The Nāpali Coast

The Nāpali Coast is my favorite hike that I probably won’t ever do again. For Molly, it was a bucket list hike and once I learned a little bit more about it I was mostly in but with a section of it called crawlers ledge who isn’t skeptical at first.

Rona wasn’t on this trip with us but we brought her favorite bandana and we drew her curly tailed likeness in the sand. Next year’s backpacking trip will definitely include her though, she had a blast on our 30 miler Maroon Bells hike in Colorado last year.

The reward for the hike isn’t a summit but an isolated beach that can only be accessed via this trail. To camp on the beach at the end of the hike you have to get a permit and they only have something like 10-20 per day and you can reserve them 90 days out. Once we figured out the dates we were shooting for, we marked that 90th day out to prep. When that 90th day came we woke up and tried to book them but everything was already taken, ok so they go pretty quick, noted, and we lost our initial dates. After some research we found out that the slots open up at midnight Hawaii time which means a lovely 3am Phoenix time. So that night we go to bed snuggled up to our laptops and alarms set for 2:55am in the morning. The preparation worked and we groggily snagged two permits at 3:01am which meant the hike was officially happening, yay!

Hiking in Hawaii is something else. We’ve done a few other long hikes in Hawaii like Stairway to Heaven and Kuli’ou’ou Ridge which helped us prep for this hike. The mud here is lose your shoes thick, the trails are usually a bit overgrown, and there's always a swampy section but it's all made up for with the amazing scenery and views you get.

We flew into Kauai on Monday and rested up at the hotel for the day on the north side of the island(Princeville) which basically meant pina coladas and some pool time. We met the official state bird of Hawaii while lounging at the pool and as it tried to get after our poke nachos, it's a nēnē.

We brought everything for the hike with us on the plane including our hiking poles(which we had to check last minute, they're a bit too stabby for the main cabin), mini stove, meals, and backpacking bags to carry it all in. We just needed a few extra items like Cliff bars and Molly's tuna and tortilla recipe so we strolled over to Foodland. You get desperate to save weight on hikes like this so you just need high protein and lightweight nutrition, everyone has their favorites, this one I'm still a little bit meh on. It's a tortilla and any flavor of chicken of the sea you can find, hopefully not just plain, we found some fire-roasted chili and garlic & herb. Foodland also has spam musabi(it grows on you and it's a great snack) and the best/cheapest poke on the islands so we grabbed some bowls for dinner for the evening.

That night we repacked our bags and removed some of the extra clothing that we brought with us for our downtime on the island, did a few last-minute tests for things we were bringing backpacking. One of those tests was our water filter(we have a BeFree) and it was putting out just barely a drip which set us into panic mode because the north side of the island is pretty basic as far as stores go, there's not a local adventure store or REI around the corner. We found a simple solution though by just soaking it in any non-mineralized water such as RO-treated water so we left it in a glass of that hoping it'd be clear by the morning.

The hotel that we stayed at on the north shore was attached to a golf course and we could catch the sunset from our room, it was a glorious start to the hiking portion of our trip. We walked out onto the golf course from our room and caught the last of the sunset, found a few waterfalls in the distance, and just enjoyed how gorgeous the garden island is. Fun fact from our Uber driver, Kauai is the oldest island and so it has the oldest and most growth which is why it's called the Garden Island.

The taxi to the shuttle stop was arranged for 6:15am the next morning so we got some sleep with our bags all packed and our water filter hopefully fixing itself overnight. I got up, made some coffee, brought it to Molly in bed, finished up some final packing and then it was time. Time to see if we'd be able to actually do the hike and have water on our trek. Molly tried posting in the trail's Facebook group, we called a couple of random shops on the north short but we didn't have any luck so we were hoping just this simple soak trick worked. Luckily it did and it was filtering like it was brand new, great success.

