4/30/13 – End of the Road

Today we decided to go and hike the trail at the end of the road.  When I say end of the road, I mean that with all literalness.  If you tried to keep going you’d have to have an amphibious vehicle because the ocean is right there in your way.  We decided to park in the parking lot and go for a hike rather than keep driving as we were fresh out of amphibious vehicles and driving your normal car into the ocean is frowned upon.

I forget the actual name of the trail, but it goes along what is known as the Na Pali coast.  This coastline is famous for being in the movie Jurassic Park as the helicopter flies toward the island where Jurassic Park is located.  The island of course being Kauai in real life and called something else in the movie.

The scenery along this hike is quite stunning with extremely green flora and some of the bluest water you will ever see.  The trail itself is a good trail but quite rugged in spots and very slippery in some spots as well.  One should never wear one’s best shoes for this hike as they are guaranteed to get very muddy.  This mud does not come off easily either as it is mostly made of red Hawaiian dirt that causes things like bleach to run the other way.  Most people hike all the way back to a waterfall that is 4 miles along the trail and further inland.  There are some other trails that lead further along the coast, but eventually they simply end and do not connect to the other side of the island.  Most of the people going on those trails camp at far flung beaches.  M and I had been to the waterfall before and I did not feel like going back was worth it, so we turned around at the half way point a little more than 2 miles along the trail where there is a beach where everyone stops to rest. M took some pictures along the way and I will forward those in another email.