Date: April 16, 2019
Location: Na Pali Kona Forest Reserve, Kauai, Hawaii
Distance: 7.5 miles
Elevation Change: 2600 feet down and then 2600 feet back up (cumulative - accounts for some minor ups and downs)
Group: Mat and Liz
The trailhead to the Awa'awapuhi trail is just past mile marker 17 on HI 550. We arrived early in the morning and were the 2nd or 3rd car in the parking area, which can hold roughly 20 vehicles. Most of the trail is in an area of heavy vegetation/is pretty shaded.
There is also plenty of mud, though it was worse in the first mile or so of the trail.
The trailhead is at about 4060 feet and you climb just a bit to around 4130. The clouds appeared to be about knee height when the trail allowed brief glimpses of the horizon. It's all downhill to the lookout point after that.
When you arrive at the lookout point, there is a railing and signs to encourage you to stay behind them. A well-traveled trail continues down below the lookout point. It is pretty wide at the start and gradually narrows to about 18 inches (kind of a tropical version of Angel's Landing). It was dry at the point, so I walked out to the end. A slip would take you on a quick ride down about 2000 feet to the valley floor below.
Who would have thought you'd see a cactus on Kauai? See bottom center of photo below.
Rather than head immediately back to the trailhead, we went along the Nu'alolo Cliffs Trail for a bit. It is relatively flat and goes by a small waterfall.
The Nu'alolo Cliffs Trail certainly sees a lot less foot traffic. It was about 1/3 as wide as the main trail and we had to cross trees that had fallen across the trail in many places. We opted to turnaround for some other planned adventures after coming across this roadblock.
