Our trip to reach the Kalalau trail in Kauai would not be considered stress free or the average vacation by any metric. On Wednesday June 9th We left the farm at Captain Cook bringing some other farm stayers with us to drop us off at the airport. We made a deal with them to rent our car while we were away. With less than 90 min until our flight we left for the airport. On the road Ryan and myself had not filled out our state of Hawaii safe travels forms or uploaded our negative Covid tests. The race was on to complete the paperwork and make the flight. We arrived with the flight 40 min from takeoff. We ran up to the check counter asking if we could still check in for our flight. The bag checker gave us the green light taking our bags. We then hurried off to the security line. While it was not the worst line (and the only one in which I’ve never had a carryon bag; only my phone, wallet, boarding pass, and empty water bottle ) we were incredibly short on time still not guaranteed to make the flight. As we made our way through security checking the time every minute or two, I became increasingly worried we would miss our flight. The moment we walked through security we ran to our gate, hearing our names being called for the final call to board the flight. We scanned our boarding passes and walked onto the tarmac. High-fiving our luck and success. While waiting to board we spoke with one of the other passengers exchanging niceties. We told her where we were headed and she responded it was her favorite place in the world. Left with a good feeling we were ready for what the trip had in store.
Upon landing we called an Uber, having made the decision to not rent a car. Against all of the online advise articles, I decided we could camp at Koke'ee state park and then wake up and hitch a ride to the trailhead; since they appeared so close to each other on the map. The reservation was made in advance online at https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp/camping-lodging/kauai/ The Uber driver we had was incredibly genuine and we swapped stories along the hour twenty minute ride to the campground. Along the way we were able to see Waimea canyon one of the most picturesque canyons in the world. As we drove higher and higher on a mountain road we saw dozens of couples stopped on the side enjoying the golden pink sunset across the canyon. Passing a NASA space observatory near the top. Along the way we told our driver we did not rent a car which made her worry, so offered to exchange phone numbers, which we did. Upon arrival it was getting dark, and we had to locate our camp site. With no camp host, we had to ask other campers where the sites were located. Walking along the grassy trail we dotted several sites that were each enclosed by tall lush ginger plants creating semi private spots for each group. We made camp and went to bed. Before going to sleep I viewed the stars which were more numerous, and vivid than most stars on the continent. There is nothing like seeing stars to remember we are but a small blip on a small planet shooting through space to feel in awe for all we are and all we can be. The night was surprisingly cold for a tropical trip to Kauai, we wore sweats, thick socks, and wrapped ourselves in our sleeping bags. In the morning we had to face the reality of getting off the mountain to the park hiking entrance. There were no busses that we knew of that would come up the the park, nor was any cell service. Knowing that Hawaii is more hitchhiker friendly than many other places on the continent we started walking up to other campers introducing ourselves and asking if anyone would be willing to give us a ride. I quickly found a couple who were so generous and willing to give us a ride. On the way down the mountain we connected with them learning their backstories and sharing our own. On the ride we realized Kauai is not a place to travel without a vehicle and they took us to a rental car discount dealer we learned about through our Uber driver called Island Cars. With the veil of the Covid pandemic lifting the surge in tourism to the Hawaiian islands is stronger than ever. With the surge comes the need for services such as rental cars creating a supply and demand imbalance. To make the supply situation even worse many of the rental car agencies shipped massive amounts of cars off the islands to the continent. With that being said we showed up last second on a Thursday to rent a car, and were incredibly lucky for a car to be available to rent to us. The only catch was all they had was a 25 year old Ford Ranger dented shop truck that was loaded with trash. The shop manger said if we took the trash to the dump he would rent the car to us. Having no better choice we agreed. Renting the truck for a cool $160 a day.
We then took the truck to the dump unloaded the trash and took off for the Napali coast. Making it to Princeville by 11AM and hoping to salvage the hike we were stopped by road construction which had shut the only road to the park for specific hours of the day. The next opening was not until 1 PM. We discussed our options. Knowing if we got started on the trail we would be hiking in the dark.
The decision was made to give up the hike and start in the morning. It meant that instead of hiking in and spending the day at the beach we would be hiking in and then back out the next day. Not the ideal situation, but the safest way to salvage the mistake. We called the Beach house Hostel in Kapa' to see if there were any beds available to use the last of our prior booking credit and were in luck again as we were able to get a bed. We then visited the Kilauea lighthouse, and then the Ho’oip’i falls enjoying the rest of our day. Knowing we were still going to see the Napali coast and hike the Kalalau trail the next day.
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