Alakai Swamp Trail (Kauai, Hawaii)

2 ruined pairs of pants, 1 ruined backpack. Neoprene surf socks so inundated with mud that they’ve never rinsed clean. My right palm, bruised and tender for days from the weight I put on my hiking stick while ascending and descending the slippery muddy cliffs. But also the most amazing pictures and memories, of the dense tree and fern canopy, the thick carpet of mosses on ground and branch, the clouds of mist drifting thru the tree canopy, my arms continually wet during the 6 hour hike, rain sheeting off my hat, the locust sounds when the rain pauses (it never really stops).

This is a challenging hike if you’re not in top physical condition. Let me be more specific – it was easy for our fit teenagers, moderate for the 40-somethings, and hard for the 50-somethings that had limited flexibility and strength. There are several natural “climbing walls” to climb and descend that are very muddy and slippery, with streams running down them, with wet and well-worn tree branches and roots as your hand holds. The first descent, which we call the Stairs of Thor, is more gradual but covered in very slippery clay. Many tourists encounter this unexpectedly while trekking to the Pu’u O Kila lookout at 0.25 miles from the parking lot.

The 2nd wall is a short descent.

Then a 3rd wall, just a taste of the 4th wall you will scale just before the Pihea overlook.

The 4th wall, otherwise known as The Wall. Coming back down there’s places where you have lean over and shift your balance from both of your feet, to one foot and one arm grabbing a branch. Your bouldering skills will come in handy here.

The descent on the other side of the overlook cutoff:

Once you are off the ridge and into the crater, or bog, the going gets much easier and boardwalk starts to appear. The Swamp is deceptively firm looking. I placed my pole on a tuft and it sank in 2 foot. I was worried one or more of the collapsible pole sections would break off.

The old wooden boardwalk, that is being replaced by new Trex boardwalk, has many loose or missing boards with protruding nails, covered by wire mesh for traction that is often lifted at the corners.

Let’s talk footwear. Your shoes should either be totally waterproof (although I suspect the rain will seep significantly into your socks) or totally water friendly. Most trail reviews recommend boots. We wear tevas with surf socks. Waterproof, warm, flexible, protects your toes from barbed wire, splinters, sharp ferns, rocks, sticks. This is also a very effective strategy for Zion Narrows (another highly recommended hike). Bare feet in Tevas is a bad idea. Besides, the surf sox keep your feet warm. Not only that, Tevas clean up great under a tap with a stiff vegetable brush.

A note on the route. It is apparently possible to avoid the muddy Pihea trail by taking the Alakai Swamp Trail from its southern terminus at a 4WD road. I read that it can be difficult to pick up the trail from there so I didn’t want to risk not being able to hike the trail at all. However if we go again I will try the 4wd entrance as I am guessing that trail is much more foresty and flat. Then again these trails are not well documented on the interwebs so who knows what challenges lay on the other routes. But I do know that my marriage will not survive another stint on Pihea.

As it was, we only went as far as the stream crossing which is about half a mile past (and east of) the intersection of Pihea and Alakai Swamp (blue dots on the map). This 4.6 mile total round trip took us six hours but was a pretty satisfying adventure. All overlooks were socked in today so the Kilohana overlook would’ve been the same (and typically is fogged in anyways) so don’t make a clear vista from Kilohana your goal.

The stream, which is basically a river, was flowing quite fast today and was muddy brown. Someone had tied a strap between two trees to aid the crossing. We stopped to watch several parties cross. Folks in boots took them off for the crossing.

There were two types of hikers on the trail. The super hikers, ultra fit and ultra prepared, many of them European, moving fast. Then there were the families, in their Disneyland rain ponchos, with teenagers dressed to meet other teenagers at the mall (i.e. totally inappropriately). We didn’t see any of these past The Wall.

Advice to future travelers:
– weather reports at Koke’e and Kalalau lookout are scarce and often conflict. Be prepared for any kind of weather. And it’s 5-10 degrees cooler up there.
– ‎start early. Try to depart the trailhead at 9 or 10. This actually takes some planning because the time adds up – we met our friends at 9:30, grabbed some snacks, stopped at a few overlooks, and didn’t make it to Pu’u O Kila until noon. We didn’t think we’d be out there for 6 hours. And it starts to really cool off at 5pm especially with the ever-present winds, mist, and rain.

– buy snacks at Ishihara Market, or at the Big Save on Wailua Road.
– ‎we were wet head to toe the entire time. More specifically, after the first half hour our heads, shoulders and arms were wet, and from the knees down to our toes. Even the light rain and mist will eventually soak you. Polyester clothing gets wet/damp but isn’t clammy and doesn’t retain much water. Consider poly shirt, shorts, and sports bra/poly underwear. Hats are for shedding rain, not blocking sun.
– the Pihea trail has several extremely steep clay “walls” to traverse that are muddy & slick, you must use tree roots and branches to pull your self up on, you must be able to able to completely flex one knee and hip while lowering the other leg down to a slippery purchase. Descent is the hardest as gravity is working against you. You must understand how to test a foot hold, only place your feet on flat or inclined spots, use your pole to hold your weight while you step down.
– there’s nowhere to sit down on the trail.
– ‎as on any journey into the unknown, constantly assess where your half way point is – to conserve half your strength for the return journey. This is more important than reaching your “goal”. Know your limits. After 2.5 hours we did stop and ask ourselves how much further we were going – but we hadn’t reached the intersection or the stream yet so we pushed on for another 30 minutes. We didn’t know there was a 360+ stair descent down to the stream…
– ‎consider the 4wd entrance from Mohihi road instead of Pihea.

What to pack:
– prepare for all weather conditions regardless of weather report.

– wear short sleeve sport shirt, bring long sleeve sport shirt and a rain jacket in case of drenching rain.
– ‎bug spray, sunscreen, hat with wide brim
– ‎hiking stick. Our collapsible sticks fit great in our luggage.

– snacks and water. 1 L per person for 6 hours was barely enough. Plan to arrive back to your car with no water, water should be consumed during exertion.

– in the car have a dry change of clothes including shoes, and plastic bags for wet and muddy stuff (remember the sticker in the rental car that says please keep the car clean?). We ended up using bottled water to rinse off our legs and feet in the parking lot. There is a tap and showers at Kokee State Park Campground, a mile or so down the road.

Elevation change:

Pace: