Introduction/Background: While hiking in the rain forests and mountains and on the coastline of New Zealand last November, we commented several times that we ought to do the same in the good old USA, by hiking in Kauai and in the Olympic National Park. The latter is a late summer sort of trip we’ve been told so we picked up a book on the former (called The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook). It seems by far the best book, based on comments we heard while there, but isn’t up to Lonely Planet standards in some respects.

We were rather lazy in deciding to do Kauai this Spring but when a semi-opening in my activities at work surfaced we gave it a shot - called one of those package outfits (SunTours) and asked for any almost immediate opening. They had one, plane + car + hotel all at a good package price, and we took it. This meant we’d be staying at a nondescript hotel but it also meant we didn’t have to do any other planning. Just pack and go.

Thursday - 1: Our flight was to depart at 7:45 AM but they want you there two hours early and you only get seat assignments in real time, so Vreni picked us up at 5:15. Actually, we had agreed upon 5:30 but unbeknown to me Dawna had backed it up to 5:15 so as I was picking up the morning paper, up pulled Vreni. I accused her of being 15 minutes early which at that time in the morning is a whole bunch, but then learned she was just on time (only I hadn’t heard the time). However, we were pretty much ready anyway. Checkin went smoothly and we got seats together with one at the window. Boarding was relatively controlled and since we had checked all three of our suitcases we had little to hassle with in terms of carry-ons. As has been the case recently we each pack a can-be-carried-on suitcase (with wheels) with our clothes and then pack a big army duffel with everything else - boots, a cooler, snorkeling stuff, some food, etc. The flight was on time and uneventful other than the fact that they really pack you in both in terms of the seat width and how close the rows are together. Thank goodness they also have the amount you can tilt your seat back limited so the person in front of you can’t totally get in your lap and thank goodness neither of us are large.

The plane landed in Maui where we were to catch a plane to Kauai in about 2 ½ hours. We went over to Aloha Airlines to see about catching the plane that would go in a bit under 2 hours and instead walked onto a plane that was leaving in 15 minutes. Figured, and they told us specifically, our bags wouldn’t make it on this flight but that they would make the next one so we’d still be ahead of the game time wise. And, I always figure the first flight to go where you are going is the best one for it gives you more backups. The flight wasn’t full and we had good views as it first went to Honolulu, where most folks got off and a few new ones got on, and then onward to Kauai. We got there and went to the baggage area "just in case" and hey, there were our bags. Picked up the rental car smoothly and were a couple hours ahead of the game. Went the 8 miles to the hotel. Nothing fancy but reasonable although oldish and they were doing a lot of repair work (for the whole week we were there). They didn’t have our names in their reservation systems so it took awhile for them to reconfigure things (glad we had a voucher in our hands) while we waited around and then the room they did find for us wasn’t yet cleaned. So, off we went for lunch. Tried to go to Big Wave Brewing Company but it turned out it had been out of business for 6 months or so. They people who informed us of this told us of a good hole-in-the-wall stand a block away and we went there and it was local, slow, and good. Oriental/Thai food; and we both had different types of stir-fry. Sat outside in the Sun and humidity thinking it was about time to get into those shorts and loose fitting shirts. Back to the hotel, more waiting for the room, and finally into it. Rested a bit (we had gotten up at 2:30 AM Kauai time) and then wandered around the market place right next to the hotel (The Coconut Marketplace). Lots of rather nice stores and art galleries and restaurants, etc. Saw some folks gathering at one area and joined them and watched a 45 minute or so Hula "show" by a half dozen Hawaiians. Fitting start for the trip. Back at the motel we snacked on some stuff and went to bed.

Friday - 1: Coffee and granola in the room for breakfast. They had a coffee maker and provided some drip coffee and we picked up more later. In fact our first stop was Safeway where along with the coffee we got essentials like ice, beer, wine, lunchmeat, fruit, bread, etc. Then we headed around the bottom of the island (westward) with the objective being one of the major areas we wanted to visit - Waimea Canyon (christened The Grand Canyon of the Pacific by Mark Twain). Stopped at scenic overlooks along the way and any other place the Book suggested but didn’t stray from the main road. Weather was typical (for us thus far) - a mixture of Sun, clouds, and heavier clouds/rain in the island interior; with some drizzle off and on near the coasts. And, more and more Sun as one went westward. Turned off on the Waimea Canyon road and climbed upward stopping at several fantastic viewpoints. It really is quite something. Stopped at the small museum near the end of the road and checked things out including talking with the lady there about hikes. We/I knew of a bunch but hadn’t decided on which one to do. She was clear that if we were up to it the one over to the Napali Coast was the one to do. Although I had figured if we did that one we’d get started earlier in the day than it was, we said what the heck we’d go for it. First, however, we went the last few miles up the road to get views of the Pacific but the clouds had dropped to where there were no views.

