Fall Creek

Stacey and I went for a hike at Fall Creek Unit, part of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, near Felton, CA today. It was a beautiful hike through 2nd growth redwood and douglas fir, following a babbling creek up to deserted limekilns dating back to the 1870's.

New frontiers in the kitchen

For Christmas this year, my parents surprised Matt with a top-of-the-line food dehydrator.  Not one to back down from a challenge, Matt has been experimenting with making apple and pear chips for the past couple of weeks.  We've been enjoying these so much that we've not made it much further into the world of dehydrating yet, but the possibilities are endless.  On the list for future snacks are yogurt, fruit leathers, teas, and kale chips, just to name a few.  Stay tuned!

Hidden Villa hiking

Last weekend, Matt and I headed over to Hidden Villa for a hike back in the foothills. We stopped by to visit with the animals before starting the hike, a prerequisite whenever we visit the farm. We were delighted to meet a pack of new baby lambs, and greet the piglets that have been growing steadily since last summer.  Our hike was mossy and the day was one of the clearest we've had in many weeks -- we were able to see all the way to the mountains in the East Bay.

Rainy day kiwi picking

It's finally kiwi season! Matt and I have been waiting for January to roll around for what seems like ages now. Last summer, we noticed that our favorite strawberry patch also has a kiwi orchard, ready for picking in December and January. We decided to brave the rain this weekend and check it out.  

 

All in all, we picked about 3 or 4 pounds of kiwis. We learned that kiwis right off the vine in California will not ripen on their own, but instead you have to place them in cold storage for about 14 days in order for them to ripen. Then you can bring them out to room temp, where they will slowly soften over the next couple of days. Since you can keep the kiwis in cold storage for up to 6 months, we decided that we will definitely need to go back soon and build up a stockpile to keep us through June. Kiwi jam, anyone?

Memorial Park hike

Yesterday, Matt and I headed over to one of our favorite redwood groves in Memorial Park.  We did a short 2.5 mile loop along Pomponio trail.  We started out in a redwood grove full of wet mosses, ferns, newts, and banana slugs (we counted 225 this time).  Then we climbed gently into the drier chaparral and skirted a ridge before coming back down to the trailhead.

 

 

Kauai, part 3

For our last campsite, we headed to Haena Beach park, which was west of Anini Beach by about 10 miles or so.  Haena Beach is located at the very end of the main road on the island, and is close to the starting point for the Kalalau Trail along the Na Pali coast.

We set up camp, took a long walk on the beach to explore, and then went snorkeling. Tunnels Beach, one of the best snorkeling beaches on the island, just next door to Haena Beach, so we decided to check it out. We saw tons of tropical fish of all different shapes, sizes and colors.  With the help of a handy fish identification guide given to us at the snorkel rental, we identified Threadfin Butterflyfish, Yellow Tang, Hawaiian Spotted Toby, Redlip Parrotfish, Reef Triggerfish, Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse, Bicolored Anthias, giant urchins, Bluestripe Butterflyfish, and to top it all off, a green sea turtle!  We swam with the turtle for a few minutes before it dove down into deep water.

 

We were lucky to get a great spot next to these palms for some hammock time

Beach treasures

The reef at Tunnels

Standing at Tunnels Beach, looking back at our campsite at Haena Beach (at the base of the tallest peak)

The next morning we woke at dawn, made coconut pancakes, loaded up our hiking packs, and set off for the start of the Kalalau trail, one mile down the road from our campsite. We planned to hike two miles along the trail to the first beach, Hanakapa'ai Beach, and then take a side trail two more miles into the Na Pali coast to see the Hanakapa'ai falls. The trail was steep and slick in places, but it afforded several breathtaking views of the Na Pali coastline as we hiked. We reached Hanakapa'ai Beach in about an hour.

Glimpses of the Na Pali coast from the Kalalau Trail

More stunning scenery

Hanakapa'ai Beach with hundreds (thousands?) of cairns in the foreground

Hanakapa'ai Beach was wide and sandy, and the ocean was pure turquoise. To the left, hundreds if not thousands of cairns built by hikers over the years. We discovered that there were several other people already making themselves at home on the beach with towels and snacks. Not a bad spot for lunch!

We turned inland here on a side trail up to the falls. The trail became a gentle uphill climb that crossed a stream several times.  We wound our way though lush, jungle terrain of bamboo, guava trees, and coffee trees, occasionally losing sight of where the trail was supposed to be, but always finding it within a few yards.

