Kauai

Prequel

The primary purpose of this trip was to attend the wedding of a friend of mine, Suon Cheng.  The location wisely had been chosen to provide an opportunity for both his American and Taiwanese/Japanese friends and family to attend.  In addition, the probable attendance was increased by the desirability of the locale and the opportunity to create an extended vacation out of the trip.  Of course, this is what I did.  I had never been to Hawaii, and was curious to see its highly vaunted attractions.    Allotting nine days for the trip, I set about constructing an itinerary.  I decided to spend three days each on Kauai, Hawaii, and Oahu (the last leg was dictated by the wedding).   The pace would have become too hectic if I had attempted Maui and Lanai as well.  As it turned out, the schedule suited me well.  In terms of activities, I considered three possibilities:  hiking, bicycling, and diving.  Diving would have required a wet suit and the gear would have proved cumbersome.   Moreover, the diving opportunities would be limited to 2 days total due to the prohibition during the 24 hours prior to flight.   Someday I will travel to Hawaii for a diving vacation.  Bicycling remained a possibility, but I decided to focus on hiking instead.  Unfortunately, camping locations on the Napali coast of Kauai were unavailable (apparently, one has to book a year in advance).  I decided upon a series of day hikes, and this worked out well.  The remainder was relegated to chance. 

Fri , June 7 (Flight out)

            I booked an e-ticket for a non-stop flight out on Continental.  A word of advice: always verify the departure time the day before a flight; Continental moved it up without notifying anyone, but then the flight was delayed back to its original time. Two forms of incompetence cancelled out.  The flight itself was pleasant.  Between the movie, my Gameboy, and a book, the 9-1/2 hours passed quickly.   Luggage retrieval was quick.  It turned out that I could have made the 7:45 PM last flight to Kauai.  Instead, I stayed at the Honolulu Airport Hotel.  This was cheap, convenient, and not bad aside from the surroundings. 

Sat, June 8

I awoke at 4 AM and took an early Aloha airlines flight to Kauai (this sounds less impressive when one notes that it was 10 AM in NY).  Incidentally, this was one of two times I got picked for "random" searches; both occurred at Honolulu and both were with Aloha airlines - I guess that New Yorkers look suspicious to Hawaiians.  In Kauai, I rented a Dodge Stratus from Dollar Rent-a-car.  This model runs well, but is poorly designed from an ergonomic standpoint. I'll stick with Japanese cars.

The first stop was Waimea Canyon. Kauai is easy to navigate because there is one main road that (almost) circumnavigates it. Naturally, I managed to get lost, overshooting the canyon. I was gently alerted to my error when the road suddenly ended in Polihale.  After backtracking, I found the Waimea Canyon Drive and proceeded up it, the views growing progressively more spectacular. This raised the mathematical problem of photo conservation. Given no foreknowledge of upcoming attractions, how does one allocate film or memory for photos early in the trip? I'm sure this is closely related to the famous "dowry problem" and the answer involves an exponential (of course, given a digital camera with the ability to erase pictures, the issue is moot). The mountains here (and elsewhere in Hawaii) are strikingly different from those encountered in the northeast US. I believe that they may have a different fractal dimension because of their volcanic origin. They certainly appear steeper and more jagged, and are completely covered in green vegetation (this last doesn't affect the fractal dimension, but is a relevant point of comparison).

Despite the intermittent rain throughout my vacation, Hawaii was apparently in the midst of a dry spell and much of the water from streams was siphoned off for use. Consequently, the waterfalls and rivers were less vigorous than usual. After winding my way up the Canyon and stopping at the Waimea outlook for some spectacular views, I arrived at Kokee lodge/museum, where the ranger suggested a hike. Incidentally, there were many brightly colored chickens that hung around the parking lots all over Hawaii. This might prove convenient for the traveller on a budget. I also saw some red-crested Cardinals.

The hike, along the Awa'awapuhi trail, proved one of the highlights of the trip.  This trail leads from Waimea Canyon to a point on the Northwest Napali coast. The views at the end are spectacular and the vistas resemble common notions of a prehistoric landscape, probably because this is where Hollywood filmed certain bad Spielberg films. The path itself comprised a steady downhill slope about 3 miles in length. As anyone with a strong background in differential geometry could deduce, the hike back was a continuous climb. Consequently, the (numerous) endomorphic individuals who had initially sprinted down the trail provided pathetic spectacles on the way back. At the trail's end, there is a narrow ridge that protrudes a hundred yards beyond the cliffs. I walked part of the way, but felt no need to hike to the tip given the precarious and slippery footing. Minus one for manliness, plus one for survival.

After returning from the hike, I paid one more visit to the Waimea Caynon lookout. It paled in comparison with the views I had just imbibed.  A note on meteorology:  The weather in Hawaii is strange. Rain occurs in short intervals, but can be intense during those periods. This is particularly irritating when driving because it necessitates constant changes in the window wiper speed.  From the Canyon, I drove to the Kauai Sands hotel in Kapaa and checked in. I do not recommend this hotel.

Sun, June 9

I awoke at 5:30 AM (11:30 in NY, my ordinary workday wakeup time) and drove to Haena park.  Because this lies at the end of the road, I was unable to get lost despite my best efforts.  I immediately started hiking the Kalalau trail.   This path has 3 campgrounds - at the 2 mile, 6 mile, and 9 mile points. Various trails diverge from it, and the most popular is the waterfall hike leaving from the 2 mile site.  A short way in, I met a young couple (Barry and April) and another hiker (Ken), and we decided to hike together. The first segment of the trail (about 2 miles) ends on a beach. I liked our group and decided to accompany them up to the waterfall instead of continuing along the Kalalau trail. On the way up, another woman (Jenny) joined our group. The falls were stunning. We hung out there for a while, but I did not go in the frigid water.  On the way down it drizzled continuously and the footing became slippery.  Despite this, the rain was a blessing; the heat would otherwise have been oppressive.  Even in our case, the heat made the hike difficult, and I used a full 4 liters of water.  The total trek length was about 8 miles.  The vegetation along the trail was tropical and beautiful, without the usual abundance of stinging insects. After the hike, I returned to the hotel and relaxed.

Mon, June 10

I awoke at 7 AM (1 pm in NY - approaching grad student hours) and checked out of the hotel. I drove back toward Haena park, stopping at all the sites along the way. This included a beautiful beach, some scenic viewpoints, and a cave. I then drove down the coast toward Lihue. Nearby, I saw a couple of impressive waterfalls (Opaekee falls and Wailua falls).  I proceeded to the airport and flew to Hilo airport in Hawaii (conveniently stopping in Honolulu to get searched) where I rented another Dodge Stratus.  After some searching in the heavy rain, I found the Hale Kai Bjornen Inn and retired for the night.