A Birthday and Kalalau Packing & Preparations

Aloha again!  Well time sure flies!  I can’t believe we’ve been here over a month now!  I don’t know how 'productive' I've been but it sure has been a great month full of adventures, relaxing and reflecting.

Knowing that the weather is so variable, you really have to roll with the punches and flexibility is a must here on the lush island of Kauai.  Last week we had a few days of quite windy and then rainy weather.  On one particularly windy day, we felt like the beaches might equal sandstorms (or at least sand stings on the legs-they really hurt!) so we opted for a different kind of adventure.  There is a National Tropical Botanical Garden, Limahuli, here on the north shore and I have really been curious to see it.

We decided to go for a self tour and were quite impressed and amazed by what we saw.  It’s set in a narrow valley that is framed by soaring cliffs (the backsides to the start of the Napali coastline).  There was a great history that goes along with this special place that was outlined in the quite extensive self-guide book.  I didn’t realize how into history Ryan really was until I found him meandering through the extensive gardens reading all about the plants and history.  He was enthralled!  I was quite taken but the sheer natural beauty and lush, unique surrounding cliffs.  I’m not quite as much of a history buff.  It was quite a fun little adventure!

We celebrated my 29th birthday not quite the way I had planned but it was great, nonetheless.  I had these plans that we would rent a kayak and have a mini adventure and kayak out into the ocean to a favorite little beach of ours.  Those plans quickly came to a screeching halt with the wind made it clear that my birthday was not the day to kayak.  We went for a light breakfast to the St. Regis Cafe and sat out on the deck and watched the bay and the kayakers.  When we witnessed a guided tour group that had 3 out of 6 of their kayaks capsize and/or roll trying to get out of the waves my decision was made.  I didn’t care to have a kayak baptism on my birthday- no thanks.

I decided that going to a beach and just relaxing with a good book and a yummy lunch sounded like a good second best choice.  We headed out on foot to a favorite beach, hideaways, but quickly saw that the impending rain clouds were going to make for a not so enjoyable beach experience.  Not to mention that the ‘trail’ down to the beach is more like rappelling down a cliff (literally, with ropes and all).  We had experienced it when it was slick before and knew better than to chance a hairy scramble up or down that cliff.  It could easily end badly with an injury.  I didn’t care to spend my birthday in prompt care-no thanks.

So onto my third choice; following the sunshine (or so we thought) to Tunnels beach down to the north.  Well, sunny skies awaited us and graced us for about 15 minutes but then the rain clouds found us again.  We tried to wait it out, watching most everyone else pack up and leave the beach as the intermittent but frequent showers/downpours put a damper on the beach relaxation.  Well when there's rain there’s always a rainbow, right?  Well our rainbow awaited us later that evening at dinner but my favorite hawaiian tune ‘somewhere over the rainbow’ did find us on the damp beach that day.  A wedding party scurried out from their hiding under the trees when there was a break in the clouds and set up right in front of us.  The ukulele player broke out into song with ‘somewhere over the rainbow’ as the ceremony began.  It was silver lining, the saving grace of the wet beach day experience.

My other grandiose plan of taking an awesome pizza from Hanalei Pizza down to the pier for a sunset dinner was also postponed due to the weather.  Instead we opted for Kalypso, a fun local restaurant with live music that night!  We got a great table and had an awesome view of one of the most vibrant rainbows I’ve ever seen!  I had my favorite- the BBQ mahi mahi tostada salad and Ryan had a delicious taro burger-mmmm (sounds yucky but it was actually really tasty)!  Then, the nice tourist guy with his family next to us (who thought we were honeymooners!) bought us a second round of our drinks because they thought we were just ‘too cute’.  That’s all Ryan- he did look super cute that night 😉 Ryan was regretting getting the ‘big boy’ beer (22oz) the first time because that nice tourist guy got him the exact same thing- a second nice 22oz big boy.

Well our final ‘practice hike’ took place last Saturday.  We did the actual first leg of the Kalalau.  We didn’t push it and just went a little over 3 miles.  It felt much easier than when we have hiked that stretch before.  Whew- the practice hikes have paid off!  Well, I can’t speak too soon I guess.  The real test will come soon...the actual backpacking hike.

Have I mentioned yet that I have never gone backpacking?  Haha!  I guess that I’m living by the motto ‘go big or go home’.  I want to make my first (and possibly only) backpacking trek really count.  Well I think we are really as ready as we could be.  We have done our practice treks, collected all necessary items, planned out ‘light’ but dense meals and have done our homework asking for tips about the trail.

Well my backpack is going to weigh in around 26ish pounds.  Ryans will weigh in around 38ish pounds.  Final weights will be determined the morning of once all necessary water and last minute things are packed in.  We tried our best to really keep the weight of our packs low- only taking the real essentials, including a few mini spirits and s'mores fixins.  Really, other than those things the rest is truly only necessity items (so we think).

My backpack consists of: my sleeping pad (I opted for the ‘luxury’ one that was twice as much $), a sheet, tent poles and rainfly, a fast drying REI camp/bath towel, a shammy dish towel, a washcloth, a first aide kit with the essentials (ace bandage, gauze, moleskin, band aids, aspirin, tylenol, heat patches and KT tape), bug spray, sunscreen, minimal toiletries, a small roll of TP, body wipes, multi purpose camp soap, waterproof matches, swiss army knife, antibacterial gel, glasses, 2 days of food/snacks, 2 plastic forks/spoons a few extra baggies, 1 pair pants, 1 pair shorts, a light rain jacket, a sweatshirt, a swimsuit, underwear, an extra pair of wool socks, a small pad of paper and pen, 2 sheets to play yahtzee and 2 dice, a bandanna, a pair of flip flops, chaco hiking sandals, water purifying tablets, 32 oz of water, a small camp pillow and a silk ‘towel’ for the beach.  Whew!  I think that’s it.   Oh yeah, I will pack in a few pieces of leftover cheese pizza for our lunch the first day.

Ryan’s a doll and he’s carrying a lot of the heavy things; the camp stove, fuel, a book for each of us, shovel, tent stakes and tent body, a lightweight blanket, a small pot and pan, cups to eat out of, a camera and extra battery pack, 2 nights of meals and s'mores fixins’, a 64 oz water bladder and 32 oz of water. Oh, plus his own personal stuff.

Then on us we will each have our hiking poles and hats, sunglasses, a strong concoction of sunscreen and bug spray, and a lot of determination and perseverance.

Well our goal has evolved and we are hoping, if all goes well time wise, to be able to hike the entire 11 miles into the Kalalau valley in the first day.  We will have the freshness of not having hiked in days prior, and the excitement of getting there and a lot of daylight all in our favor.  We plan to leave right around when the sun rises, 6ish.  We hope to start the trail no later than 6:30 am.  That would give us a whole 13 hours before the sun sets.  The trailhead guide says that the trail takes between 8-11 hours for the average hiker.  I’m afraid I’m a little on the slow side (sorry Ryan!) so I’m thinking if we give ourselves a little extra time we won’t feel rushed.

Well we will catch you on the other side!  Hopefully with some fun, amazing stories and memories to share (plus or minus a few frustrations along the way).