15 Mar Kaua’i hiking club: Okolehao Trail

Posted at 19:07h in Hiking, Life on Kaua'i Hawaii, What we did today by

We scored another hiking adventure with our market friend Jenny last week with a trip to the nearby Okolehao Trail. This trail starts near Hanalei, amidst the taro fields and historically is where ti plants were harvested to make a whiskey-like liquor of the same name: Okolehau. Coincidentally, when we first arrived on Kaua’i our good friend Ellyn sent us the “Bar in a Bag” gift set from Kilauea-local distiller, Hanelei Spirits. The variety she chose was Okolehau! So we were excited to learn about the history behind this ridge trail!

We started just before 9a, and expected the hike to be technically challenging with muddy conditions. Trail reviews advised there was a “rope section” to aid with a steep ascent in the final mile of the 5-mi RT hike. We all made sure to bring our hiking sticks and prepared for a densely forested steep hike with views of the surrounding mountains and valleys.

We scored another hiking adventure with our market friend Jenny last week with a trip to the nearby Okolehao Trail. This trail starts near Hanalei, amidst the taro fields and historically is where ti plants were harvested to make a whiskey-like liquor of the same name: Okolehau. Coincidentally, when we first arrived on Kaua’i our good friend Ellyn sent us the “Bar in a Bag” gift set from Kilauea-local distiller, Hanelei Spirits. The variety she chose was Okolehau! So we were excited to learn about the history behind this ridge trail!

We started just before 9a, and expected the hike to be technically challenging with muddy conditions. Trail reviews advised there was a “rope section” to aid with a steep ascent in the final mile of the 5-mi RT hike. We all made sure to bring our hiking sticks and prepared for a densely forested steep hike with views of the surrounding mountains and valleys.

The trail grew muddy quickly, but hardly too slick to keep our footing. We climbed up quickly and after 20 min we had reached our first lookout, granting views of the taro fields below, all the way to Princeville and the north shore.

We carried excitedly on, making swift progress. The second lookout was even better — and we were treated to a rainbow view of Hanalei Bay and the surrounding peaks. 

We encountered the first of the guiding ropes — this one slightly unnecessary as the terrain provided ample footing up a steep but short 10′ section. We reached a ridge summit of 1275′ after the last quarter mile was drastically more overgrown, blocking our view of the sharp dropoffs on either side of the trail. Our final rewards were views of the upper Hanalei River Valley, looking east towards Kilauea and the farm, and moody mountains behind us. 

We finished the 5 mile round trip hike with about 1000 ft elevation gain in under 4 hours — much faster than we anticipated! We took our picnic lunches into Hanalei to celebrate a great hike!

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