Kalalau Trail and the weeks after... ...and the weeks before

Its been a few weeks now, but life always flows a little faster than we imagine. I would like to type a few words about a mini-travel-adventure I took in Kaua'i, Hawai'i thanks to the generosity of my father and other awesome family members. Aside from lovely snorkeling sessions, resort beach relaxation and incredible seafood meals in Kauai, I took a little walk in the jungle in one of the nations toughest trails - Kalalau Trail. Nestled in the hills of the Na'Pali Coast (Hawaiian for "the cliffs"), this 11 mile brutal attack on your legs I found about from a traveling guest at the hotel I work at. Using the power of Google I fell in love with vistas like this: and decided to tackle this hike during my stay in Kauai. In very basic terms, the Kalalau is truly awesome. In continuously travels in and out between rain forests and cliffs, taking your breath away in terms of beauty ... and fear of 800 plunges to your death. ouch. I trudged these mini green mountains for 9 hours, stopping at numerous crystal clear streams to swim, eating wild fruit (some which I had no clue of their ripeness or even type) to eventually reach my destination of Ke'e beach. With sore legs, a happy mindset and itty bitty feeling of accomplishment, I set up camp, boiled water to drink, ate food then walked a little further. This is where I found a place like no other. Following large black lava cliffs filled with caves I kept going, feeling pulled along by a mysterious force. After passing through a majestic dark arch of rock, I found what I like to call the end of the earth. The vast, deep blue Pacific Ocean sat me down and taught me a lesson on beauty, let me know how small I really am, and told me that this place, barely touched by humans or much life at all for that matter, was a view that you must work for; that these beautiful black jagged rocks had been for a long time and will always be here for me to reflect upon, and the sea even told me some things I may never share. Cue exploding orange beautiful sunset, falling asleep in cave, waking up a few times to little crabs reminding me to look at the stars, smiling, gazing, smiling... sleeping... I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and ready to start my day back to the trail head , took few steps and felt I may not make it back. In an amazing and frightening 7 hours, I slept out of the trail, back into cars/electricity/non-required-boiled-drinking-water world. But I felt different. A little more calm, a little more resistant to the unimportant worries of our modern society and a little more aware of the vistas that we often ignore in the outdoor world. Thanks for reading. Be happy. Teepee p.s. - I am, and have been, back in downtown Austin. Breathing in the Barton Springs, testing out my new waterproof camera, checking out ideas and adventures in Southeast Asia, dreaming and dreaming and dreaming while waiting, patiently... Come see me before I go!