Hiking in the Hawaiian Islands
“Walking is a man’s best medicine”
Hippocrates
My only trip to Hawaii was several years ago with my husband during the month of April. The islands are expensive, but many of the most memorable experiences were hikes. They cost little or nothing and got us some exercise out in nature.
On Oahu, we got up early one morning and caught a city bus near our hotel for a half-hour ride to Diamond Head. The iconic peak is one of the cones of a large volcanic crater that overlooks the Waikiki coastline. It’s known to Hawaiians as Lēʻahi because the shape of the ridgeline resembles the shape of a tuna's dorsal fin. Since the climb is so popular with tourists, it’s advisable to reserve a time and ticket online. Diamond Head is a National Monument and it cost us $5.00 per person. From the bus stop closest to the crater, we walked about 20 minutes through the crater tunnel to the trailhead. The hike up was moderate, and though it was hot, there was a morning breeze. The climb, which took us about 30 minutes, was a rocky path up the crater hillside followed by about 200 steps to get to the top. The view was spectacular, and the peak area was filled with people of all ages. We took photos of the Waikiki coast and the lighthouse below the crater then hiked down and back out to the city bus.
The following week, we arrived on the island of Kauai on a rainy day. We wanted to hike the Napali coastline, so we headed there the next day, despite a forecast of more rain. From our hotel in Kapa’a, we drove north along the Kuhio Highway. The coastal road was wet, and at one point, we had to cross a small stream that had formed on it. The highway is scenic with lots of curves above the ocean, but there are pull-offs if you want to stop to enjoy the views. We stopped at Haena beach and checked out a large cave across from it. Then we drove as far as the road went, to Ke'e beach and the Napali Coast Kalalau trailhead, only to be disappointed. The trail was closed due to the wet weather. We hoped for a break in the weather and another attempt later in the week.
Because the south and west sides of the island showed better weather, we focused on other activities in that direction. We did some beaching, exploring, took a helicopter tour, and did another hike. We drove to Waimea on the west coast and up into Waimea Canyon. We did a short hike on the Illikoi Loop Trail, stopped at a few lookouts, then took the Canyon Trail. We weren't planning to take it all the way to the bottom of the canyon, mostly because of intermittent showers which made the trail a bit slippery. However, a hiker we met said that the falls were worth seeing, and he mentioned the Black Pole Trail. So, we hiked in a mile to that trailhead and took it. I noticed that someone had scratched "The Falls" below the trail name but failed to notice the arrow pointing to continue on the Canyon Trail. The Black Pole Trail climbed quite a bit and we saw no other signs for the falls. We met some hikers who told us where we had gone wrong. It was about an hour detour. We went back down, found the trail intersection, and saw the arrow. Following that, we hiked about another 1/2 mile until we came to an outcropping with awesome views of the canyon and a so-so view of the top of the Waipo'o waterfall. From there, we started the return, but we later learned that, if we continued down, we would have found a better waterfall view. It was work hiking back up out of the canyon. We had mostly sun but also occasional sprinkles, and we put on our rain jackets. All in all, it was a good hike and it took us about 4 hours.
Several days later, the sky looked iffy, but the forecast was positive, so we headed to the North shore again. The Kalalau Trail on the Napali Coast was open and the parking lots were crowded, muddy, and rocky. We found a spot in the far lot by picking our way around large rocks. At 9:45am, we started hiking. The trail started out muddy and shaded, but soon we had risen enough to get a view of K'e Beach and the coast. The trail continued upward with sun and shade areas and intermittent slippery, muddy spots. Somewhere past the 1-mile point, the view of Napali’s emerald-hued cliffs with razor-sharp ridges towering above the Pacific Ocean was amazing and a hiking couple offered to take our photo. We passed several small waterfalls on the way up then the trail started down. At one of the last downhills, it was really muddy and I slipped. My shorts got covered with the wet red clay. When we made it to the 2-mile mark, we came to a stream. We needed to cross it in order to get to Hanakapi'ai Beach. Some people were balancing on the wet rocks with their shoes on and others were wading across sans shoes. We took off our shoes and went across. On the other side, the beach was all rock with what looked like cairns stacked everywhere. Across from the beach, we could see some caves in the cliffs. There were signs posted warning people not to go near the ocean because of the shore break. People were just hanging out. We ate energy bars, rested a bit, and took some photos. After about 35 minutes, we waded back across the stream, put on our shoes and socks, and started our return. It was much hotter but we made it out and walked over to Ke'e Beach to get our feet wet. I tried to wash my shorts but the red clay wouldn't come out. The water was warm but the surf was pretty rough and there were signs that said, "No snorkeling." We were able to rinse our feet up from the beach then trekked back to the parking lot. I changed my shirt (which had also gotten muddy) and draped a sarong over my bathing suit. After a stop for something to eat, we got back to our hotel close to 5pm. We were muddy and tired but had a fun and memorable day.
On Hawaii, the Big Island, we did mostly beaching, but we took a few short hikes in Volcanoes National Park. We stopped at the park headquarters and then set out on the crater rim road. We parked by some steam vents and walked up to the crater rim trail. The Kilauea Crater had some steam coming out but nothing too dramatic. Back in the car, we drove to an overlook and then we walked to another part of the crater rim trail and walked up the hill to the Jaggar Museum for an even better view from the museum's deck. More steam came out of the crater but we saw no lava action. We walked back down the hill to the car and then drove to Nāhuku, the Thurston Lava Tube. A sign said, “Enter the lava tube at your own risk. Potential hazards include: Rockfall, Low ceilings, Standing water, and Tripping hazards.” We walked through a tree fern rainforest and then through a lighted lava tube where a river of 2000 degree fahrenheit lava once flowed. (A lava tube is a natural conduit formed by flowing lava that moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. Tubes can be actively draining lava from a volcano during an eruption, or can be extinct, meaning the lava flow has ceased and the rock has cooled and left a long, cave-like channel.) This was the highlight of the visit for me - very cool!
