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Trip: Kauai North Shore - Kalalau Trail Trip Date: 03/28/2025 Trip Report: Went to Kauai for spring break... no climbing... what a bummer. At least I got to hike some cool terrain. Would highly recommend. Only had the morning so I went light and fast. Only made it 9 out of the 10 miles out before my turn around time... I had to meet the family at a beach (tough life)... but this did get me to the ridge overlooking the Kalalau Vaslley, which is where the end point is. Trail was very rough and couldn't run very much. Once the sun was higher, heat stroke felt like it was just around the corner. Last 2 hrs were rough and once I reached the Ke'e beach I stood under the rinse shower for 5 minutes with all my clothes on and chugged a liter of water much too fast. The permit system is a little difficult to navigate, you can book 3 months out and need an overnight permit to go past Hanakapiai creek. I lucked out and snagged a pass a month out. The permit system does make it very nice once you're in, as there are very few people around for such a known and beautiful trail. There are lots of tour boats and helicopters showing the wealthy and lazy around this side of the island. It's pretty annoying in general. However, it was ego tickling when I was running a particularly exposed section of cliff and some guys in their boat tour a 100m off shore started cheering and chanting. Here's the pictures... Big plants Big cliffs Exposed trail... still nice and shady on the way out Wild goats... combined with the vegetation and the volcanic rock and it's basically just like the Cascades. Count the tour boats More big cliffs Looking back, rugged terrain More big cliffs, oooh pretty light And even more big cliffs Looking back out / big cliffs redeux Kalalau Valley Exposed scramble section... felt very chill but there were some seriously sketched out hikers Beach recovery... water was too warm to ice bath... pity Gear Notes: Trail shoes, snacks, lots of water and electrolytes. Approach Notes: Ha'ena State Park shuttle from Hanalei. Book your permit online 3 months out.

A couple views from the other side looking down into Kalalau Valley from the lookout are up on the mountain. It was a fantastic and also mildly exciting hike out the ridge from the lookout on the “closed” trail to look down here. Made more exciting by a toddler in a backpack. Thanksgiving 2023. I certainly thought about doing some more remote/off trail stuff. Too bad those cliffs are so crumbly!

Also went here twice in the pre-Instagram era. Beautiful and quiet out there. Wonder how different it is now?

That is a cool hike. Did it too. People were scared of the "cliff area". I didn't think that was that bad. I thought the red dirt area AFTER the cliff area was the most dangerous part, because if that area was wet, it would be very very slippery. Make sure when you do this trip take running shoes with good tread!

OK @emilio taiveaho pelaez , @JasonG @bedellympian @OlympicMtnBoy @psathyrella They are mailed off to you guys. I'll be dropping some off at Feathered Friends in Seattle, and probably more places as I can get to them. Additionally I just mailed the below stack to our site sponsor @AAI , so you should to to their gear store @AAIEquipShop up in Bellingham and get one there. They should be on the counter or whereever they put them, when they get them in a day or two. Address is: Address: 4041 Home Rd a, Bellingham, WA 98226 Open weekdays 10-6, closed on weekends.

One of my favorite hikes ever, so great!....spent five days out there in the fall of 2002 on our honeymoon....what a magical spot! Too bad about all the boats and helicopters these days, I don't remember many at all. I've been thinking about going back for our 25th anniversary in a couple years and this TR is good motivation! If you went a little further, dropped down into the valley and then scrambled up towards the SW end of the Kalalau beach, you would have seen this view of those cliffs in a couple of your photos:

As you may know my goal is to change this site into an official non-profit entity. to promote and support climbing in the northwest , to preserve the stories and legacies of those that have passed through here, maybe even do some charitable stuff if it can be put together. But I know nothing about this from a legal or organizational standpoint. And with a new role at work I don’t have time for much. so I’m looking for help. Help with everything including running the site from a technical standpoint. I know I’ve asked for this before and some have even answered. I just need to meet you and maybe we can have a working session. so this is a call for help. Help to get us to non-profit status if possible. Help running that. technical side I need *nix skills, upgrading MySQL, upgrading php, that kind of thing. was even thinking of reaching out to the UW Discord channel, anyone here on that? just looking for people who will protect this site, help run it as a nonprofit,keep the lights on.

ivan lost in the recount - too many hanging chads...

Yeah, it isn't very crevassed or steep, but you could still slip and slide a long ways. I usually haven't roped, but crampons will sometimes be needed depending on overnight temps. It is a very scenic outing, but somewhat crowded (likely to be multiple parties on the route).

Good point on the summit blocks of the two mountains. But Black can have some steeper snow to deal with lower down, depending on the snow year. I guess I figured the OP knew his way around 4th class rock. Sahale isn't too bad to downclimb.... if you don't fall. I guess I should say the same for Corteo. A slip would be very bad.

Just one person’s perspective: I don’t want to hear or see a drone in what is my church. Not that I go to church nearly enough. super sorry your tr got derailed with this stupid ass conversation about drones, and I also understand people who are just “past it”. But for me it’s a line too far, and I feel like the more people that break the law and get adoration on YouTube, the worse it will get. So I piss in their Cheerios. all that aside thank you for the incredible trip report and I hope us Guardians of the Galaxy haven’t dissuaded you from sharing mor TRs here. You have a knack for storytelling and I’d love to hear more.

Trip: Illumination Rock - West Ridge Trip Date: 01/18/2025 Trip Report: Damon and I went up the West Ridge of Illumination. We got to the West Gable quite easily but the rime mushrooms along the ridge were uninspiring. Here are some pictures... Gear Notes: Not much was useful. South side routes would take rock gear. Lots of rime on North side. No ice sufficient for screws was observed. Approach Notes: Standard

Trip: Mt. Olympus - Blue Glacier Trip Date: 07/22/2024 Trip Report: Report attached as a PDF. 2024-07-22 Wait, I Thought the Olympics Were in Paris_.pdf Gear Notes: Two half ropes (one per team for the glacier, combined for the rock). Approach Notes: Three different GPS watches found this to be more like 21 mi each direction, not 17.5 mi.