Bags packed, boots on, we head down to the front of the hotel to grab our taxi just a few minutes before 6:15am. No taxi yet, but that's fine, a lot of things run on island time and we gave ourselves a 20-minute buffer to catch the shuttle. 6:30 rolls around, still no taxi, we try ordering an Uber which just sits there looking for a driver. 6:40 and we decide to walk out to the main road, we're going to have to try and hitch a ride out to the shuttle stop. I leave the Uber request open on my phone while we walk out to the main road, it's one road that basically dead-ends a little ways past the shuttle stop, it's a road to one place basically. It should be fine, we just didn't want to rely on it. We practice our best thumbs-up game while we walk along the main road for a bit and luckily it only takes about 10 minutes for some generous souls to scoop us up. And these two were great, Matt and Erin from Seattle out here doing a portion of the hike we're doing and going to the same shuttle stop. We got to know them a bit on the way into the hike and talked about Hawaii, it was pretty great and we were so thankful to get scooped up.

We get to the shuttle stop, we missed ours but catch the 7am shuttle and manage to snag the last 2 open seats on the shuttle. After the water issue and the taxi issue I really wasn't sure if we'd be making it on this hike but being on the shuttle makes it official.

Molly and I have done a few of these backpacking trips together, we try to get one in once a year and they end up being one of the most reflective and realigning experiences I have all year. We usually end up picking a backpacking trip that'll be a good mix of challenging and scenic but really wherever you do a decent amount of mileage you can't go wrong if well prepared.

This hike is a little over 11 miles each way and about 3,300 feet of elevation each way, it's not crazy but it should be a good challenge. The biggest factor with this hike is that the trail is hopefully dry and stays that way throughout our hike.

The first 2 miles of the hike are a popular tourist day hike with a few beaches along the way. We get off the shuttle, get a pep talk from the shuttle guide about the hike but mostly for the day hikers and how muddy their shoes are about to get. We make our way through the first chunk of the hike which is fairly easy and mostly downhill which of course means this will be a stairclimber to finish up this hike on the way out. There’s a fairly deep river crossing before the last beach for the day hike portion so we switch to our Chacos, a must for any backpacking trip, while not fashionable, highly functional. We stop at the beach at the end of the day hike portion to have a snack and figure out where our next turn is.

From the beach, it’s straight up about 700 feet over a half mile, switchback central. It brings you up to a gorgeous view and really sets the hike in motion, you can clearly see most of the trail ahead.

After that, it’s a consistent back and forth between swampy jungle sections to the edge of a cliff looking out at the ocean. The outer edge in the sun is preferable over the swampy jungle sections, the air is thick in there. A few more miles in and making our way through the humid sections and there’s not a dry spot on my shirt. Luckily we have our water filter because it feels like I’m sweating the water out as soon as I drink it.

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There are actually two camping options for this trail. One is a camp at mile 6 and the other is the beach at the end. We’re going in with a plan to camp at the mile 6 campsites but we just want to see how the trail is and see if we should just push all the way to the beach at the end.

A few more miles in and we start to see some packs of mountain goats. These are mentioned a lot in the trail notes, to watch out for these guys if they’re above you as they’ll end up kicking rocks down at you. We startled one as we came around a hairpin corner, we stare at each other confusingly and he hops down the side of the cliff.

We get to mile 6 to check out the campsite and it’s heavily shaded which is a good thing but it’s also really humid and has a lot of bugs. There’s fresh water right by camp but it doesn’t have much else going for it. The trail conditions so far have been pretty great and mostly dry so we fill up on water and decide to push through the rest of the hike and get to the beach.

Feeling somewhat excited to do the full stretch in a day and as we’re leaving our campsite we start to get our first bit of rain. Yay. So much for dry trail conditions. We pull out our raincoats and rain flys but by the time we have that all on the rain stops. Just a storm cloud cruising by the island.

The next chunk of the trail after the campsite is crawler's ledge, it’s at mile marker 7. When we planned this trip I was excited to camp at mile 6 and wake up fresh to do the most difficult portion of the trek, crawlers ledge. Instead we decided to push it and here we are several hours into the day, sweaty and starting to feel a little fatigued but still in good spirits.

Before we went on this hike we watched a few YouTube videos of this section of the hike because we wanted to see how bad it really was. It didn’t disappoint I’ll say that much. It’s a section that if it was wet or muddy at all we’d have to turn around or wait it out, it’s just not worth it.

Crawler's ledge is a half-mile section of the trail where the trail is anywhere from about six inches wide to maybe a foot. One side of the trail is a 400-500 foot drop straight into the ocean, the other side is just a sheer rock wall or maybe some loose red dirt.

