Day 77: Kaua'i - More Hiking

Jurassic Park Gate Trail

Today we planned to do some more hikes nearby, so not much driving but a lot of hiking! We got up a bit earlier than yesterday and hat breakfast at our apartment. As we drove of the parking lot, we realized how dark the clouds were over the mountains we are headed to. But we decided to give it a try without our rain jackets, because we forget them at the apartment :)

As we arrived at the trail head (Keahua Arboretum) it was raining a bit, but it was still warm. So even with just a shirt and shorts, it wasn’t cold.

The main trail we had planned today was the Jurassic Park Gate Trail which leads to the gate from the movie. But it’s not a real gate, it’s just two pillars. The trail can also be done with a good 4x4 (Jeep Wrangler or similar) but requires a good ground clearance and you need to be brave enough to cross some water (flowing and still).

It didn’t took us long to reach the first water crossing, which was a small river that slowing flowing over the road. So we committed and got us wet feet.

Even though the trail was on a dirt road, it led through some beautiful scenery and it felt like dinosaurs all the time :)

But after around 3.5 km we reached the next water crossing, but this time it was a brownish pond that wasn’t flowing at all. So we couldn’t see the ground, had no clue how deep it was and what was living in it… So in the end we decided against going through and turn around.

So we back tracked the way we came and as we reached the trail head it started to rain again…

Kuilau Ridge Trail to Moelepe Trail

As we cut the Jurassic Park Gate Trail short, we wanted to do another hike and found the nearby Kuilau Ridge Trail to Moelepe Trail.

This trail started directly with a climb, not too steep but noticeable.

It didn’t took us too long and we got some amazing views of the surrounding rain forest. Looked like a different world (and even more Dinosaur feeling).

The trail continued with some spectacular views and even the trail itself narrowed down further and became a highlight by himself.

From then on the trail continued like that, wound it’s way through the forest and along the ridge. Providing views to both sides. We saw three horse riders and were impressed by their skill to ride this narrow path.

So we hiked the trail down on the other side and made a short break there. And then it was the same way back. This led to a total of nearly 14km on one of the most beautiful trails we ever hiked.

Kayak

After a total of nearly 20km (or was it even a bit more?) we were hungry, it was already after 14:00, so we looked for a late lunch. Found Kenji Burger, where we had some nice Veggie Burgers and a Green Tea Shake.

Quick grocery shopping for dinner and then we went back to the apartment. After a short relax break we went on the water with one of the provided Kayaks.

This was a nice conclusion of this active day! To cook dinner we used a Rice Cooker (a first) and fried some onion, garlic, mushrooms avocado and tofu. Then added the rice from the cooker and it made a solid dinner.

Pictures

Activities

Hike: Jurassic Park Gate Trail - Partial
Hike: Kuilau Ridge Trail to Moelepe Trail
Kayak: Wailua River