Got our packs loaded up, our boots on, and headed off on the trail by 11:30 AM. It is basically a 4.0 mile walk westward, dropping some 1600’. Initially, nice forests and lots of birdcalls and some bird spottings. Later, better and better views of the amazingly rugged Napali Coast with the best view being at the trail end atop one of those spiny ridges looking down into a wonderful valley, out at the sea, and up and down the coast at all those spines. The weather was excellent, with some shade from clouds and some cool ocean breezes, and generally Hawaiian Sun and humidity. We used plenty of sunscreen. Had lunch at the lookout point! You then go north a bit (2.2 miles) between that spine and the next. Good views all along the way and especially good at the next spine’s lookout point. After that it is 3.1 miles back eastward and mostly uphill - you gain about 2,000’ and come out a couple miles up the road from where the car was parked. Rather taxing but we handled it. Walked down the road and even got a lift the last mile or so from some folks we had met at the spine outlook --- Dawna had been thumbing for a ride down but they were the only ones who stopped. The museum lady had said it would be a relaxed 6 hour outing and it was a bit more than that and not all that relaxed, but it was doable and great. Although we were sweaty through and through we figured this is casual Hawaii so we stopped at a pizza place about half way back home, which had a good writeup in the book. Whole-wheat crust and home made sausage (plus pepperoni) and it was excellent - we were hungry as well. A good selection and better than going back and cleaning up and then collapsing unfed. We did the collapsing next! Oh, yes, saw lots of chickens (today and every day) as they are basically a wild animal here and are all over the backcountry (and front country).

Saturday - 1: Given that yesterday had developed into a strenuous day we took this one easy. Slowly got up and had our coffee and granola and by-now papaya. Did nearby local sites basically all day. Checked out the various Heiaus, old Hawaiian temples/sacred grounds, reading about them as we did so; saw several waterfalls; drove along interesting roads back into the island a bit seeing lots of flora and getting out for short walks; great views of the major river (Wailua); and all that sort of thing. One find was a stand of trees that must belong to the eucalyptus family that have multicolored bark which reminds one of an impressionistic painting. Besides the usual waterfalls in all the tourist literature, one of the "hidden" places our Book describes (Kipu Falls) was a super swimming hole with a rope swinging from a tree next to the pool; all of this being out in a sugar cane field (locals were swinging on the rope and leaping into the pool just like the book claimed). Did some beach walks as well and spent a bit of time staring out into the ocean to see sea turtles (no luck). Lunch was papaya, nuts and beer at an ocean side park. Viewed a clever old Hawaiian fishtrap called the Menehune Fishpond; etc, etc. Oh, yes, we also hit a couple of thrift stores and Dawna got a couple pairs of shorts and a top or two (she hadn’t brought any shorts and had nearly ruined a top with the sweaty hike on the first day). Can’t remember what we did for dinner.

Sunday - 1: In the alternating active and then relaxed days, today was the day to go around the island to the north and do a bit of the famous Kalalau trail. This is an 11 mile trail that goes along the Napali Coast beginning at the end of the road. You only go beyond the 2 mile point if you are over nighting and thus have a permit; we figured to go to it and then likely go 2 more miles inland to a waterfall. As on Friday, we stopped at scenic spots as we drove northward along the east coast; a particularly long stop being at the Kilauea Lighthouse. The area all around it has become a Wildlife Refuge and there are a whole lot of birds to watch in addition to the usual lighthouse checking out. Some drizzle, however. And no whales or porpoises spotted from the lighthouse point (of course the person there said the day before was sunny and they saw everything in the water). The hundreds of birds (red footed boobys) nesting in the trees were a weird sight (white on green). Onward around the top of the island, stopping for views and at one waterfall for Dawna to do a bit of wading. As we got near the end of the road the traffic got slower and slower, so it took awhile. Some of the slowness was the large number of one-lane bridges, some was the curves, and some was just Sunday traffic. At the road end the parking lot was a zoo but we got a spot.

