
1. Alakai Trail – This is the famous “boardwalk” through an eerie and beautiful misty bog. There are actually two boardwalk trails that form an X, the Pihea Trail and the Alakai Trail. Most people start this hike at the paved parking lot at the far end of the road that passes the Kokee information center, but this means a boring and slippery 2 miles to get to the Pihea board walk. We took an alternate route, but you need a 4WD car. You take the dirt road right across from the information center at Kokee to the start of the Alakai trail. From there to Kilohana (with a stunning view over Hanalei) is 3.5 miles. Most of it is flat and easy. You can add a loop onto the Pihea trail on the way back for a total of a little over 9 miles. If I could only do one hike on Kauai, this would be it.
2. Awaawapuhi Trail – This one also starts near Kokee Lodge. It actually goes down from the trailhead for about 3 miles and winds up at an overlook ABOVE the Kalalau valley. The climb on the way back is slow and steady – not bad but a decent workout. Totally worth it for the view.
3. Okolehau Trail – The trailhead is near Hanalei. It starts on an old road and climbs steadily for about a mile to a pretty overlook. From there it turns into a proper trail, kind of rooty and muddy in spots. Near the top (about 2.5 miles) it gets overgrown. At one point you will see a rope ladder to your right, but if you ignore this and bushwack off to the left you’ll get to the End of Trail sign for Okolehau with a killer view over the north and east of Kauai.
All three trails were fun and showcased different aspects of Kauai’s diverse scenery. And the hiking days were even better topped off with fabulous food from Blossoming Lotus, Beach House, or just from the farmer’s market. Yum. Kauai is a magic place.
