Saturday, December 12, 2009

Napali Coast- A Perfect Getaway

So, despite the freaky memories from the movie "A Perfect Getaway" (check it out if you haven't seen it) Carolyn and I braved the Napali Coast hike by ourselves! It's an 11 mile hike in to a secluded beach with some waterfalls and valleys and cliffs along they way. We left on Thursday afternoon from Oahu after about 5 minutes of conversation about what we were planning on taking and what we were doing. Somehow, with a lot of help from our friend Matt and Walmart, we pulled it all together. We took a tarp and a towel and some blankets to sleep on. We got some food at Walmart- spaghettios, PBJ's, granola bars, pop tarts- the usual. The scenery around each point was so different yet so amazing. There was some areas that were so lush, some that were just red clay, some that were black rocky cliffs, some sandy beaches, some that were just dirt, but all had amazing views of the huge waves crashing below. We made pretty much record time. We hiked in in only 7 hours, then we camped at the beach. We hiked around the valley the second day, and then we hiked half way out and camped. The second night was quite eventful. Then we finished the hike out on the third day. This was clearly the second night. This was after the only rainstorm we had. Our tarp apparently was not the best for rain as it had holes in it, and our burrito roll did not work out too well for Carolyn's right side. This picture is me after a 20 minute nights rest and wet clothes that smelled delightful after spooning the campfire for 6 hours. Yes, we had a heaven sent campfire in a pavillion right near our camp spot. There are no words to describe the people and the things we saw along the way, but this picture is a start. This is the book store we ran across after getting directions from a naked lady talking about reducing her petroleum use by living off the land. Please not the Lil Wayne CD and the "What to Expect When You're Expecting" book. Just to name a few. This was our lunch location. Waterfall background and crisp clean air. It was pretty stellar. Yep, it was not hard to remember to look up at the scenery on this hike. Refilling our waterbottles. This was the moment of truth where we saw the beach and the light at the end of the tunnel! Here are my 2 favorite colorful faces we met along the way. That is Jessie, or somedays he calls himself "Spirit," and Andre (the one hanging from the tree). They were living back there just back on their way in after gathering some supplies. They had a slightly different lifestyle, but they had some interesting stories. They apparently met because they are both shell guys, they talk on the "shell phone" which "doesn't need any long distance plans!" They picked us some oranges off the orange tree and showed us a few things about the coast. Note their Tibetan prayer flags that they put up every time they camp. We made it to the beach... in time to watch sunset and take some fun pictures! Yep, pretty much paradise.
Ain't she so purty!
These waves were freakin huge!!!!!!! The shore break was so big that we didn't even get in the water.
But we did play in the caves.
She was the best fire maker on the island!
There may have been a point where we hit delirium... I think this was when we were on our day hike and got lost.
But it was just so freaking pretty we couldn't help but smile!
This was the the sunset the first night before we started. We had quite an experience just getting to the trailhead with "Wild" (our hitch hiking ride) who showed us laminated pictures of him surfing in the 60's.
Yeah, we are pretty freaking cute.
It was an amazing experience not only hiking the coast but also hitch hiking to get back to the airport. When we got back to the trailhead we took a nap on the beach which was freaking amazing and warm and sleepful! Then we hitch hiked out and ate lunch at a little cafe with other Broncos fans who were celebrating their victory! We met some ladies who took us part way to the airport, then 3 rides later we made it to the airport- 6 hours before our flight. After 20 minutes of trying to wait it out, we forked over the $50 to change our flight and get home. That was the best $50 I have spent in a long time!

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