It was drizzling but we got organized and headed off on the trail. The fame of the trail plus the fact that it was Sunday and thus more locals were out playing resulted in a lot of hikers even on a relatively poor weather day. The trail is all along the side of cliffs with great views of the ocean and after awhile great views down the Napali coast. It sorta goes up for a mile and then down for a mile with I’d say much less than 1,000’ elevation change. Piece of cake it would seem, but it is a trail of large rocks which due to the off and on rain were covered with mud and mud in between the rocks - read very slippery. So one goes carefully and never really relaxes and looks at the views except by stopping (which we did quite a bit). It would rain or at least drizzle for about 10 of every 20 minutes so just when you’d dry off you’d get wet again. Getting muddy was just part of the game and the mud is a famous/infamous red mud that can ruin your clothes. Interesting to say the least and the views were great but too much effort was required. Now on a nice day …… Anyway, after crossing a somewhat dangerous stream we hit the 2 mile point where one cannot continue unless you are going to camp and have a permit; but you can go off on a two mile route into the interior to see a waterfall. We went about ¼ of the way by which time I said it was just going to take too long, plus we’d get even wetter as we got away from the coast, so we retreated. Had lunch on rocks on the stream, first in sunshine and then in rain, and then walked back out; up and down again. Dawna fell a time or two but nothing bad or unusual for this slippery trail and we both got plenty of mud on our clothes and boots. Back at the car park it was less of a zoo now and we relaxed on a quite nice beach (probably with a beer) for a bit before heading "home." Stopped to explore some absolutely fascinating "dry caves" along the way as well as at a couple of scenic overlooks we’d not stopped at on the way in.

Decided (again) to be good troopers and find a nice meal on the way rather than getting all the way back and clean up and likely not go out to eat. First was an Italian place for which the book gave the phone number but no directions. Stopped, called, and learned they had moved to the southern part of the island a few months ago. Strike One. Well, we had gone past a famous hamburger and milkshake place on the way up so figured we stop there on the way back. Got there and they had closed at 6 PM, about a half-hour ago; Strike Two. OK, how about the Aloha Diner back relatively near our hotel - written up in the book for local (Kalua pig and that sort of thing) food. Closed (for some unstated reason); Strike Three. Back to the hotel, shower, drinks, and walk over to the Market and ate at Buzz’s; at least we didn’t give up. We both had shrimp, fixed differently, and there were quite reasonable. Good night’s sleep; which was becoming the case.

Monday - 1: A slow and lazy get up including Dawna doing a bit of hand washing of our filthy stuff in order to try and save them and myself logging on to see if there was any interesting E-mail, work wise and/or play wise. There was a bit and no calamities at either location. Then we drove into old town Lihue to have breakfast at a local place called Ma’s Family Restaurant. Twas local all right and I had Kalua pig and eggs over easy and rice. Kinda like having eggs and corned beef hash. Quite good. Dawna had a Kalua pig omelet (onions and stuff in addition to the pig) which she also said was good. And the elderly Hawaiian folks running the café were gems. Yes, we were into another of those bum around days. Headed around the bottom (south) of the island heading west. Stopped at Hanapepe, which the book describes as old and like with old furniture you’ll either find it a nice antique or a piece of junk. We felt it was the former and wandered around visiting several nice art stores, even buying a few things. Friendly people in a peaceful setting. Walked across a swinging bridge, etc. Drove down the road to Waiema and stopped at a famous (means well written up ….) spot (Jo Jo’s) for the best shave ice on the island. It was both fun to watch them prepare it and darn good to eat. Ice cream (vanilla for me and macadamia nut for Dawna) on the bottom and then mucho shaved (in real time) ice saturated with your chosen flavors of a syrup like substance - I had chocolate and butterscotch and Dawna had pina colleta. When in Rome …… be a tourist.

Then continued further along, in fact as far as you can go in that direction which means getting to the end of the paved road where it is now going northward and then going on a dirt road for a few more miles to Polihale State Park. A beautiful beach with a fantastic backdrop of the start of the Napali Coast. I went into the ocean and mainly just bounced around with the surf a bit. Then we walked the beach quite a ways, getting wet when the big waves came further up than we had anticipated, etc. Very beautiful. Headed homeward stopping at a grocery store along the way. Purchased some nice looking pork chops, some charcoal, and a few other things. It was getting a bit late for such shenanigans but Dawna dropped me off at Lydgate State Park (a few miles before our hotel) and I found a grill (we had checked it/this out during a prior lunch stop) and got a fire going even though it was pretty darn windy. She went back to the hotel to pick up a few things we had there rather than with us and then came back and we had a very fine dinner. Got darkish but not cold. As always, the meal we cook in the park outranks most we get at restaurants. Pick up, back to motel, and another fine sleep.

