Na Pali Coast - Kalalau Trail Backpacking, Kauai, Hawaii

The Na Pali Coast, a rugged coastline with numerous cliffs and lush tropical greens along the north shore of Kauai Island of Hawaii, is one of the most beautiful but remote places in the Pacific. Most visitors just get a glance of the Na Pali Coast by tour boat or helicopter, but I wanted to spend some time along the coast and the secluded Kalalau Beach to photograph. The only way to fully experience the Na Pali Coast is trekking the 11 mile long strenuous Kalalau Trail to Kalalau Beach as a backpacking trip.

In December, it is supposed to be the rainy season on the Hawaiian Islands. Luckily it was a beautiful sunny day when I started the trail in the morning. The first 2 miles was a breeze, a wide trail with views of turquoise ocean below, and green coastline along the horizon... The trail was busy, filled with casual day hikers.

The rough part of the trail began after the 2 mile point at Hanakapi'ai Beach. Upon crossing the river, the misty rain began and the trail became muddy. The north shore of Kauai is the one of the wettest places in the world; the rugged mountain terrain creates its own rainy climate, raining almost all the time during the winter months. The trail winds along several valleys along the coast. It was extra hard to hike up and down the muddy slippery trail with heavy packs filled with camera and camping gear. When I arrived at the 6 mile camping spot, it was almost dark... and the rain drenched all night.

It was still raining the next morning... crossing Hanakoa River was harder after the rain storm. Hiking an extra half mile into Hanakoa Valley brought views of the spectacular Hanakoa Falls vertically dropping down the green cliff was impressive and well worth the extra mile.

The weather changed often; raining followed by sunshine, then rainbows...

The roughest part of Kalalau Trail comes into view. Backpacker Magazine listed it as one the "10 Most Dangerous Hikes" in the US. Outside magazine rated it as one of "The 20 Most Dangerous Hikes" in the world. The well known treacherous spot, "Crawler's Ledge" was now ahead. Two hikers came from the other direction, and one of them was struggling on the muddy trail. It was after a hard rain, and trail conditions were rough. The muddy trail slopes steeply leading down the rocky cliff. The trail which curved along the vertical cliff became narrower... and deep blue waves crashed down below. The one part of Crawler's Ledge was sketchy; narrow footing with uneven rock terrain... the rocky trail was especially slippery after the rain. It was nerve racking... When I was about to give up and ready to turn back, a miracle happened. A couple of hikers came down the trail. It turned out the man was a local professional hiking guide who hiked this trail many times, and the woman was a client from Germany. The guide was kind enough to help me cross the narrowest part of the ledge. The sunshine broke out after that and the landscape brightened up full of natural colors.

However, Crawler's Ledge wasn't the worst part of the trail. A few miles after Crawler's Ledge, there was an even more dangerous spot with slippery mud! A big round rock obstructed the eroded trail, and the narrow part of the muddy trail was a downward vertical drop. In order to pass the spot, I had to hug the rock, securely placing my right foot on the other side, and slowly move my left foot around the rock not to mention that trail was muddy and slippery with steep cliffs leading several hundred feet to the ocean. There were some tree roots hanging above the rock on the red sandy cliff. I didn't know if I could trust the roots for my life but I grabbed them as a cable to hang on anyway... My heavy pack which hung over the outer edge of the trail was pulling my body down towards the crashing waves hundreds of feet below. If one of my feet were to slip, I would slide down the red muddy hill and drop into the ocean. Thank goodness, I made it through that part.

Finally, after a long 10 mile hike, Kalalau Valley showed off its outstanding beauties! Surrounded by razor edged rock walls, the rocky red hill leads down to sea level. The lush mountains rose straight up to blue sky with a green forest carpeting the valley floor, and a turquoise ocean with white waves at a secluded beach... this was truly marvelous scenery.

Looking back where I came from...

Another breathtaking view... the end of the trail and entering the one mile long Kalalau Beach. This is the remote paradise only reached by a long, hard hike!

After setting up camp on the beach, the sun started to set on the horizon- time to prepare sunset shots.  Sunset is quick near the equator, I had to get moving. The low angled sun lit up the mountains in blaze.

