We headed out (relatively) early this morning to go on a hike I’ve been wanting to do for years: the Pihea Trail to the Alaka’i Swamp Trail. To get to the trailhead, you have to go all the way up to the very end of Waimea Canyon Drive. It takes a full 40 minutes to drive to the end of the road without stopping and, on past visits to the park, we had spent too much time taking pictures at the lookout points to make it to the trailhead with enough time to complete the 8-mile round trip hike. This time, we headed straight up, planning to hit the lookouts on the way back down if we so desired.
Unfortunately, as the car climbed the 4,000 foot elevation, the clouds got lower and lower and the wind got gustier. By the time we reached the trailhead, we were basically sitting in fog. It was just over 50 degrees and the wind was whipping around us. Now, I know that the weather in the Kalalau Valley is changeable and often if you give it 15 minutes, it can clear up. So, Steve and I ate lunch in the car and hoped for the best. The weather was just as crappy when we’d finished lunch as it had been before. If I’d been able to see any blue sky when facing inland, I would have said let’s go for it, but there was nothing but fog and mist as far as the eye could see. It wasn’t until we had descended back down several hundred feet in elevation that the blue sky returned. Even then, the wind was coming in like crazy, blowing dust and dirt into our eyes as we tried to take pictures of the canyon.
I was pretty bummed that we were finally going to go on this particular hike only to have it called off due to the weather. But it was quite clear that we would be cold and miserable and wouldn’t have a good time. More to the point, this hike is supposed to have gorgeous views into the Kalalau Valley and off to the North Shore; with the fog obscuring the valley so much, there just didn’t seem to be much point in forging ahead.
Interestingly though, I did discover that Steve thinks I’m obsessive to the point of being crazy. Apparently, he thought I was so focused on taking this hike that I would pursue it come hell or high water. I was amazed at how amazed he was that I called it off.
Since we still had the whole afternoon ahead of us, we did go ahead and stop at the canyon overlooks on our way down the mountain. Our last trips to Kauai were both in the October-November timeframe. Even though the islands are having a bit of a drought right now, the canyon was visibly greener than on our previous trips.
Waipo’o Falls was also flowing heavier than I’d remembered it in the past.
This is just a random stream that runs-off down the mountain, but I’ve always loved taking pictures at this spot because the contrast of the blue sky and the red dirt, along with what little green there is, is just amazing.
After leaving Waimea Canyon, we turned right and headed west to the end of the road. We had never driven west of the canyon before and wanted to see what there was to see. The answer, it turns out, is not much. Oh, there are lots of beaches if you turn off the main highway, and apparently the view of Ni’ihau from the Naval Missile Facility can be fantastic on a clear day (which this was not), but otherwise, there’s just not all that much reason to go out in that direction.
Coming back around, we decided to stop at the Glass Beach. This is a small beach near the garbage dump on south Kauai. I know that sounds charming, but over the years, glass has washed out into the ocean and small, smooth pieces come back to mingle with the sand, creating a multi-colored, sparkly surface. The amount of glass on the beach can vary with the tide. I think we were probably at about a mid-point in sparkliness. Visible and pretty glass pieces in the sand, but not as nice as it could have been.
But we did find one very nice surprise on the beach: a Hawaiian Monk Seal had beached herself for a little snooze in the sun. It was the first time we had seen a monk seal in Hawaii and we were quite pleased and excited by the opportunity. She was designated “K12″.