Heading inland from the beach

Gigantic bamboo thickets along the Trail

 Hanakapa'ai stream, which we crossed several times to get to the falls

After a couple of steep scrambles over muddy rocks, we finally arrived at the falls.  They seem to just pour out of the rock about 1,600 ft above a small pool.  There were several other hikers already enjoying the view, so we climbed over to a secluded spot for lunch.

 

Hanakapa'ai Falls

Our lunch spot was just a little to the right of where this image was taken

During lunch, Matt noticed a small ledge in the rock face about 100 ft up and to the left of the falls.  We decided to climb up to investigate the view from there.  As I was snapping pictures, Matt got down on one knee and proposed!  Of course the answer was yes.  We sat on the ledge for a little while and enjoyed the view of hikers and swimmers below.

The view from the ledge, two swimmers give a good idea of scale


We're engaged!

After climbing back down to the main pool, we paused for a few more pictures before heading back to the trailhead.  We paused at Hanakapa'ai beach once more for a quick snack, and to say hello to the family of cats that was making quite a good living off of passing hikers with snacks. 

Napping beach kitties

After getting back to camp, we celebrated the day with a bowl of mac and cheese and an early bedtime.  The next day, we took one last look at the Na Pali coast from Ke'e beach, just a few yards from the trailhead.  We vowed to come back again soon and backpack the entire Kalalau Trail.

The Na Pali coast from Ke'e Beach

After camping for 7 nights, we treated ourselves to a stay at the Westin in Princeville for two more nights on the island.  We put the hotel's many pools and hot tubs to good use on our last full day.  We did something similar when we went to Maui three years ago - camping for the most part but joining civilization again toward the end -- it's definitely a great way to come home rested and completely relaxed.

Even though we packed our 9 days on Kauai full of sights, there was still plenty left to explore.  We'll have to plan a trip back so that we can do some backpacking along the Na Pali coast.  We also want to try out sea kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding next time.  We can't wait to go back!

Kauai, Part 2

The South Shore of Kauai is arid and dry, almost an entirely different landscape than the lush jungles in the north.   We set up camp at Salt Pond, a local beach known for its adjacent pond where islanders historically harvested salt.  Some families still have rights to harvest salt here, but we didn't see much of that while we were there -- mostly just what looked like a dry pond bed next to the parking lot.  The camp sites here were fairly exposed compared to Anini, but luckily the trade winds weren't as strong on this side of the island.

Our site at Salt Pond

The main feature of the south side of the island is Waimea canyon, a huge crevasse in the landscape that resembles a smaller Grand Canyon.  It was formed over millions of years as the ancient volcano on the island slowly erodes.  To get our bearings on the first day, we drove along the winding road that skirts the edge of the canyon, stopping at several viewpoints.  The road follows Waimea Canyon, then eventually heads north into Koke'e State Park and dead-ends at the southern-most tip of the Na Pali Coast. 

Standing in Waimea Canyon and looking south toward the ocean

The color and striations of the rocks resemble the Grand Canyon

Another majestic view

Our first glimpse of the Na Pali coast

On the second day, we picked several hikes in Waimea canyon and Koke'e State Park. Our first hike of the day in Waimea Canyon was the Kukui Trail.  It was very steep but provided us with more stunning views of the canyon and lots of orange dust on our shoes. The second and third hikes were in Koke'e State Park, which was surprisingly more lush and tropical. Our trail book was massively inaccurate and the trail junctions were mostly unsigned, but we managed to make it back in one piece.

Our first hike in Koke'e was perhaps the most difficult to navigate.  We started off on the wrong road, since the trail book neglected to mention there would be 4 different roads to choose from, instead of 3.  After turning around, we managed to find the correct road, and we were treated to a variety of different tropical plants and flowers as we walked.

Flowers along what we think was Mohihi Road

Next we somehow managed to find Discovery Trail as it was called in the book, except the only trail sign we ever saw called it Water Tank trail.  This trail climbed gently into a forest of trees all only about an inch or less in diameter and so thick you could hardly see a foot or two into the thicket.  The only way we knew we were on the right path was because of a description of an Ohia tree that looks as if it is on stilts.  Hard to miss that!

A forest of skinny trees

The Ohia tree on Discovery Trail or Water Tank Trail

The second hike in Koke'e State Park was along Kaluapuhi trail, which was lush with ferns, mosses, and strawberry guavas.  It was an easy out-and-back route and a nice way to see the upland forest in Koke'e.

On the way back from the hikes, we stopped at our new favorite fruit stand in Waimea for some shave ice. Matt quickly became a shave ice connoisseur while we were on the island.

Enjoying coconut shave ice


Lots of tropical fruits for sale

After only two nights at Salt Pond, we once again packed up our gear and headed back up north for our third and final camping destination in Haena beach. Click over to Part 3 for more!