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Backing up after the sea kayaking on Sunday I was going to head off to hike the Kalalau Trial on the Na Pali coast. I'd already organised a camping permit the previous day and had brought a $20 tent at Wal Mart (label say's idea for children!). Little did I know at this stage that the hike would turn out to be memorable not only for the breath taking scenery and physical difficulty but as probably the most expensive overnight hike I've ever been on.
The Kalalau Trail is a 11-mile classic hike along the Na Pali coast. I've wanted to do it since I read about it in National Geographic years ago as one of the top five senic hikes in the world (Killi was also on this list). It doesn't involve altitude or any other mountanieering nasties but it does go up and down a lot!
After bidding farewell to Jamie and her friends who were going back to Oah'u I reached the trail head at around 1pm on Sunday. I left my car in the carpark with all glove boxes and other storage compartments open to discourage any break-ins. My plan was to walk the 11-miles to the far end in 6-7hours which would give me time to set up camp in the light. I set off and soon was in a good rythm knocking off the first two miles in an hour. The net 2-3 miles were tough, this was the biggest climb on the coast and they took me around 3.5 hours. At this point I realised that though I'd be running regularly I wasn't 'pack-fit' and the extra 10kg on my back was taking its toll. By the time I got to the half way camp I was dead on my feet. I even tossed up the idea of stopping there for the night. I eventually decided to push on. It was tough but I really wanted to complete the hike - I put my mind in neutral and pushed on along the next five miles of the exposed sea cliff trail to the Kalalau beach. The trail continued to rise and fall like the sea on a rough day but none of the climbs or drops were as sever as the first part of the day. I leap-frogged with a group of boy scouts for about an hour, I gained some heart from one of them telling me that I was BA (bad arse) for attempting the trail solo. I was relieved to turn the last head land and see a 'Campsite 1 mile' sign just after 7pm in the evening with the sun quickly decending into the sea. I made it, set up my tent, crawled in, had a quick feed and went to sleep.
Waking in the morning I felt good. I had a wander around the beach and waterfall at the camp site packed and set off at a more leisurely pace to trek the 11-miles back along the track to my car. Since I had all day I took it pretty easy knowing I had ample time I spend even more of the morning enjoying the spectacular views. As you'll see from some of the photos (when I up load them) the trail is not for anyone with fear of heights, in my book this just helped to highlight the scenery.
Getting back to the carpark I was relieved to see my car sitting where I left it unscathed (or so I thought). I dropped my pack grabbed my board shorts and went for a long swim at Ke'e beach.
After an orgasmic swim I got back to the car and got in to go. Leaving the carpark a 'low fuel' alarm went off in the car. "Sh*t I thought to myself someone has syphoned my fuel off during the night." With a great deal of trepidation I drove the 10 miles of narrow roads and one lane bridges to the nearest gas station. It was with great relief I made it there. I purchased the fuel (prepaid as in America they have problems with people driving off and not paying) and started filling. After about six gallons I notices a liquid flowing out from underneath my car. The skellum petrol thieves cut my fuel line to syphon the gas! Talking to the attendant this had happened to several people over the last few days - he guessed it was a byproduct of the rapidly increasing fuel prices.
It was clear I wasn't going anywhere. So I parked up called the rental company and the police. 3-hours later I was in a new car and off to look for a place to stay for the night. The bad news is that I didn't take out insurance (other than the one to stop me being sued in the event of an accident). I was being tight when I got my car with the additional cost of insurance tripling the cost of car hire. Bad idea. The car was towed around 30 miles and who knows what the damage will amount to. Hopefully I get a way for $3k or less. Lesson learned.
Cost of Kalalau Camping Permit $10
Cost of cheap tent in case of rain $20
Cost of having car towed and repaired $3000
Having a great story to blog - PRICELESS
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