Kauai, HI Master Thread

[@Yehuda]

Even on the south shore?
Sheesh. Gotta thank G-d we made it out before the storm. Only hit bad rain on 1 afternoon (and it was clear once we made it back to the south shore).

[Ergel]

From this it looks like Maui is getting killed, but kauai doesn't look so bad

[keepsmiling123]

BI is pretty bad right now too. Been thunder,lightning, and rain since we got here so we've been stuck indoors

[3yummyboys]

According to Doppler north shore of Kauai was clear but we went and it was pouring! Luckily got some nice waterfall views on the way and now it's clearing up

[3yummyboys]

We have a 9:00 heli tour with BH. They said we should arrive at 8:15. Do we really need to be there that early?

[@Yehuda]

We have a 9:00 heli tour with BH. They said we should arrive at 8:15. Do we really need to be there that early?

Safety video starts at 8:30-8:35. We showed up at 8:25 and they were calling my cell as we pulled into the lot.

[Buruch]

We have a 9:00 heli tour with BH. They said we should arrive at 8:15. Do we really need to be there that early?

It's should be amazing after all the rain. I hope it somewhat makes up for the rain.

[mechayamom]

Did you guys book Blue Hawaiin direct on the website?  Any better ways to reserve?
How far in advance did you reserve?

[jj1000]

Sounds like a great time to go off roading in waimea

[3yummyboys]

Did you guys book Blue Hawaiin direct on the website?  Any better ways to reserve?
How far in advance did you reserve?

We booked on the website a few days in advance. They cancelled due to weather

[ah]

Anything on the GHK kosher menu any good? They heated up 3 of my meals at once instead of only 1 so they are giving us food from there for free.

[whYME]

Anything on the GHK kosher menu any good? They heated up 3 of my meals at once instead of only 1 so they are giving us food from there for free.

I liked the knishes and minestrone soup.
I had a couple of the main dishes, (sweet+sour chicken, I don't remember what the other one was) wasn't too crazy about them but better than nothing.

[AJK]

Got back from our mini-honeymoon to Kauai last night. Absolute paradise. Our entire trip was based off of other reports here and the Ultimate book/app so won't go deeply into what others have said but will attempt to report on the things that have changed and/or are not listed elsewhere.

We got in on the delta glitch - non-ticketed priceline confirmation that delta honored on my first call. We were supposed to go for a week from JFK via ATL on Thursday Feb 13 but because of storms in NYC and ATL, I got them to push off the whole itinerary until Sunday morning. Worked out better because we both missed one less day of work and we got more time in Kauai! Originally our DL flight was to HNL but once they were changing the dates, I got them to switch our itin straight to LIH via LAX and I was able to cancel our HNL-LIH flight on Island Air so that made life much easier too!

The GHK was booked for Sun and Mon so we got a list minute deal at the Mariott and stayed there for two nights. We got upgraded to a nice ocean view room when we told them it was our honeymoon. The next 5 nights (Tues night through Saturday night) we stayed on C&P at the GHK. I had Diamond at Hyatt via a status match so we got upgraded to Ocean Deluxe room. I tried using my suite upgrades but the garden views were all booked and the GM told me he couldn't confirm me into an ocean suite because they weren't available. Truthfully, it was only two of us so the suite would have been nice but didn't really matter that much. We're not picky eaters so all we brought with us was some frozen deli, a few La Briute meals, some kosher candy, and a couple cliff/chewy bars. We bought bread, peanut butter, tuna and fruit once we landed.

We landed Sunday night, picked up our Camaro convertible and checked into hotel. Monday morning I checked the Revealed App for directions to the Grand Loop hike only to discover the Cliffs part was closed. We wanted to go to Wamea Canyon anyways so we decided to just do the Awa'awapuhi part there and back (6.5 miles total). Unbelievable views of the coast and a bit of a teaser for the big hike we had planned for Wed/Thurs.

It was unbelievably rainy the week before and we were unsure whether the rain would come back or not so on Tuesday we hung around the beach by the Mariott and took advantage of the gorgeous weather. Before heading down to the GHK, we went to Kayak Kauai in Kapaa ($15/day) to pick up our tent. We checked in at the GHK, ate our first La Briute meal in our room and crashed early.