During the winter months, the large waves crash on the north shore of Kauai Island. I carefully selected the spots to capture the crashing surf against the sunset. The sun sets behind the cliffs in winter months on Kalalau Beach. Setting tripod (of course, I carried a tripod on the trail!) on the beach sand was challenging enough, nonetheless I had to run with the camera mounted tripod every time the incoming tide reached my feet...and do it ever and over again, repeating this countless times. The sky turned bright orange with silhouettes on the cliffs. Then slowly, the dark sky descended upon us. The lavender colors enveloped the paradise at twilight leaving only the sounds of crashing waves and millions of stars in the dark sky...

The next day, I explored Kalalau Valley to search for the secret hippie gardens hidden throughout the jungle... I'll update with more images from Kalalau Valley/ Na Pali Coast on the next posting. And, I promise, the next posting will be within 2 weeks.

Mont Blanc - The Highest Peak in the European Alps

 

Meaning “White Mountain,” the massive Mont Blanc lies on the border of France, Italy and Switzerland. When the summit of Mont Blanc and its glaciers appear under blue sky, it is breathtaking.

 

I was exploring the European Alps in July to photograph this massive Mont Blanc and surrounding landscapes. I hiked the entire “Tour du Mont Blanc” trail, 110+ miles (160+ km) circling the mountain with camera gear for 2 weeks.

 

I saw and photographed Mont Blanc from different angles throughout the walk. The French side, above the town of Chamonix is the most impressive. When it’s clear, the white peaks tower above the town. Since Mont Blanc is massive, the mountain creates its own weather, which is often covered with clouds, just like Alaska’s Mt. McKinley. Viewing the entire Mont Blanc requires good luck.

 

What is most convenient for a photographer in this area is that there are some transportation options to take us to amazing vantage spots in just a few minutes using cable cars. These close up images are from the top of Aiguille du Midi (12,605 ft/ 3,842 m). It was foggy and white out when I reached the viewing deck on the summit in the morning. The thick fog slowly drifted away, and Mont Blanc is seen slightly through the fog. It was a teasing. The strong breeze blew away its white veil and the entire mountain showed off against blue sky! The mountain was huge, shining white under the morning sunshine! It was very close to where I was! I kept shooting the mountain while the fog came and went… Then the mountain decided to stay out for a long period.

 

This is the Italy side of Mont Blanc (“Monte Bianco” in Italian). After some rainy days, the mountain showed off again just before sunset. The mountain was still out next morning. The summit was glowing in golden orange with the rising sun.

 

Another image from the Italy side. Old ruins along the trail.

 

Some more images from the French side. From Le Brévent summit (8,284ft/ 2,525m), across Chamonix Valley, the perfect view of Mont Blanc when it’s clear. After several rainy days, finally the weather was nice on my last day in the area.  

I will continue posting more photos from European Alps on next update.

Portage Glacier, Alaska

 



Portage Glacier, located within Chugach National Forest southeast of Anchorage, is one of the most popular tourist attractions. However, the glacier has rapidly receded during the past century; the glacier face can hardly be seen from the highway or visitor center.

On a gorgeous summer day in July, I hiked 4 miles each way through a mountain pass to reach the current glacier face to view and photograph up close.

I camped in front of the glacier where a natural Fireweed garden was blooming in vivid pink, decorating the valley. The glacier and glacial lake were right in front of us under a perfect clear sky.

 

The glacier was actively calving and creating new icebergs with roaring thunder.

 

During the long sunset, ice bergs glistened in golden orange. In the northern latitude, sunset takes a long time, nearly one hour of the magic light - a photographer's dream. 

 

Here is the campfire in twilight.
 

At sunrise, the rose colored light glows on the mountain peaks above the glacier. The light slowly shifted down to the glacier. Glacier shined in the warm morning sun. Sunrise in nature is always a spiritual moment for me.

 

 

Gate of the Arctic National Park & Preserve, Alaska

Continued from the last posting, I was exploring the Arctic north...

After progressing up to Deadhorse (Prudhoe Bay), it’s time to explore in the Gate of Arctic National Park & Preserve on foot.  The 3-day backpacking trip began with crossing icy cold Dietrich River. Soon after I put dry shoes back on, a long steep ascent weaved before us...  The tundra-covered hillside angled almost straight up to the ridge...  In this undeveloped National Park, there aren't any systematic trails. Hikers have to find own way and navigate with a map and compass. After only a few hours of climbing, the valley with the Dalton Hwy and Dietrich River sprawled far below me!  The entire valley and the mountains above were lighting up with warm afternoon sun.

The wide unfolding ridge was almost flat, covered with tundra and numerous tiny streams.  I found a perfect Zen garden among the autumn tundra.

