Hawaii Activities : Paradise Activities

ALAKAI SWAMP TRAILS

Alaka'i Swamp trails are the wettest in Koke'e and thigh-deep mud is not uncommon here, slowing a hiker's pace to one mile per hour through the swamp. Wear tabis or old, tightly laced sneakers that you don't mind getting muddy. At the end of the hike, it is considered forgivable etiquette to start a mud fight and run like hell.

The Alaka'i gray mud is difficult to wash off, so be prepared to burn your clothing and shoes, and wear your badge of courage on your skin until your next molt.

The major eruptions that formed Kaua'i six million years ago created a huge caldera thirteen miles in diameter. The Alaka'i Swamp sits on the old caldera floor, layers of dense lava, thirty miles square, which receives hundreds of inches of rain annually. Few foreign plants invaded this weird world, where a wealth of native plants abound, specially adapted to swampy conditions.

The swamp's elevation at 4000 feet protects native birds from disease-spreading mosquitoes, so this is an ideal place for bird watching.

Fortunately, attempts to build a road through the swamp in the 1950's failed, leaving a wide scar along the first mile of the Pihea Trail along the rim beyond Pu'u O Kila Lookout.

NA PALI OVERLOOK TRAILS
Trail	Miles	Hiking Time	Description
	(Round Trip)	(Round Trip)

Alaka'i Swamp	7.0	5:30	Difficult trail. Trail starts at a parking and turnaround area .25 miles north of the Na Pali-Kona Forest Reserve entrance sign. This trail leads across the Alaka'i Swamp through scrub native rain forest and bogs. Excellent opportunities for birding and botanizing. Ends at a vista called "Kilohana" on the edge of Wainiha Pali. On a rare, clear day, the views of Wainiha and <>Hanalei Valleys provide an unforgettable experience. There is some boardwalk construction. A once in a lifetime, tough, muddy, surreal hike. Fog rolls in and you'll lose your direction and mind.

Mohihi-Wai'alae Route	8.0	5:30	Difficult trail. Serves mostly as a hunter access route. 4-wheel drive down the Mohihi-Camp 10 Road, and the trail starts at the end. Crosses Mohihi Stream and follows Kohua Ridge into the "Alakai Wilderness Preserve." The occasionally maintained trail ends at Koaie Stream. The rivers get dangerously high during rainy weather. Camping is allowed by permit only at Koaie Stream gauge. (See CAMPING)

Pihea Trail	7.6	3:30	Moderate trail. Trail starts at the end of Koke'e Road (Route 552) at Pu'u o Kila Lookout (Second Kalalau Lookout). Highly recommended forest reserve trail for observing native forest birds and Alaka'i Swamp terrain and vegetation. Also, alternate route to Alaka'i Swamp Trail, which intersects Pihea Trail just before the 1.75 mile point. A short spur ends at the Pihea Overlook, the highest rim point of <>Kalalau Valley. Do not venture beyond the Pihea Overlook because the terrain get very steep. The Pihea trail follows the northwestern bank of Kawaikoi Stream and ends at Kawaikoi Camp. While there is some boardwalk construction, portions of the trail are slippery and muddy. For the less hardy, the first mile along the rim of the spectacular Kalalau Valley is an easy walk, then you can head back to the lookout when you start getting hungry.