Kaena Point

Its been ten years since I've been to Kaena Point. It an unbelievable hike.

From my last trip out there, I remember there was the beautiful cliffs scenery and the waves as big as walls. There were trees and vegetation all over. There was a rocky terrain with boulders and pebbles that made biking hard. Then there was the most dangerous part of the hike, where a chunk of the path was taken away. But someone put a long piece of plywood to bridged the gap.
Then there was the open flat area with shrubs, brown sand and Naupaka bushes and the Albatross birds learning to fly. They are not afraid of you but they'll walk away if you get too close. Otherwise they pretty much stay still in one place.

I also remember it being really windy. The birds use this spot to get ready for their very first flight. When they open up their wings, they can stretch 8-10 feet long. My girlfriend (a professional photographer) was taking pictures of these birds working up their courage to fly.

Some of the birds in the air just hovered in one spot. Their landing was pretty graceful; it must all so instinctive for them.

The birds were by far the best part of that trip. The lighthouse was pretty awesome too. The white shell/rocks that covered the ground was blinding. It crunched when you walk on them kind of like snow but HOT. Then there was the black lava rocks and tide pools. I remember we found our own little pool and sat alone in it for a long time.

The waves were were strong and their collisions were powerful. This is where the north meets the west. I could just sit and stare at it all afternoon if I could.



This is the reason why I wanted to come back to this place. Ten years later I'm back. Everything seemed to change so drastically. First of all, the shell beach was actually white rocks. Second, the lighthouse used to be surrounded with the white (rocks) and the beach receded to the west side of the point. The dynamited area was actually a landslide and worse the ply wood was gone and if you chose to cross you have two choices. Either go down the dangerous cliff or climb the dangerous cliff. Plus we had bikes. We considered leaving the bikes but we had gone so far and were so close that we decided it would delay us to walk in after that. We were also chasing the daylight.

Here is my latest trip out there with my buddy Bonnie...

Don't let the sun fool you, it was really muddy.

Bonnie rode smart by riding fast around the edges of the puddles.


As for me, I got muddy...



This is my back wheel (above)...

This is my front wheel (left) where the thick sticky mud got jammed up on my brakes.

It was like pushing a horse.

As we were riding, we noticed something like snow falling all around us. It was coming down from way above our heads. (Click on this picture to see how much was really falling)


It was sea foam that got blown up towards the mountain, which was falling directly in our path. It was a really neat surprise.




an old railroad





the most dangerous part of the hike


our narrow and cramp path on the left... look closer, its not the broad and spacious road...
Once you see the lighthouse you know your close.




hovering Albatross







Finally we hit the pavement!



so my tires are black


The sunset was spectacular


Even the moon was pretty on our drive home. I can't wait to go again.

My next trip to the point will be from the North side. It's shorter and easier with beaches along the way. Aloha nui loa