Yesterday I hiked the Na Pali coast, which is probably the most famous hike in all Hawaii. The views are extraordinary - miles of switchbacks across the mountainsides, thousands of feet above the sea. I'm sad to say, though, that I took very few pictures because a BIG rainstorm came over the ridge, and didn't stop for the next three hours. I stowed my camera inside a towel to keep it safe. More importantly, though, the trail had become a river of Thai coffee (you know the color? from the red Kauai mud!), and there were all kinds of new streams and waterfalls to negotiate, so it became more a matter of survival than sightseeing!
No worries, though - I was safe the whole time; and I couldn't have fallen into the ocean if I tried, because the vegetation is so thick. People helped each other across tough spots and swollen streams. More than anything, I had such a profound appreciation for my body - what it can do, how many thousands of mechanical calculations it can make in an instant, how versatile and generous my joints and muscles are. By the time I finally got back to Ke'e Beach, I felt like cooked spaghetti. But I'll never forget stripping down and running into the ocean then - crystal-clear and rain-warm.
See my few pictures here...
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