End goal of all our preparation: to be on this trail
Research
The internet had A LOT of resources for preparing for this specific hike, including this website dedicated wholly to the Kalalau Trail. The useful information to know post has a list of websites that I referred to in determining what things to pack for the trip. YouTube also has a ton of videos if you are interested in seeing what to expect for the hike. I didn't want to ruin the surprise for myself, but did manage to watch a few videos on flash flooding on the trail (psyched myself out when weather forecasts showed thunderstorms).
Logistics
I made a to-do list to get as much ready for the trip as we possibly could. The list:
- purchase airfare
- acquire gear/supplies
- book hotel
- book car
- get someone to take us to/from HNL airport
- figure out detailed scheduled, save on Jack's phone I had anxiety about not being able to finish the full hike in one day so I wanted to know what pace I should be keeping; also made a list of places to visit around Kauai on the days we would play tourist
- figure out contingent plan if food or transportation don't work out Read posts of TSA stopping people from bringing over the items they packed, so wanted back-up plan
- packing list
- determine food/water intake to make sure we were getting sufficient calories and fluids
attempt camping on Oahudidn't get around to doing this, which was fine; don't think it would have really made a difference for our trip- test iodine tablets and time how long it takes to filter water good to familiarize ourselves with the process of cleaning our water; glad we ran water through the filter beforehand because there was a distinct plastic flavor for at least the first five times we used the filter and figured out we didn't like the aftertaste of iodine so made sure to pack enough beverage flavoring
- know where water sources are along the trail don't have to worry too much about this; we only filled up at 2 of the possible 10+ locations along the trail
- note who we should notify when we are on the trail and when we finish
rainproof backpacks, tents, and clotheswe had everything in ziploc/plastic bags and created our own tent cover instead, which was good enough- notes on sunrise/sunset, check weather
The pack I carried held about 10-12 pounds
Hiking permit: Day hiking on this trail does not require a permit. In fact, there is a very popular waterfall hike that branches from Hanakapiai Stream at mile 2. We also saw a trail runner or two who went all the way to Kalalau Beach at the end of the trail and back out in a single day (remember, the trail's a total of 22 miles!). If you plan to camp overnight, then you'll need to purchase a permit from this website. Because a limited number of permits are issued per night, it is advised to reserve your spots months in advance.
Air transportation: Since we live on the next island over from Kauai, it was easy to get a flight. We had accrued airline miles on United and Delta over the years, and decided to redeem them for our trip. United had a better deal than Delta (6,000 United miles versus 7,500 Delta miles per way). All we had to pay out-of-pocket were taxes and fees.
Jack was successful in compacting the items in his pack so that he carried about 30 pounds, which left me with less weight to carry (thanks!)
In terms of baggage, we intentionally planned to pack everything on our carry-on. We ended up bringing one hiking backpack and one regular backpack (that was actually quite spacious) for the hike, and an additional duffel bag to hold omiyage. The backpack that Jack carried was slightly beyond the accepted dimensions for a carry-on with the tent poles in it, but luckily the flight wasn't packed so there was enough overhead bin space to fit the backpack. We made sure that all of our essentials for the hike were allowable in the carry-on by checking this TSA website. For your reference, you are allowed to pack a tent (with stakes) in your carry-on. Hiking poles, on the other hand, must be checked in if you wish to bring these (we didn't find it necessary when we did the trail). We brought along nail clippers to act as our cutting device. For heating food, a portable stove is technically allowable (the fuel itself cannot travel by air) on your carry-on; however, there have been instances where hikers have run into issues getting it through TSA even when they show they do not have the fuel. To avoid these hassles, we decided to go with MREs since they contain flameless heaters. We went through TSA without a hitch. To help lighten the load from all the packaging of an MRE for the actual hike, we opened them up and took only what we needed for the hike with us (saved the extra plastic spoons, condiments, etc in our duffel).
Ground transportation: Getting to the island of Kauai was one thing to figure out, but getting to the trailhead is an equally crucial component of making this hike a reality (and more complicated than it had to be for us). I first looked to the internet to see what would be the best arrangement. There are many posts of people's rental cars parked at the trailhead getting broken into, which made me not want to go that route at first. Taking a shuttle would be a sure way to get from the airport to the trailhead and without the worries of car vandalism/theft, but the cost of the shuttle for one person one way would be $45! Catching a cab has the same perks, except it would have been even more expensive, so we really didn't want to go that route either. I initially settled on taking the public bus ($2.50 one way) to the farthest point north, which would still leave us at 8 miles to the trailhead. From there, my plan was to hitchhike the last portion to the trailhead, which was how one of my friends who completed the hike got to the start of the trail. Jack didn't think that was a great idea, so in the end, he convinced me to get a rental car (we were already renting for the two days that we planned to play tourist, so to add on the days we were on the hike didn't add on too much extra expense). We were going to chance the car sitting in the lot for two nights, but, of course, we were smart about not leaving any valuables visible. So glad that we finally ended up doing it this way because we had to switch our itinerary up due to the weather and it was one less headache to not have to rethink our car reservations/transportation. And, our car was still intact when we finished, so yay! It was also very convenient to have our transportation immediately available after we completed the hike instead of having to rely on bus schedules, etc to get us out of there.
My daily weather tracker
Weather: As much as I tried to figure out in advance for this hike to make this as manageable as possible, one thing that cannot be predicted/controlled is the weather. I did try to check out forecasts every day for two weeks leading up to the hike. I checked out www.weather.com and www.wunderground.com. The Hawaii State Parks website is also updated with status posts for when the trail is closed or reopened (like it did when we arrived on our first day in Kauai). If the site doesn't have such a post up, then it means the hike is open.
Our humble abode for two nights
Camping: My previous camping experience consisted of sleeping in a tent at Hoomaluhia Botanical Gardens when I was in Girl Scouts in elementary school. Jack had no prior experience whatsoever. We were planning to camp one night on Oahu, but ended up being too lazy to make that happen. Highly recommend a rain cover of some sort for the tent though. Our ghetto fabulous version consisted of three disposable tablecloths from Walmart duct-taped together. It was light and held together, so worked perfectly.
Perhaps something we should have looked more into before we left since we had a hard time holding a fire (luckily our meals didn't require it)
Training
To be more confident about completing the trail, Jack and I did a series of long hikes on the weekends to build our stamina for the length and endurance for the extra weight. I'm pretty sure that even if Jack didn't do any of these practice hikes, he could handle Kalalau, no sweat. For me, on the other hand, I needed the training. Got serious about hiking every weekend or every other weekend from January. A selection of the trails we traveled for the purpose of training include: Manana, Moanalua Valley, Waimano, Lanipo, Olomana, Maunawili Demonstration Trail, and Maunawili Falls trailhead to the Pali Lookout via the Maunawili Connector Trail. I trained with packs that ranged from 8-15 pounds. I think it was effective since I felt like I handled Kalalau well.
In my assessment, if you can hike the Manana trail with a pack comparable to what you plan to carry for Kalalau, that should be a good indicator that you're set. Also, I highly recommend spacing out the training hikes more. It was getting a bit tedious to have Saturdays blacked out for hiking for many consecutive weekends and made it seem more like a monotonous chore than an enjoyable recreational activity.
In my assessment, if you can hike the Manana trail with a pack comparable to what you plan to carry for Kalalau, that should be a good indicator that you're set. Also, I highly recommend spacing out the training hikes more. It was getting a bit tedious to have Saturdays blacked out for hiking for many consecutive weekends and made it seem more like a monotonous chore than an enjoyable recreational activity.