Wednesday/Thursday we had decided we were going to do the Kalalau Trail so we woke up early but waited until the Grand Club opened at 630 so we could grab a bite before we left. When I asked about the smoked salmong being kosher, the lady offered to get us Kosher Bagels from oahu kosher for the rest of our stay which was really nice. We left around 645 and headed up north. By the time we got to trail head it was about 9 AM. We had one semi-big hiking knapsack and a small school bag. Other than what we were wearing, we didnt bring much with us: a tent, our blankets from delta first class, flip flops, some food, water purification tablets, bug spray and a camera. And of course the most important thing: toilet paper. The only thing we forgot to bring was matches/lighter. We were planning on eating La Briute meals for dinner so I didnt think about bringing anything for a bonfire but it was stupid bc wouldve been nice to have a fire. The hike itself was awesome. Incredibly grueling because you hike up and down 5 different mountains/valleys but the lanscape in each one was completely different and the views the entire way were just stunning. As Dan said about the Grand Loop - there are some images that will forever be embedded in my mind. We didn't take any of the detours on the way in because we started a bit late and wanted to get to Kalalau before sunset. We met several ppl along the way including a couple who was carrying their <1 yr old baby on her back (Dan, might be harder with two, but its doable!). The way in was hard because distances arent marked so you don't know exactly how far you are but the Revealed app helped a lot here in making sure we were on the right path and also telling us roughly how far along we were. Miles 7-8 was freaky - you are literally climbing down and then up a mountain on an 6 inch path along the side of a cliff. Not a single extra inch to your left and if you step two inches to the right and you're tumbling ~2000 feet to rocks below you. We got to the beach around 5, set up our tent just behind the beach in the camping area and chilled at the beach for an hour until sunset. Sunset was unbelievable and seemed to just go on forever. Besides for about 5-8 hippies who seemed to be there for several weeks already, there were only about 3 other groups of ppl there. Ate our la briute meals and went to bed (this is where a bonfire would have been nice)

Thursday, we woke up early, davened and packed up and were on the trail by 745. The hike out felt much quicker, partially because we were doing it quicker and partially it just felt quicker because we knew the terrain and trail so knew what to expect. We made it Hanakoa by 1015 so we took the 1/2 mile detour to the falls, hung out there for a bit and continued on. It was bout this point that we started feeling blisters in our feet because we were wearing reg sneakers and didnt have proper hiking shoes (not big ones but enough to hurt). Somewhere along the way we looked down at the water and noticed a whole school of dolphins jumping in and out of the water which was so cool.  We got back to the trailhead about 345, nervous our car would be gone and/or damaged but thank gd it was still there in one piece. Caked in mud and sweat, we left, stopped for some water (i've never appreciated cold, clean and clear water so much before!), dropped our tent off and went back to hotel. We cleaned up and went to the spa to help our poor bodies heal.

Overall the hike was awesome and very easy to recommend to anyone who likes hiking and is somewhat in shape. It wasn't easy but the views were totally worth it. If you're not into hiking and/or aren't interested in camping out in a tent on a beach somewhere, then i would still highly recommend the first part of the hike, up to hanakapiai beach (we didn't go to hanakapiai falls so cant comment on that 2 mile extension). Its only 2 miles each way (albeit uphill half the way) but we saw all kinds of ppl doing it: 70 year olds and 7 year olds, ppl wearing hiking shoes and ppl wearing no shoes and even a dog. The views from even that part are really amazing so definitely worth doing as a half day hike.

Friday was raining in the morning so we got an umbrella from the bell desk (we asked on a whim but they actually have a whole bunch you can borrow) and went to lihue to get some groceries for shabbas. Times in the mall behind Costco doesnt have a dedicated kosher section anymore , the kosher items are now spread out in different areas. By the time we got back it was mostly cleared up so we hung around Shipwreck beach and went to the spa for some quick pre-shabbas laps in the pool. Shabbas was awesome, tons and tons of whales popping up all over - close enough to shore that you could see them clearly from our room. Sunday we went snorkelling at Poipue beach, checked out of hotel and hung around the hotel in the afternoon. Went to spouting horn for sunset and left for airport, stopping along the way () to pick up some VR to finish up on one of our cards.

The trip was absolutely amazing and we're both itching to get back. Many, many thanks to all here for the reports, tips and ideas of what to do.

Just read this now, after seeing it linked to in the Adventure DO thread, and wow, what a description of the hike. Sounds amazing.

Though I'd definitely say it's worth hiking to the falls.

[whYME]

(i've never appreciated cold, clean and clear water so much before!)

You should've gotten a HydroFlask

[Dan]

You should've gotten a HydroFlask

Probably wont take that long to finish 40 ounces of water on a hike like this.

[PBaruch]

Probably wont take that long to finish 40 ounces of water on a hike like this.

Why not buy a water sterilizer and fill up from streams along the way?  This way you wouldn't have to carry too much water.

[Dan]

Or get this?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006QF3TW4/?tag=cl03f-20

Not really sure what's the best solution for a long hike, never been on one

[PBaruch]

Or get this?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006QF3TW4/?tag=cl03f-20

Not really sure what's the best solution for a long hike, never been on one

That's probably the cheapest and least complicated option.

Some other options can be found here, but they are more expensive:

http://www.campmor.com/SearchDisplay?storeId=226&catalogId=40000000226&langId=-1&beginIndex=0&searchSource=Q&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&searchTerm=water+sterlizier

[Dan]

In searching for that I LOLd at the last line that I wrote here in 2013: http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/38131

[an613]

Just read this now, after seeing it linked to in the Adventure DO thread, and wow, what a description of the hike. Sounds amazing.

Though I'd definitely say it's worth hiking to the falls.

It was awesome. If we were to do it again now, i think we would do the falls. But easy to say that now from my air conditioned office

Probably wont take that long to finish 40 ounces of water on a hike like this.

Nope it won't. And bunch of the streams were dry so we would've been in trouble if didn't have a couple bottles that we filled at every opportunity.