For our biggest hike we planned and did the Na Pali Coast, Kalalau Trail. On a previous trip, we had done a hike with the girls to Hanakapi'ai Beach which is about 2 miles each way. This time we decided we would like to hike as far as we could without a permit. After hitting the beach, we headed inland on a tougher trail which was covered in jungle. The way was tough and you could tell the average tourist didn't normally try this route. We had to cross the stream 4 times, I gave up on the boulder hopping and after just about falling flat on my backside into the stream decided to slosh across walking in the shallows.
We did meet quite a few people on this trail unlike our one earlier in the week doing the Power Line. Mostly couples and no children. There was a all sorts of terrain, from red clay, to rocks to roots, to lava rock, to crumbling dirt. We climbed up hill for 2 miles and were rewarded with an air conditioned (the breeze from the falls hitting the pool was a natural cooler) view of Hanakapi'ai Falls which fed the stream. Very pretty. It was like we hiked through Jurassic park to get there.
After a leisurely lunch we retraced our steps. Although we had waited an extra day for our boots and the trail to dry, it started to rain on our way back. The trail back from the falls was OK, but back from the beach to the trail head was very muddy and very slippery. It was a lot slower going back.
This gave us a total of 8.5 miles for the day. Our legs were sore, but it was fun - another day on Kauai, going somewhere we had never been before.
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