Tuesday - 1: Decided to do the helicopter sightsee the island bit, one of the big attractions. Called the one most recommended in the book (Air Kauai Helicopter) and they had an opening for us at 5 PM with the owner flying; so we said "go for it." The weather was a bit better than it had been so we were hopeful of good viewing. Not that the weather had been bad but we had had a fair amount of drizzle and clouds at different locations. In fact several of the locals said they were sorry for us but happy for themselves because they hadn’t had their usual amount of rain this winter and really needed it. Another benefit we found out later was that many waterfalls had now sprung to life which had not been flowing for the last couple months. So, had the day to do localish things at a relaxed pace again. Began by a hike up to the top of the Sleeping Giant - a mythological mini mountain not far from where we were staying. Nice hike of like 2 miles one way and bit over 1,000’ elevation change. Great views of the coastline near our hotel and the Wailua River and farmland between the coast and our mountain. 360 degree panorama up near the top. Quite nice. Also, several birds to watch as we ate our lunch at the top. Almost rained as we were finishing the hike down, but not quite. Back to the motel and I did a short dip in the pool.

While I was reading pool-side, Dawna came down all ready to roll saying the helicopter people called and asked if we could make it on an earlier flight - something about we’d like it better for it would only have 4 people rather than 6 and they’d throw in a free video; plus we’d still have Chuck (the owner) flying. We went for it mainly to be nice guys and to have the 4 people deal. We had earlier inquired about how one can get the front two seats (best views) or at least not be in the middle of a 4 seat back bench; but the answer was they do it mainly by your weight; so having only 4 folks on this flight sounded good. We asked about the front seats but were told the other two were teenage girls and lighter than us. Turned out I’m not sure what all games were being played, probably "just" maximizing their traffic, because we gradually realized there were 6 folks, no teenage girls, and Chuck wasn’t flying. But the good news was we were the lightest and got the front seats, which truly are far superior. Of the two I had the one next to the door (Dawna was in between me and the pilot) and the door is all glass so I had complete visibility. From my viewpoint it was a fantastic trip. The helicopter is very powerful and smooth so you felt like you were on a flying carpet. This was partially, I think, because one had on fancy Bose earphones with sound canceling capabilities so it was pretty quiet other than the narration by the pilot and the music he played with the narration. The flight was an hour, the views were fantastic - saw many, many waterfalls; lots of green, the Napali coast line in its entirety and a couple of the valleys between the spines in detail, the Waimea Canyon(s), into the wettest spot on earth (the center of the island which is a blown out volcano crater with super vegetation and waterfalls all over) and on and on. Sometimes were in sunshine, often were under the top clouds with great views of the ground, and a bit of the time in rain. During the latter we saw a fine rainbow and the pilot then maneuvered so you see the rainbow both above and below you making it therefore a full circle rather than the classic half circle you see from the ground (so much for the gold at the end of the rainbow as he commented …..) and then it became a pair of rainbow circles. Spectacular, but even this did not outdo the island scenery itself. You likely noted I said all this from my point of view. Dawna thoroughly agreed with the vistas but she darn near got sick when we were messing around with the rainbow so she was happy when the trip ended. The whole thing was like an IMAX movie, which also makes her sickish. Me, I could have flown on and on upon my flying carpet.

But the story is never over until it is over - when we started towards the car she couldn’t find the car keys. We went back inside and searched her purse thoroughly, still no keys. We then went out to the car to look around on the ground and I spied them in the ignition - with all the doors locked of course for we were careful about that. We were also careful about always checking that we had the keys before closing the last door but somehow this hurry to the heliport had messed up our routine. Well, if you have to lock your keys in the car, what better place then near the airport and car rental agency. A call to them and a fellow eventually came and unlocked it. Oh, me, just another experience. Back to the hotel for a drink and then drove 20 minutes or so to a spot recommended as upscale Italian. I had the lasagna, which was one of their specialties, and Dawna had just a salad. She wasn’t up for something more than that after the helicopter destabilization and the locked-in-key deal. Oh, yes, when the fellow unlocked our door we realized that not only had we/she locked the keys in the car but the car had been left running all this time. Sigh. Slept fine, anyway.

