It’s been almost four months since R and I landed on this little green island and with the lack of seasonal change here (no golden leaves, no cooler temperatures or fleece jackets and nothing pumpkin spiced in sight) the four month mark is prime time for a little homesickness to kick in. It’s not overwhelming, but every now and then I really, REALLY miss Boulder – the food, the people, the mountains, the ability to walk to more shops and restaurants than I can count.
With both Richard and I working from home we are also guilty of not getting out as much as we should. We’ve met a few people, but it’s not as easy to make new friends as we thought it would be since we don’t have traditional workplaces to get us started. This is especially troubling because I need to gather a group of people willing to help me with my thesis research for free! Fingers crossed I can find these people soon because it is hard to call on strangers for free help! In any case, we’re slowly starting to get involved in some activities here and we are looking forward to getting even more connected however the difficulty of getting connected on top of the insanely hot temperatures make me think about Colorado and what the heck we are doing out here often.
With the homesickness kicking in, R and I have gotten out into nature and tried to do things that we loved in Colorado here in Kauai. Colorado and Kauai share incredible natural environments and even though there may not be snow or evergreen trees here there are mountains to climb and lots of them.
At the end of September we went on our first Kauai hike and instead of easing into it we picked a 7.8 mile trek out to a point along the NaPali coast called the Nualolo Trail/Lookout. This trail starts in Kokee State Park which is in the Waimea Canyon. We were told that when we start to feel homesick for Colorado that our first stop should be Kokee not just because it is in the mountains, but also because it is cooler, much cooler in fact. After winding our way up the canyon to the park and trailhead we jumped out of the car and noticed it was only 71 degrees! A very welcome surprise since we’ve been in the mid to upper 80’s through the last few months. We laced up our shoes, layered on the sunscreen and bug spray, put Ellie in her harness and hit the trail at about 11:00 a.m.
We have a great Kauai trails book and thankfully we had read about the Nualolo before attempting it because it is a doosie of a trail, especially on the way back. The first few miles of the trek start downhill and wander through incredibly interesting and varied landscapes from thick, lush rainforest to tall grass meadows, to dry, dusty mountain ridges. The last quarter mile of the trail takes you along a traverse not for those with a fear of heights or wobbly balance. This trail is also not one to attempt if there has been any heavy rain. The red dirt here in Kauai turns into super slick red mud when it rains and this trail would be impassable and dangerous in wet conditions. Thankfully the trail was bone dry the day we trekked and the view at the Nualolo Lookout is nothing short of breathtaking – teal and azure water, stunning green and red NaPali Cliffs and dense tropical valleys that make helicopters look like tiny flapping birds.
At the lookout we marveled at the view, snapped a few pictures and stopped in the shade for a snack and water break and then started our trek out and UP. Remember how I said the first few miles of the trail are downhill? It’s more than the first few, truly the trail slopes downward the entire way to the lookout which means the way out is ALL uphill. Also, the first part of the trek takes you through dense forest, but the majority of it wanders through open ridges and tons of sunshine. We probably should have started our journey a little earlier to avoid the highest and hottest sun, but we didn’t. The first mile out of the lookout is tremendously brutal! A VERY steep incline with lots of boulders and tree roots to stumble on plus hot sun and intense humidity made for a very slow and sweaty return to the car. We drank every drop of water we brought with us and we packed more than we thought we would need. Our advice to you if you decide to hike Kauai (and you definitely should!) is to pack double the water you think you and any furry friends traveling with you will need or travel light by buying a water purifier you can take with you on the trail and is able to filter out bacteria and other yucky stuff.
Although intense, the trek was everything you want in half day hike. Incredible scenery, great workout and very few other people cluttering the view. We made it back to the car dirty, sweaty and tired around 4:30 p.m. making it the perfect half day hike. The trek wore us out but not enough to keep us from enjoying dinner and margaritas out that night to celebrate the start of R’s 28th year on the planet. We highly recommend this trail to any experienced hikers or those beginners with enough patience and determination to meet the challenge. You won’t regret it, we definitely didn’t and look forward to doing it again with friends.
Last weekend we also hit another trail on the east side of the island known as the NouNou trail (or Sleeping Giant trail) This was much less intense, and a lot more muddy so we didn’t quite make it to the summit, but the views of the ocean and Homesteads below are fantastic as well. Also a much less intense incline to worry about – we saw many hikers in teva sandals and lugging expensive camera equipment which I wouldn’t recommend on Nualolo. Ellie enjoyed the NouNou trail and leaping from rock to rock along some of the washed out sections where you could see water had carved out the trail. This hike only took us a few hours and was a great way to get us out of the house for a while.
We look forward to more hiking in Kauai and hopefully some Colorado visitors to join us on a few for that extra dose of home. If you can’t join us on the island for a hike just yet, please send us green chile, rio salsa/margaritas or any other fall treats you can think of. The closest I’ve gotten out here were some delicious honeycrisp apples I found at Costco but they did make a very fine fall salad with butter lettuce, sliced almonds, yellow peppers and dried cherries. 🙂
XO
RT
They went west 