07 May Vacation on Kaua’i Day 5 – Backpacking Kalalau Day 3

Monday Apr 12

We slept with our tent door open all night, so the ocean was visible out the screen door first thing when I woke up. Since the beach faces northwest, the rising sun doesn’t blast any part of the campground and we get to watch the sunlight approaching over the ocean, then the beach, and finally it crests over the cliffs around 9-10 am.

I made my 5 min walk to the bathroom and back, and lounged in the hammocks while Aaron slept in. The clouds were hanging on to the upper peaks behind us, but the sky over the ocean was a clear and cloudless blue, promising another really beautiful day. Once Aaron woke up we took a beach walk in the sun to soak up some vitamin D.

We lazily began preparing for a day of exploring the valley. Aaron tested one of our egg pouches – adding the powder to water in the pot and slowly heating and stirring it. Though it took a while, the result was really surprising! We had fluffy, perfect scrambled eggs with chunks of the aged parmesan and beef jerky. It was a perfect protein load for our plan to explore the valley that day.

The top of my backpacking pack detaches to form a nice daypack, so we loaded that with a couple liters of water, a snack and took off the for the valley trail. The trail picked up right before the Kalalau river crossing, and headed upriver for approximately 2 miles. We’d heard about a planted / communal food garden and various river pools for swimming, so we were ready for adventures to be had up valley.

The trail was initially pretty narrow, winding through the thick and short forest. Soon the trail followed a drainage up to an open red rock mound, which gave amazing views of the ocean behind and the massive valley in front of us.

The trail ascended back into the forest, crossing several streams and loads of dry stack walls. First Polynesians lived in Kalalau Valley evidenced by the remnants of their architecture. Dry stack walls created lo’i, rectangular terraced gardens in what was once a kalo (taro) farming valley of the island. These amazing walls are still standing and now covered with bright green moss.

The trail grew to a single track, faint depression or worn spot on a mossy rock. The forest was thicker and thicker – finally the trail led into an immense thicket; branches winding around and around as we stooped to pass through the middle.

As The trail continued uphill, and the river crossing grew more and more interesting. At one point the river had a solid stone face jutting up from the water 30+ feet high, covered in luscious hanging tropical plants.

Not far beyond that, the river cascaded down larger and larger boulders, as the terrain grew steeper uphill. One river crossing led us to a large, deep pool, aptly labeled “big pool”, with a rope swing dangling off to one side.

We followed the trail crisscrossing the river several more times, and finally stopped when we climbed over mossy rocks and tree trunks in the thickest, almost swampy underbrush — losing any sign of a trail. Still we explored around the area a bit further, discovering another (there had been many) banana tree groves surrounded by what appeared to be a giant squash patch.

On our way down, we stopped at Big Pool for a dip in the refreshing cold river water, taking turns laying in the sun on the warm rocks to air dry. We split a granola bar and started back down river. The whimsy and wonder of the river trail was just as potent on the way down, and we again enjoyed walking through the giant mango trees and insane twisting thickets.

We’d been keeping a keen eye out for any sidetrack trails that might lead to the community garden. Near a particularly large mango tree, I saw what could only be large stone mortar and pestle. The two objects were situated too perfectly to be a random occurrence in nature, and right near them was a tiny foot path heading towards the river. We followed the foot path until it reach the edge of the river bluff and sort of disappeared. We had a strong inkling that community garden was close by, likely along the river. Satisfied that we were close enough, and lacking the and final mountain peak and valley views before reaching the bottom once again.

We were back to our camp late afternoon, made a quick snack and lounged in the hammocks for a while, resting after our near-6 mile trek. We made two dehydrated pouch meals that night for dinner: Pineapple Chicken with Rice and a Beef Mushroom Stroganoff Pasta. Both of them were really tasty and super satisfying after a day hiking and skipping lunch.

We laid in the hammocks waiting for sunset, and dozed off napping right through it, waking up to find it almost totally dark! Aaron made a small fire and we relaxed to the sounds of the waves as the stars began to brighten and multiply in the dark, cloudless and moonless sky.