Three Days of Hiking the Kalalau Trail in Kauai, Hawaii

Posted on May 29, 2012 by The Young Urban Unprofessional

Last week I spent one of my two precious weeks of annual vacation on one of the greatest adventures of my life: hiking the Kalalau Trail in Kauai, Hawaii. Sarah has wanted to do this trip her whole life and when she pitched it to me two years ago I was all in, it just took us two years to get our act together and finally plan it. This trail traverses the Napali Coast, an area of Kauai that is impassable by any vehicle that’s not a boat, kayak, or human feet The word Pali in Hawaiian means Cliff so when they call it the Napali Coast (the cliff coast) they really mean it. The 11 mile hike into Kalalau Beach is almost entirely on the side of a cliff, in other words, it was pretty epic. My challenge this week was to still find a way to do a different exercise every day. However, after our first day of hiking 10 miles I quickly decided that hiking and only hiking would take up three of the five days on Kauai. I had absolutely no energy for anything else on those days and it didn’t seem reasonable to expect myself to add an additional exercise just because it’s different, exercise is exercise and I certainly got a lot of it during my stay in Kauai. I’ll combine three days of hiking into one post because they’re really the same activity and in the same area. I’ll write about my beach yoga session and Trevor Smith’s Gymless Backyard Workout on separate posts.

Day 1:

We woke up at 3:30am on Oahu and had a friend drive us to the airport for a 5:00am flight to Kauai. From there we caught a taxi to a bus stop where we then caught a local bus that drove us one hour to a family friend who would drive us the rest of the way. The trail head to Kalalau is literally at the end of the road in Kauai, you simply can’t go any further in your car. So by 9:00am we hit the trail on foot.

Sarah and I bright eyed and bushy tailed at 9:00am after 5.5 hours of traveling.

Shortly into the hike we realized that it wouldn’t be so easy while carrying 5 days worth of food and booze. We didn’t weigh our packs beforehand because we were too scared but based on past experience the packs were close to 50lbs but probably not more than that. I’d say we were fairly minimal in the gear we brought. I had 2 tech shirts, 1 pair of running shorts, 1 pair of board shorts, and two pairs of socks. Then we had some shared gear like the tent, stove, water filter, med kit, food and wine. That was pretty much it, but having to carry around 5 days worth of food plus a few liters of water really does add up.

That pack was mostly food plus 3 liters of boxed wine, we made lots of friends along the way :)

Two miles into the hike we reached Hanakapi’ai Beach and the trail split, one direction would take us to our destination Kalalau Beach and the other would take us up to Hanakapi’ai Falls. We hadn’t planned on going to the falls because the out-and-back would add another 4 miles to our trip but we decided why the heck not? It came highly recommended by everyone we talked to and who knows when we’d be back in this area again so we dropped our packs 100 yards up the trail, hid them behind some trees and continued to the falls.

Hanakapi'ai Falls was one of those life experiences I'll remember forever, a totally unreal experience to swim under a waterfall that is over 300 feet high.

Rejuvenated from the swim at the Falls and the 4 mile hike without our packs we got back onto the Kalalau Trail and headed for the Beach. There was a campsite area at the 6 mile point on the Kalalau Trail called Hanakoa Valley. This made it a 10 mile trip for us to Hanakoa with another 5 miles to go before reaching our final destination. We made the executive decision to camp there for the night instead of continuing on. We chilled in the hammock, got eaten up by bugs, and passed out as the sun set. My min/max/average heart rate for the day of hiking was 64/139/103. I think the average was driven pretty low by the number of breaks we took and the fact that heavy load carriage is pretty slow going. My quads were certainly working harder than my lungs were, too bad I didn’t have an EMG setup (anyone want to spot me $20K to buy an intro EMG system?). On the way out I decided I would stop my watch during breaks to try and get a more accurate measure of my heart rate.

Our humble abode in Hanakoa Valley along the Kalalau Trail.

Day 2:

The next day, with 40+ bug bites on my exposed legs and arms, we headed off for Kalalau Beach 5 miles away, our home for the next four days. We arrived by 9:30am ready for a day on the beach but not before some stellar views and sketchy, eroding cliffs:

On the trek from Hanakoa Valley to Kalalau Valley.

This picture is mostly in shadow but it definitely gets across the cliffs we were walking across. If you look closely on the left you can see Sarah traversing a particularly gnarly section.