The Arctic is the land of the ceaselessly migrating Caribou.  The fallen off antlers were naturally discarded on the tundra all over this area...

The first night’s camp was on the ridge, overlooking the Kuyuktuvuk Creek Valley. The clouds rolled in and it rained all night.

Fortunately, the rain stopped the next morning. Slowly climbing down to the creek, into the valley with colorful fall colors, I was amazed this pristine dramatic scenery where only a few people had ever visited. I spotted a fresh bear dropping, the skull of Dall Sheep, the skin of Caribou, but never saw any large wildlife except an oversized porcupine.  Walking on the ancient glacial moraine, gully, crossing the swift Kuyuktuvuk Creek, and hiking up to the tundra hillside for the entire day.  As I hiked along Kuyuktuvuk Creek to upstream, the landscape was changing drastically; less vegetation with rocky terrain.  Snow dusted mountains were towering above, and the rushing creeks became narrow and shallow streams.  When I reached Oolah Lake, the air was different, much colder than the ridge I awoke on in the morning!

After breaking camp near Oolah Lake, I retraced our steps back along Kuyuktuvuk Creek. I climbed back to the steep hillside, walked across the wide boggy ridge, and descended straight down to Dietrich River for one full day. The whole area was truly magical, I was in the beautiful Arctic dream.

Backpacking in Olympic National Park, Washington

In early August, about a month after Alaska, I had another photography trip to Olympic National Park, Washington. I always wanted to photograph the mossy forests in the Pacific Northwest, and my good friend Kimberly lives there, so why don't I visit there?

I jumped on a train from San Diego to Tacoma, took about 40 hours one way. That was a pre-adventure! I was excited about having adventures with Kimberly; she is a very active outdoor girl, who used to be my co-worker in Alaska.

Olympic NP is a large diverse park located on the Olympic Peninsula right below the Canadian border. In the large park, there are 3 distinct regions; the Pacific Coastline, the glacial-capped peaks, and moss covered rain forest. In early August, wildflowers carpeted all the alpine meadows.

Our adventures began with the mountain part: 18 miles loop of backpacking in Seven Lakes Basin. The trail started from the beautiful mossy rain forest. The mosses draped down from tall trees, ferns carpeted the floor, and streams ran among mossy rocks... very green! I instantly loved the scenery. The trail slowly climbed up through the woods, and contained through sub-alpine area with small lakes. When I climbed up to the ridge, there were wildflower gardens! Yellow, orange, pink, violet, white.., I especially loved the patches of white lilies. (Avalanche lily) The rugged peaks rose om my right. There are so many places I loved to photograph!

We hiked up for a while, maybe 7 or 8 miles all up hill; it was time to find a camp site. The trail kept going on the ridge; it was hard to find an ideal flat area. Anyhow, we found a site and set up our camp. One thing I didn't like was that there was a pile of bear poop at the area. There wasn't any other options at the ridge, so we stayed there anyway. We tried to cook dinner, but the cooking stove fuel that Kimberly brought was broken... the liquid fuel kept leaking out... so, we could only eat dry food. Clouds moved over the ridge before sunset; the ridge was surrounded in thick fog. This meant there wasn't any sunset photo opportunities.

Luckily, the next morning was beautiful, the sky was clear! The first sunlight lit the peak of Mt. Olympus and turned its glacier to pink. Even the steam from the snow was pink. Before we left camp, we tried to pump water from snow melt. After we filled one bottle, Kimberly's water filter broke! what was happening!? It wasn't a hot day, so we weren't going to need as much water.

We had a wonderful view for the all-morning walk along the ridge; Mt. Olympus was on the right, Seven Lakes Basin was on the left, and colorful flowers were everywhere. I was happily walking the trail. On top of these views, 2 marmots were on the rock near trail!! What a bonus! One of them were posed for me.

The trail went down slowly but it was long... we began seeing several hikers coming up. We hiked down through the sub-alpine area and into deep mossy woods again. It was nice and shady. I began feeling tired a bit. we hiked through the woods for a while and crossed a "scary" foot bridge; at that point my body began aching. I was shocked finding out there was still a 5 mile long stretch left. There wasn't any short cut, I had to hike back. Kimberly seemed to still be energetic, but I was being a walking machine without thinking. My backpack got heavier than ever. She helped carry my tripod, which was nice. I needed to take breaks every mile or so... After the long 5 miles, we finally reached the trail head.

It was challenging, but the dramatic scenery was worth traveling 18 miles with pack.

More Olympic NP photos are coming soon!