Day 4 - Nu'alolo-Nu'alolo Cliff-Awa'awapuhi Loop

Today was our trip to Waimea Canyon. On our way to Waimea, we picked up sandwiches and breakfast from Sueoka's. We did the Nu'alolo-Nu'alolo Cliff-Awa'awapuhi Loop which is a 10.3 mile hike. We got a late start, and we arrived at the trailhead around 11:15 AM. The lady in the visitor center told us it would take 6 hours to complete. By starting at 11:15, it gave us just enough time, so that we would not have to hike in the dark. Fortunately, it looked like the weather was going to be nice. The hike is described as very strenuous, and it ended up being a lot harder than expected.

The Nu'alolo trail is a 3.8 mile descent to the Napali Coast. There were quite a few steep steps that we had to take which would have been difficult had the weather been poor. This trail had a narrow path, and there were times when there were walls on left and right sides of the trail. so it seemed similar to a tunnel. Since it is currently low season in Hawaii, we did not run into very many people on the trail. We saw two hunters and less than 10 other hikers the entire day. We saw one person hiking barefoot which we couldn't imagine doing.

The Nu'alolo Cliff trail is mostly flat, but was challenging for a couple of reasons. First of all, this trail began with a very narrow path, with no railing, and on the side of the cliff. For people who are afraid of heights, this is not a good trail to do. The second reason why this trail was challenging is because it was difficult to figure out where to go. As soon as we got through the narrow path, we encountered a maze of 10 foot high reeds. We followed the reeds around, and we couldn't figure out how to get through it. We ran into some other hikers, and as a group we managed to navigate our way through the reeds. At this point, we thought it was a good time to take a break and enjoy some lunch. After eating for only a few minutes, it began to rain and we could see the clouds darkening. We were prepared for the bad weather, so we weren't too concerned. We continued on the Nu'alolo Cliff trail for another mile or so before we got to the Awa'awapuhi trail.

The Awa'awapuhi trail was the most challenging portion of the hike. It is a steady 2.8 mile incline back to the main road. It stopped raining, but we were already tired. Alexis had plenty of energy and kept a pretty good pace. Shin was very tired and carrying a 12 pound backpack. We pushed through and made it back to the main road. Once we got to the main road, we had to hike another 1.6 miles to get back to the car. We finished the hike around 5:00 PM, and we were both exhausted.

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped off at Jo Jo's Shave Ice. It's the highest rated shaved ice place in Kauai. We got there right before they closed, and it was a really refreshing snack after a hard hike. Shin got a shaved ice with strawberry, maitai, and pina colada, syrup, and macadamia nut ice cream. Alexis got a shaved ice with cherry, strawberry, green tea, and vanilla ice cream. Alexis also wanted azuki beans, but they were sold out. We sat on the bench and relaxed while enjoying the shaved ice.

We also wanted to pick up dinner on our way home, so we stopped off in Koloa again. Today, we decided to pick up a pizza and salad to bring back to the hotel. While we were walking up the street, Alexis noticed Shin staring at an Asian guy. She also thought the guy looked familiar, so she figured that he was one of Shin's friends. The guy turned out to be Michael Chang the tennis player. He was with his wife, and they were shopping in the downtown Koloa area. We decided not to bother them to let them enjoy their privacy.