Kalalau Trail, Na Pali Coast, Kaua’i

Rachelle & Cousin, Kalalau Trail, Na Pali Coast, Kaua’i (Photo by Rob)

My Muddy Shoes, Kalalau Trail, Na Pali Coast, Kaua’i

Sarah on the secluded beach, Kalalau Trail, Na Pali Coast, Kaua’i (Photo by Rob)

So after the long drive up the coast Sarah and I considered just chilling out at Ke’e Beach but I didn’t want to be intimidated by the 2-mile Kalalau Trail. I’ve hiked hard trails before and wanted to do it again. “What,” I asked Rob, “is in it for us if we do the hike?” Rob said Fabio was at the end of the trail waiting for Sarah and I and every time we got discouraged he reminded us .. Fabio! Finally, I was like “Rob, I don’t even like Fabio or find him attractive” and he said “Fabio is symbolic”. What actually was at the end was a secluded beach.

So on the hike was kind of hard. It had been raining earlier in the day and many parts of it were steep and muddy clay. I slipped and fell on my ass once and everyone laughed, including myself.. no big deal, yeh? So then there were a few streams running over the path. I was very careful .. stepping on stones, not into the water and then Sarah stopped me to take a photo standing on a rock in the stream in front of a waterfall. I lost my balance and stepped in the water.. no big deal.. now I have to hike with wet feet but whatever.

So then we were hiking down this slope and this chick walked by hiking the other way… and Rob looked at her in front of me.. and I looked at her.. and .. uh.. she didnt have a shirt on! What the hell!??!?! Nobody knew what to say and shortly after we all just bust out laughing and talking.. and Cousin kept making jokes.. Cousin is one funny mofo and let me tell you from experience.. belly laughs are no good on slippery, steep footing! So I slipped and instinctively grabbed this tree to avoid falling over the cliff… and from then on Cousin wasn’t allowed to talk or laugh.

Alright. So we pass all of the warning signs about not going into the rough tide at the secluded beach.. our last obsticle is a river with rapids. Sarah takes her shoes off runs across and is out of sight. Rob does the same but hangs out on the other side of the river to wait for Cousin and me. I give Cousin my camera to put in his ziplock back in his backpack, just in case, so it doesn’t get wet. Then I sit on a rock and take off my already wet socks and shoes. I take one step into the river and slip on a rock and dunk my shoes.. why did I even bother to take them off?!?! Rob is watching me and so is Cousin.. I’m trying to regain my balance and plan my next move. … I slip, fall, and drop everything, including one of my sneakers into the rapids. First thought: “I know how that girl lost her shirt!” Second thought: A vision of myself hiking 2 miles back up the trail with only one shoe on. Rob was the only one who sprung into action.. He chased my shoe down the rapids and managed to get it where it briefly was stuck on a rock. Thank god! With his help, I crossed the river and sat by the beach for a bit. My toes were all stubbed and my left knee was swollen pretty badly. Oh, and I had skinned the front of my leg at Queen’s Bath earlier in the day. And did I mention that a couple days previous I’d fallen in the shower and got a huge bruise on my inner right thigh? Lets just say that the 2-mile walk back up the trail wasn’t very fun and that the dip in the ocean I took afterwards was the most refreshing swim I’ve ever taken in my life. That night I soaked in the hot tub with Gordon Biersch. We grilled out in the condo’s BBQ area and played dice afterwards.

I’m going to make a separate post that documents these injuries and the ones I accumulated in the following days.

See also:
» Hiking the Kalalau Trail on the Na Pali Coast (oFoto Album)

Previous Hawaii Posts:
» A Drive to the North Shore of Kaua’i
» Smith’s Luau - Kapa’a, Kaua’i
» Cousin
» Spouting Horn & Laiwai Beach - Koloa, Kaua’i
» La Playita Azul - Kapa’a, Kua’i
» Brunch at the Hyatt Regency Kauai Resort
» Our Condo in Poipu, Kaua’i
» Airports