Location: Napali Coast, north shore of Kauai
Elevation Start/End: Sea Level, 3000 foot overall elevation gain (guess)
Length: 13-mile round-trip
Trail Info: Trail head is located at Ke'e Beach, at the end of the road on the north shore of Kauai. Around 7 miles past the city of Hanalei. You'll cross 9 one-lane bridges. Parking is limited at Ke'e and I have heard that there has been reports of vandalism with cars left overnight. The trail hugs the coast and obviously starts at sea level. However the trail has to climb high enough to make it around the sheer cliffs. The trail drops back down to the sea level at 2 miles at Hanakapia, and again at the trail end at Kalalau Beach. As you round each bend you have nice breezes, and then you wind back into each valley where its muggy and hot. The trail is not real well maintained, and is susceptible to getting quite muddy and slippery when it rains. You need to wear good shoes, though I saw some hippies hiking it in flip-flops or barefoot. Since this is the north shore which gets the most rain you should count on your feet getting wet and definitely bring trekking poles for stability. You'll also be crossing three major streams. Hanakapia, where you'll want to have a pair of flip flops or water shoes (Teva/Chacos) for crossing. The stream at Hanakoa can be crossed by boulder hopping, but this will depend on the rainfall and the stream height. There is also the Kalalau stream, but we didn't make it that far.
Since I was on vacation with my family, my time window for hiking was limited to 2 days. Leaving Sunday at noon and arriving back at the trail head Monday afternoon. I got Rod Zollinger to agree to accompany me. Originally I had planned to hike in Sunday to Kalalau Beach (11 1/2 miles) and return the following day. This was pretty aggressive. Unfortunately while hiking up out of Hanakapia Rod got heat stroke, and ended up puking his lungs out. After throwing up he felt immediately better, but we were running out of light and we didn't want to push it or cross the last 5 miles in the dark, where the trail cross some sheer cliffs. So we spent the night at Hanakoa, camped next to the latrine under a lemon tree. The next day we woke up early and after breakfast we followed the "trail" up Hanakoa stream to Hanakoa Falls. Its around 1/3 to 1/2 mile and it took us an hour each way. Several times we lost the trail, and it was a lot of bush whacking, boulder hopping and crossing the stream numerous times. I had my small point and shoot Sony digital camera with me. The rain, mugginess in the air, and the spray from the waterfall and splashing up through the stream shorted the camera out, so I only got pictures up to Hanakoa Falls and missed photo ops on the return trip. I was able to retrieve the photos but I think the camera is a casualty. Despite his brush with barf, Rod had a great time. The trail was amazingly beautiful, with great vistas and lots of jungle lushness.
Click a picture to see a larger view.