Wednesday - 1: Last day so had to go snorkeling at least this once. Went back to our nearby Lydgate State Park which has the most enclosed (by man put rocks) area for beginners. Lots of fish and even one turtle that we followed for awhile. Quite nice and not as sissified as I had anticipated (or maybe I’m just getting more so). Not cold either. Dawna, however, found she was getting water in her stomach similar to how it had happened in Baja and thus almost getting seasick. So, she couldn’t do it for too long. We now have a theory about how she is sucking it in through her nose and will have to follow up on how to improve on this. One thing we have learned is that with a small life jacket for buoyancy she can sure enjoy such snorkeling more than she used to; so we are learning, but slowly. Back to the room and shower up and then to breakfast. The place on the beach nearby that we went to first had quit serving breakfast a bit earlier so into the market to a place in the book and had an enjoyable breakfast - banana pancakes for Dawna and French toast for me along with some Portgegese sausage on the side. Strolled through the market and its nice stores and even made a few purchases.

Next we debated going kayaking versus another hike and decided we could kayak lots of places but walking down into Waimea Canyon we could only do here; so off we went. The trail is straight down and then STRAIGHT UP; only 2.5 miles to the bottom but some 2,200’ elevation change. FANTASTIC views as one gets out and thus not only looks across the canyon and down the canyon but back at the canyon wall one just hiked down. Took our time and were thankful for the shade (from clouds) but it would have been more brightly colored with some sunshine. At the bottom was a river (not flowing much now) where we had a snack and then did the walk back up. It got more and more closed in and was raining by the time we got to the top (where we had a V8 and beer (D and J respectively); I had gone ahead and back to the car to obtain them and bring them back a few hundred yards to a covered shelter. Pretty damn fine living. Figured we’d keep the good times rolling and went to a very very local café in Waimea - we had gotten the name from the girl who served us breakfast. I had Kaula pig and rice (no poi thank you) and Dawna had Laulau pig. Both were very good. Most enjoyable way to dry out and basically end our Hawaiian experience. Home and packed. The latter amounted to emptying everything out of the car, doing some drying of items to the best of our ability, and then loading up the duffel followed by our suitcases. All rather slowly. Also logged on and again transferred the more interesting messages for possible reading on the plane.

Thursday - 2: Our plane wasn’t until 12:25 which meant no hurry but also no time to really doing anything unless one was gung ho. So, got up slowly, lots of coffee, finished packing, and I started this trip letter while Dawna read magazines. Eventually checked out (smoothly) and went to the airport. Was raining hard as we turned in the rental car and the fellow just said leave the contract in the front seat - so much for them checking the condition of the car when you don’t take any extra insurance. Speaking of the rental car it was a 4 door Dodge Neon which gave us plenty of room; and it had no power but a fine air conditioner. And since they wanted $6 per day for extra drivers Dawna was the only driver (most of the time …..). She tends to do the vast majority of driving anyway since I navigate and read about the sights and stops and find the back roads, etc. The 11:45 flight hadn’t left yet so we took standby on it and got on; thus getting to Honolulu earlier than planned and therein improving our chances for reasonable seats. Got the seats, but the bad news was the plane was delayed 5 hours! So, instead of leaving at 2:30 it was to leave at 7:30, which in turn meant getting to SFO at like 2 or 3 in the morning. Painful, but not many options when on a charter that probably only has one flight a day to a given city and is totally full. Took their $10 chits and had a good sized and fairly tasty lunch. Then made phone calls to tell Vreni to not pick us up at the airport, to Mr. Avis to tell him we’d like a car at the airport please, and to work to tell some people I’d be in late the next day. Found a quiet area next to an electrical outlet, plugged in, and wrote this trip letter (except for cleanup work of specific names and things after we got home and unpacked the literature and The Book). Dawna read a lot, shopped a bit, and tried to rest a bit. And, as the first cut of the letter is just now being completed (4:22 PM) I hear that 7:30 PM has become 9:30 PM. Oh, me, guess I’ll not keep adding the bad news as I hear it but rather fill in the final facts when we eventual get home. Result – were in the air by say 10:30 PM, after another meal "on them." Again it was a full plane but the trip went according to the book, so we were in SFO around 5:00 AM (local times in each case). I went off and got the rental car while Dawna gathered our bags, came back to get her having a terrible time with all the construction and strange/temporary roads but finally made it, and we were home by 7 AM. Couple hour nap followed by a day at the lab and a Friday evening beer session.

Summary: Fine outing. Not perfect weather but not bad either. Great hikes and beautiful beaches and relatively relaxed towns. Spectacular helicopter ride. Too bad the flight situation ended so badly but that happens. Was beautiful in California when we returned but hey, we expect that given the price of housing. Various small trips scheduled for the upcoming months.