Haena State Park, part 2

A hike to Hanakapiai is a must-do on Kauai in Hawaii

The second time I visited the Haena State Park on Kaua’i in Hawaii was a week after I’d put Mom on a plane back to Maui. I wanted to show the Forest House to my writer friend Holly Robinson, who helped me so much with editing the Freckled memoir, but our main activity of the day was a hike to Hanakapiai, the first major stop on the famously rugged, twelve mile hike to Kalalau Valley.

One of the prettiest hikes in the world!

Holly and I got up early, ate a solid breakfast, and dressed and packed for hiking, each of us bringing two water bottles and a small day pack loaded with a picnic cobbled together of protein bars, clementine oranges, cheese sticks, hard boiled eggs, and trail mix. 

We met Bryson, who I’d interacted with when Mom and I visited, and another staffer at the Hanalei Initiative offices in the heart of Hanalei town to get official permission to visit the cottage and park in the lot. Even that short errand was enlivened by Holly’s excitement over the friendly, colorful chick…