Backpacking - Kalalau Trail (Na Pali Coast State Park), Kauai, Hawaii

Five day backpacking trip along the Kalalau Trail in Na Pali Coast State Park along the Na Pali Coast in Kauai. The hike is 11 miles in and then out for a total of 22 miles. This hike has it's own chapter in Peter Potterfield's book "Classic Hikes of the World." He wrote: "The 11-mile (17.7 km) long Kalalau Trail provides the only land access to Kauai's spectacular Na Pali Coast and the hidden beaches along the way. The rugged trail, dangerously steep and eroded in places, traverses five deep, distinct valleys before ending at a final one, Kalalau. The trail contours around the heavily vegetated cliffs, or fluted ridges - pali in Hawaiian, hence Na Pali Coast - dropping to sea level only twice: at Hanakapi'ai Beach, a little more than 2 miles from the trailhead, and at Kalalau Beach itself, a mile of golden sand and pounding surf at the mouth of a lush, expansive tropical valley. Here, further progress is absolutely obstructed by one magnificently sheer, fluted pali. But this valley and this beach are reason enough to come." Weather can be picture perfect, or it could be constant rain (that's why they call it a rain forest) making footing on the muddy trail tenuous. Though the mileage is not great, this trail is for experienced, fit backpackers. Each person must supply their own gear. Permits are required and need to be obtained months in advance. For more information, you can check out the Hawaii State Park website where there is a link to a PDF brochure. Fee to RSVP is $27 which covers the permit cost of $5/day and $2 MeetUp.com fee. There will be a mandatory get-together before the trip to go over logistics. Each person will also be responsible for their share of food, transport to and from the trailhead (leaving cars at the trailhead is not recommended), and their own transportation and lodging while on the Island. I will be camping at State Parks before and after the hike, and have reserved a rental car, so I would be willing to share with the right person(s). If you have 35,000 American Airline Frequent Flier Miles, that's how I booked my flight and as of 4/25/09, there were other frequent flier seats available around the date of this trip. I hiked this trail back in December of 1998 and it remains one of my favorites. As time permits, I will upload photos from that trip (they are slides so I have to scan them first). Any questions, let me know.