Kauai- Kayaking Debacle

This is the story of our kaying trip down the Wilua River. I must first preface this by stating that it was MY idea to go. The description in the guidebook sounded really fun - a scenic and gentle river kayaking trip followed by a SHORT, EASY hike to a NEARBY waterfall. Chris and I have gone river kayaking before in Oregon and really enjoyed it. Chris offered to do all the paddling so that I could just enjoy the view. When I called to book our trip the day before I was sure to ask all the right questions to ensure that this would be just as the guidebook stated. I wanted to ensure that the river would be calm, that the hike would indeed be easy, and that I brought the right footwear and outwear for the trip. I didn't want any surprises. SO.. when I called I was told that the we should wear a swimming suit to swim when we got tho the falls, and that water shoes would be just fine for the SHORT, EASY hike. It all sounded great, so I signed us up! Little did we know what lie ahead for us!

It all started off just as we expected... calm, placid waters, beautiful scenery...

Chris did most of the paddling and I was the dedicated photographer...

THE FIRST RED FLAG - As we near our landing area, our guide informs us that one of us will have to get out of kayak and drag it the remaining 50 yds or so through knee-deep rushing water over buried lava rocks.

RED FLAG #2: Upon exiting the kayak , we were instructed to change into our hiking shoes (What? I wasn't told to bring hiking shoes!!), and cross back through the river to other side where the trail head began! So in my flip-flops, I navigated the sometimes waste-deep water to the other side where we had to climb a 6-foot mud wall using nothing but tree roots as hand-holds to reach the top. The icing on the cake was when tour guide reminded us to be sure to check for leaches!

Okay, so right now, I feel like I've just earned the Worste Mother of the Year award, and I haven't even had this baby yet! I contemplated turning back, but convinced myself that the falls couldn't be far ahead, and that I should really just go with it. (If you are keeping track, this is mistake number 2.) The trail was sopping wet, with sometimes 4-5 inches of standing water (please recall the leaches). There were multiple stream crossings with slippery wet rocks. My flipflops were more dangerous than going barefoot(which I did on the way back. They were more like little skies in the sloppy mud covering the trail. Not to mention that every time I slipped I practically sawed my big toe off!

POOR CHRIS- He was really great. He was terrified of me falling, so he stood right behind me the whole way and told me to grab on to him if I started to slip. On one particular occasion I started to slip in the mud with my flipflop skies and reached backwards to grab his hand and grabbed something much more dear to him!! He crumpled, and squealed. I felt SO terrible. I could tell how much it hurt. This is a picture of him post-trauma. I know it looks like he is flipping me off, but he assures me he wasn't. Hmmmm?

(By the way, please note the LARGE, WET boulders that Chris is sitting on and the one's behind him. We had to SCALE these rocks and boulders for about a 1/4 mile to reach our final destination at the falls. Yeah, that's EASY! Stupid Guidebook!)

This is a picture of my muddy toes that I took when we reached the falls. So much for that pedicure!


RED DIRT- So Kauai is famous for their red dirt, and their red diret shirts. This dirt is a natural die and is impossible to get out. That said, please take a look at my back side when we finished the SHORT, EASY hike to the NEARBY falls! I was head-to-toe mud! Needless to say, these pants and shirt went in the trash the moment we got to our hotel room!

So the SHORT, EASY hike to the falls turned out to be a 3 mile muddy death-trap. The only thing I could think of while I sat and looked at the falls was... "Oh my God. Now we have to go back." Turns out that we ended our day leach-free and still smiling, but I would never do that again!