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Part 5 – The Cliffs Over Kalalau

Posted: October 6, 2008

Whenever I visit Kalalau, I’m captivated by the spectacular mountains over Kalalau and the Na Pali Coast of Kauai. “Na Pali” means “the cliffs” and aptly describes the 15 miles from Kee Beach to Polihale where fluted cliffs and towering spires have been carved into the mountain-side.

One of the best vantage points to see the stunning cliffs and spires is along the shores of Kalalau where a once mighty heiau stood on the high ground next to the stream. In the morning, sunlight illuminates each ridge and casts shadows into each fold displaying the true ruggedness of the cliffs carved into the mountain-side.

Another great vantage point to see the cliffs is from Kalalau Beach at sunset. In the summer months, ocean currents deposit a large expanse of sand on Kalalau Beach. When the wind blows, an amazing ripple pattern is created on the sandy beach. During the waning hours of the sun, the mountains overlooking Kalalau Beach are bathed a warm growing light that highlights each and every ridge and fold in the cliffs from which a spring emerges and feeds the waters of Ho’olea Falls.

The cliffs of Kalalau play a prominent role in the history and lore of the valley. The story of Koolau the Leper is about the struggle of a leper to stay with his wife and son in Kalalau Valley against overwhelming odds. Although they were rebels and outlaws, their story is a mournful tale of love, commitment and sacrifice that has catapulted them to the status of folk heroes.

Koolau the leper, Piilani his wife and Kaleimanu his son fled from authorities to hide in Kalalau in 1893 when government authorities reneged on their promise to let his family join him at the leper colony at Kalaupapa on Molokai. Committing to each other to stay together to the very end, they fled their home in Kekaha, rode horses up to Kokee, and descended on foot down a precipitous trail from Kokee into Kalalau Valley. This 4,000 foot ancient Hawaiian route is rumored to have started at one of the Kalalau Lookouts or the Pihea trail and lead down the sheer cliffs into Kalalau.

Koolau the leper and his wife and son hid in Waimakemake Cave, beneath an overhanging cliff with a waterfall. After shooting and killing 2 soldiers who attempted to apprehend them, Koolau and his family successfully eluded authorities and lived off the land in the upper sections of Kalalau Valley for 3 years before Koolau and his son died of leprosy. His wife Piilani buried them in secret locations in Kalalau Valley which remains hidden to this very day. She then climbed the sheer Na Pali cliffs over Kalalau to reach Kokee and returned to Kekaha. It is rumored that she secretly climbed down and up again from Kokee to Kalalau several times to visit the burial sites of her husband and son.

The trail from Kalalau to Kokee was obliterated by a landslide and no longer exists. But a few incredibly courageous and hardy — or sometimes more aptly foolhardy — souls have attempted to repeat the feat. Within the past 30 years or so, Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club (HTMC) hiking legends Silver K. Piliwale and Herman Medeiros independently repeated this harrowing feat by climbing from Kalalau to Kokee over the course of several days. In 2005, a hiker who attempted to descend the precipitous cliffs from Kokee to Kalalau was never heard nor seen from again.

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This is the 5th blog entry in a series of posts about my Kalalau backpacking adventure with 14 HTMC friends over the Labor Day weekend. The previous (4th) entry is here and the next (6th) entry is here.

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SOURCES

Hawaiian Encyclopedia, Northwest Kauai – The Nāpali Coast, The Story of Kaluaiko‘olau [Ko‘olau], Pi‘ilani, and Kaleimanu in Kalalau Valley

Kauai History Makers, Koolau and Piilani

Thea Ferentinos, OHE Post Quoting Star Bulletin Article by Harry Whitten, Mon Nov 14, 1983, A Rugged Mountain Climb Up the Pali Face on Kauai

Joyce Oka, In Memoriam of Herman Meideros, Oct-Dec 2001 HTMC Newsletter

Web Guide, The Unofficial Kokee Hiking Guide