Picture Gallery Thursday, July 13
E16: Roots on Na Pali trail
E21: Rebecca and Donna on Na Pali
F05: Hanakapiai Beach from the Na Pali trail
FP01: Hanakapiai Beach

Today is our Na Pali day! We decided to sleep in and leave at 10:30 to Hanalei before heading out to the beach and trail. Mom, Donna, and I headed up to our free breakfast, while Rebecca slept in. Donna tried the "Taro Patch" breakfast with Poi pancakes and Taro hash browns (they're OK if you don't expect them to taste like potatoes). We also saw the top of the larger mountain for the first time! No clouds there seemed like a good omen to avoid rain for the day.

We wandered about Hanalei, a cute beach town, before having some tasty pizza for lunch. We had our trunk full with items for the beach and hike, so Rebecca had to hold her artwork she bought in the car.

We then drove down the road, past horses, one-lane bridges, and many unmarked (but not unnamed) beaches. Kee Beach was at the end of the road, so we unloaded the car while I went to try to park.

After getting Carol settled on the beach, Donna, Rebecca, and I started off on our hike. It was a prepared path, but still very rugged and at times slippery and muddy. The trail climbed up and up - soon we could see Kee beach as a small sliver below us. At the 1/2 mile point, we enjoyed the view then Rebecca turned around as we pressed on. 1 and 1/2 miles more (well out of walkie-talkie range), we arrived at Hanakapiai beach. It was a beautiful stretch of beach among the cliffs on Na Pali. After lingering here a while, we headed back to the less remote Kee beach. We went slowly because Donna's knee started hurting (a la Mount Healy, Alaska) and we ran out of water, but we made it back - almost 5 hours after we started! We were tired, thirsty, and muddy, but it was a sight worth seeing.

We stopped in Hanalei again for dinner to eat at a noisy but surprisingly good "Hanalei Gourmet Cafe and Bar." We quickly went to sleep when we got home.

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