No, I'm not writing from Hawaii. I really wish I was though! We just got back from an extended weekend trip to Kauai on Monday night. I've finally uploaded my pics and Garmin data so it's time to tell about the adventures.

We arrived in Poipu on Thursday afternoon, with plenty of time to lounge pool side and enjoy the waterslide! Friday I took advantage of the delightful 25 meter lap pool at the spa that no one but me seemed to use. Score! Later we did a little yoga class while it rained, it was the coolest studio, hard wood floors, open doors/window under a thatched roof. We were warm and dry, but could hear the rain falling just outside, very relaxing.

Saturday was our big adventure. We departed "early" for a hike/run along the Napali coast on the North side of the island. We'd planned on leaving by 7, but by the time we got breakfast and were ready to roll it was closer to 730. We forgot our little black and white xerox copy trail map in the hotel room, by the time we remembered we were half way across the hotel (it's a really big hotel) and almost out the door. So we stopped at the concierge to ask for another copy. Instead we got attitude. The lady smirked at us as we were "getting a late start" because it's "at least an 8 hour hike". So then I tried to calm her time worries and explain that we planned to run some of it. Well that just made things worse. "You can't run it!" was her response. I'm not going to try and explain to her what terrain can and can't be run. So instead I said, I've done it before, which I have, four years ago in June, in the sun. Regardless, we were on our way, me a little peeved at the woman's useless feedback on our excursion.

So it was raining as we left. Me in my racerback running top, ya know, so I can get a tan. It was still raining when we pulled up to the town of Hanalei, on the North side of the island. It was a warm 68 degrees and wet. So I bought a sweet $8 poncho at an Ace Hardware. Before the hike, I decided to tie the sides together because it draped around me like a dress for a size 14 woman.


Awesome look right? The first part of the trail climbs up with plenty of rocks, but in the rain, everything was slick. So we sort of jogged it. Once portions leveled out and it was less rocky, we were able to run. Until about mile 2. Here we hit the "stream" crossing number 1. And when I say stream, I mean river with a giant current. We naively removed our socks and shoes and Preston carefully navigated across aiming for under water rocks in a precise path that I was strictly instructed to follow, lest I be swept away by the currents and end up dead on the rocks below.
River forded, success!
I swore there was a beach here. Now it's just rocks. Big round rocks, everywhere. Where did that little beach go? So strange...
So we moved along on the trail, this part into Hanakapi'ai Falls is flat, with some ups, but no major climbs. It would've been quicker, if it weren't for the mud. Puddles everywhere. Big brown puddles with slipper brown mud in them.

This one was "nice" in the sense that there was a rickety, slippery bamboo bridge to get across on.
Then, the trail lead us right back into the river and Preston said - "You didn't tell me we had to cross again!". Hmm, I vaguely remember this. I also remember being warm and sweaty and getting a tan, and the trail not being covered in mud everywhere.
Here things got fun. We again, naively removed our socks and shoes and Preston tried to cross. The water was well up to his waist, and the currents were pretty strong. He got about half way and said he could make it, but there's no way I could. Normally, I'd be insulted and want to prove him wrong. At the risk of being helicoptered back, I decided he was right, just this one time. So then he disappeared down the trail to try and find another way. Fail. Then we back tracked a little and realized, there was another way further ahead to cross. This was far easier, but meant we hit a small island and crossed again for a 3rd time. Each time, removing our completely soaked socks and shoes.
Finally back on the trail, we were getting close. We were about 3.5 miles in and total should be about 4. We lost the trail at one point and had to back track. Finally got to a spot where we could see the falls up ahead, but sadly, the trail again drove us right back into the water. At this point we decided to turn around and head back.
On the way back, we didn't even bother taking our shoes off. Made the river crossings a lot quicker! We only saw 2 other couples all day out past the 3rd crossing. Back towards the first river crossing, we saw 2 other couples, neither looking like they'd make it very far. At the original river crossing, there was as small crew of hikers on the first part of the trail gathered.
When we finally made it back to the car, we shed our wet tops and mud covered shoes and headed straight for Bubba Burgers. Yum!
Later I looked at the GPS data for where we were. I also learned that the trail at this portion is unmaintained, so it's likely there are random overgrown trails, some that get you there, some that don't. Another odd thing, is that it almost looks like you have to cross back south and north again, for 2 more crossings, which we never did. So perhaps we were on the right path?




Really hard to tell where the heck we were!
The rest of the trip was uneventful, more relaxing in the sun by the pool. A nice dirt (and not mud!) trail run out to the beach and some private lap pool swimming.
And now, home. Sad.

View Original Post at seelararun.blogspot.com

• Filed Under:  
• Running, Sports, SportsPLUS, Travel

• Tags:
• Kauai
• nepali coast

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amyc

kudos to you guys for running in the rain. :) the red mud here is super-slick and can feel sketchy (esp. as you look down the cliff into the waves crashing against the rock).

my husband and i hiked this exact trail a few weeks ago when it was relatively dry and i can only imagine how swollen the river must've been for you. i'm looking forward to running the entire trail soon. :) thanks for the inspiration to not worry so much about the rain and have fun with it.

Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 12:02pm PST