We have hiking poles with us which are really helpful to have an extra leg for stretches like this. Just another leg that you can use to balance yourself in from the ledge and avoid going for an unwanted swim.

I’m afraid of heights in sketchy situations, this is one. Molly gets nervous with loose areas on the trail. The ledge has both so we’re both in for a treat. I decide my best approach is tunnel vision directly in front of me, and I don’t really look out from the ledge until we’re almost at the end of it. Luckily for Molly, there was only one loose stretch and it was at the beginning which also made for a hesitant start.

There are a few sections where you learn where the name comes from. It’s the tiny ledge and then it’s a larger boulder reaching over the trail. We can’t physically walk upright and have to actually crawl under this boulder so we don’t catch this boulder on the way through. There are only a few of these and they’re easier than the skinny ledges but you’re ready to be done with the ledge by then.

Half a mile later and were in the clear, now we can just think about the beach and a delicious dehydrated camp meal. These camp meals are one of my favorite parts about doing these hikes. We have lasagna, chicken and dumplings, and pad Thai ready to go for this trip.

The final stretch is a section called red mountain and it looks like you’re on Mars, quite a different terrain than the rest of the hike. Hitting this stretch though lets us know we’re only a few miles from the beach and how glorious does that sound after we’ve already done 8 miles and about 5 hours of hiking.

We hit the Kalalau sacred land sign which means one more mile to the beach. We pause for a moment to take a few pictures and get excited to finally be on the beach. It’s been a sweaty, sunny, hot, and long day we’re ready for a refreshing dip in the ocean and to put these packs down.

We get to the beach and go to the first campsite we see, plop down for a moment, and drop our packs. We made it. Beach time.

There are a few spots available but most of them are under a few trees on the beach. We settle on one pretty quick so that we can start to unpack and eat some food. The exhaustion is heavy, but the satisfaction of completing the hike and crawlers ledge is worth it.

We relax and recap the hike over some "fresh" rehydrated food. We scout out the water source which is this little waterfall at the end of the beach, it even comes with some PVC pipe to make a ghetto shower. Wonderful.

The next day we wake up with the birds and the waves crashing on the beach. Make some instant coffee from Press, grab our books and our towels, and walk the handful of steps to the beach. We stare off into the ocean, sipping on our coffee, both still sleepy and reflecting on the hike we just finished. Also, both thinking about how we have to go back through crawlers ledge.

We get some reading in, play some cards. Molly finally beats me at Kings Corner. She planned this whole thing and everything we needed to pack, well deserved.

In the middle of the day, it gets a bit toasty in the sun so we decide to walk down the beach a little farther and there’s a cove you can just hang out in. Perfect. We relax and read. Watch the crabs dig their tiny little holes in the sand only to have the ocean destroy the little progress they’ve made.

As the sun starts to set on the day we start to make the walk back over to camp. Molly turns to me and takes both of my hands and starts saying all of these sweet and loving things. I joke and say babe I already proposed to you. She keeps on saying these loving things and stories about why we’re great partners. And then she starts reaching for something and gets down on one knee and says Nicholas Ryan, will you marry me. Ring in hand, I lose it like a rom-com as soon as she moves down to one knee. I made a comment a few months ago about how it’s weird that one partner gets something with the engagement to signify the engagement but the other one doesn’t. Didn’t think anything of it after that but yet she was scheming the whole time behind the scenes. Adorbs and well done.

We enjoy the rest of the day on the beach together, double engaged. The next day we have to do the hike out but we’re both ready for this next adventure and we’ve both ready for whatever gets thrown at us but with this adventure, we already know what to expect. It’s just, over the river, through crawlers ledge, to pina coladas we go.

And sure enough, we get back to civilization, and get to our hotel. Take a thorough shower and head straight to the pool for some pina coladas.

This hike was our most challenging so far though, it took us about 9 hours on the way in and 8 hours on the way back. Most of those 9 hours on the way in I was just sweating because it was so humid, just sitting in a sauna basically. The views were unreal, the elevation was nice and challenging, and I’d highly recommend it for the adventurous.