Between 1/23 and 1/25 I finally got in a solid backpacking trip. We were set to go to Waimanu Valley on Hawaii Island, but a rash of dengue fever in Waipi’o Valley (our intended entry point) lead to our permit being revoked and a need to re-route somewhere safer. With one our crew being 6 months pregnant, we had to rule out Mauna Loa or anything too high-altitude. This left us with Halape, a remote oasis on the fringe of the Ka’u desert.
I was initially disappointed with the change of routes, but after a serious health scare mid-month and some test results giving me the ‘all clear’ the day before the trip, I was ready to spend a couple days sleeping on a beach and relaxing.
Our 5am flight to Hilo put us on the ground in BI just before 6. That left plenty of time for one last ‘civilized’ meal at Ken’s Hawaiian House of Pancakes before heading south to Volcanoes Park, where we’d pick up our permit and begin our trek.
The permitting process at the park was relatively fast, simple and required no reservations. The camp sites in the park are first-come-first-serve, and fortunately most of the camp site had emptied out the day we arrived. After signing a few forms, reading some warnings and copying a number in case of emergency, we were on our way down Crater Rim Road to the Keauhou Trailhead, which we’d follow roughly 8 miles through an old lava flow, down to Halape.
The trek started with a mile or so of hiking over pahoehoe. As we lost elevation, the terrain gradually changed to dry forest then grasslands and finally desert before arriving at Halape. All-in, we lost around 2,700 feet of elevation over 8 miles of hiking and despite the heat (at no point is there any shade on the trail) and the weight of camping gear, the walk was nothing but pleasant with superb scenery from start to end. Being so used to O’ahu’s more dramatic landscapes, hiking on the Big Island was an amazing change of pace.
It’s hard to describe the sensation of arriving at Halape, but if you’ve ever seen a movie where the character stumbles upon a oasis after crawling through the desert I’d say that’s pretty damn close. It’s a perfect, secluded sandy beach 8 miles from the nearest road, and that road doesn’t even have cell reception. There are shaded camp sites for up to 16 people, but for our weekend we had no company aside from two Canadian brothers bumming around the islands after completing their undergrad.
There are plenty of other write ups about things to see and do at Halape, best of which the chapter in Stuart Ball’s Backpacker’s Guide to Hawaii. I won’t go into detail since my plan was simply to unplug and do as little as possible. With sparse cell reception and connection to my family limited to my SatCom device, I took the opportunity to take naps, read, swim, eat and play cards. Basically, it was a perfect few days.
This trip was significant since it was my first using ultralight gear. While I know I’ve got some work to do, I was thrilled to get 3 days of food, clothing, shelter, entertainment and camera gear down to 24lbs. Not quite the 14lbs that our most seasoned crew member had, but less than half of what our heaviest bag was, 55lbs. In retrospect, these are the things I know I can live without or cut down on for the next trip:
Food is weighing in around 3lbs/day. I’m still whittling down my supply of Backpacker’s Pantry junk, but I’m eager to get this down to 2lbs/day or lower.
Clothing weighed way too much. I brought too many t-shirts, a hoodie, an extra pair of underwear. I’ll swap the sweatshirt with a down mid layer, live in board shorts and just wash my undies next trip if need-be.
I brought a power bank PLUS a solar cell and battery, along with cords for iPhone, watch and SatCom. I didn’t use a single charge of my phone, despite using it for random photos. I watched the opening credits of Indiana Jones and other than ducking out of airplane mode just to see if there was a connection, my phone was untouched. Next time, I’m just bringing the power bank and a charging cord. The SatCom lasted over 16 hours of trekking and 3 days of standby consuming only 30% of its battery and my Garmin Fenix used only 40% of battery, active only during treks. I may consider the solar cell but note that it can charge the power bank directly.
Having a separate camera (rented Sony RX-100 IV) was helpful, but the Gorilla Pod might have been unnecessary. Can look for a lighter solution, I really just need something to prop the camera up for long exposures. May just lug the Nex-7 next trip since I wasn’t 100% thrilled with the RX long exposure images.
Flip flops would have been useful at the beach but I would avoid on treks where I will not spend entire days doing nothing. Look into Luna Sandals for a lightweight option.
A titanium coffee mug (already ordered Vargo’s since returning home), eating breakfast and drinking coffee at the same time would have been nice. Maybe a hard-sell for more focused treks, but perhaps some value in being able to eat and drink without having to do multiple Esbit burns.
Field Notes or some way of writing down thoughts each day would be good next trip. I found myself reflecting on my gear, tent setup, etc. This write up might be more coherent if I had notes to refer to and not just my shoddy memory.
Friends brought a deck of cards, which we found immensely valuable when sitting around at night. Maybe not necessary for distance-focused treks, but some form of entertainment that doesn’t require batteries is great.
Other learnings from this trip:
The Z-Packs pole extender snapped the tip off of my Kompardell trekking pole almost instantly, rendering my hiking pole useless. Fortunately, someone let me borrow the right one. That the Altaplex requires 150cm is a pain in the ass, I need to buy new poles yet again since this is cheaper than a tent.
It took me 45 minutes to pitch on sand. Such a bummer, I need to get faster. I know spots along the JMT will require me to pitch with rocks and not solid soil. I wonder if line locks will be better. I’m also super slow at tying in stakes, and on that subject I think I might need newer/lighter ones.
Ok, that’s all the introspection I feel like doing for now. Awesome trip, highly recommend it. A week later and I think my head is just now getting out of camping mode. The first day back at work was rough, and before end of day that monday we already had our next trek planned: ascending the Kaupo Gap into Haleakala. That happens late March, between now and then I’m aiming to get some good camping done here on the crowded isle.