Finally at Kalalau Valley. I have to admit that I half-expected to see a pterodactyl soaring over the cliffs or a pack of brontosaurus walking through the valley, I felt like I was in Jurassic Park.

Each view was a million-dollar postcard view. These are only but a few of the particularly breathtaking ones. We avoided taking pictures on some of the more dangerous sections. Falling off the trail would be pretty unlikely but had you fallen you most certainly would have died, with nothing between you and rocks/water hundreds of feet below you. It definitely added an element of danger and adventure to the trip while still keeping it relatively “safe”.

My heart rate on this leg of the trip was fairly consistent with Day 1, my min/max/average was 65/150/105. Again I didn’t stop the heart rate monitor during breaks for over the 2.5 hours of hiking there were several periods where my heart rate dropped to below 90 while resting. I think overall though, trekking with a heavy backpack and having to pace yourself for hours on end, your heart rate generally has to stay pretty low, I’m not sure I could sustain a 150bpm heart rate for very long while carrying 50lbs of gear through a series of mountain cliffs.

Day 3 (of hiking, day 5 of the trip):

On the way out, with backpacks close to half their initial weight (minimal food left, zero wine left), I kept a closer watch on my heart rate, however it stayed around the same levels as the trip in. From Kalalau Beach to Hanakoa Valley my heart rate was 66/139/105 for 2.5 hours. From Hanakoa Valley to Hanakapi’ai Beach my heart rate was 66/141/103 for another 2.5 hours. Lastly from Hanakapi’ai Beach to Ke’e Beach (trail head) my heart rate was 65/146/113 for just under 1 hour. We crushed the last two miles but I definitely felt like I was working harder on the trip in, not just because of the heavier packs but also because it was dry and we were moving faster. The trip out on the 5th day was pretty wet and slow going because it sprinkled rain almost the entire time. This made the sketchier sections of the trail much sketchier so we took our time. There are several stream crossings in the dozen or so valleys we crossed through that are prone to flash-flooding when it rains so we were also concerned about that. However, it hadn’t rained in several days and this rain was more of a mist than anything else, so we weren’t too worried. We were more concerned with the immediate threat of slipping and falling off the cliff to our deaths.

The Kalalau Trail was pretty muddy on the way out, it made for slow going on the trail, especially the sketchier parts.

This trip was definitely one of the most amazing adventures I’ve ever had. Because this blog post is about fitness I’ll avoid going into many of the other awesome aspects of this trip like the naked hippies who welcomed us, partied with us and fed us with their Kalalau Pizza Deserts. As I’m writing this blog post I’m most certainly in reverse culture-shock but all in all it was a great fitness experiment combining travel on lack of sleep, carrying heavy loads for hours on end, wandering through dozens of valleys and cliff sides, lot’s of logistics, and finally ending up on one of the most beautiful, remote, and untouched beaches in the world. It was a totally unreal trip and I’m sure it’ll take a while to come to terms with being back in Boston.

Outrigger Canoe Paddling with the Lanikai Canoe Club in Hawaii

Posted on May 29, 2012 by The Young Urban Unprofessional

Outrigger. Canoe. Paddling. Is. Awesome. The End.

On my first day in Hawaii I woke up at 1:30am wide awake (yay jet lag) but managed to sleep until 6:00. This was just in time to head to the beach for the local outrigger canoe paddling practice. I’ve found that there’s nothing better to get over jet lag than sunlight and fitness, just getting outside and getting the blood flowing does wonders, otherwise it’s miserable. Sarah has trained with the Lanikai Canoe Club in the past (Hawaii State Champions 2008 and 2010) and asked the coach ahead of time if I could come join their practice while I was in town. The coach was very receptive to new recruits and said if there was an open seat in one of the boats then it was mine. Cool.

Standing on Lanikai Beach in Kailua (Oahu) next to the six-man outrigger we took out for practice.

The club has teams for every age group and then once you’re an adult they have boats for newbies, more competitive boats, and then a masters division (old folks who totally crush, having paddled their whole lives). I got some quick instruction and then we took the boats out into Lanikai Bay. I was placed in seat 5 while the coach was placed in seat 6. It was a bit nerve wracking at first to have the coach sit directly behind me but he was very helpful with his comments and used positive reinforcement when I was doing things right. I tended to use my arms a bit too much instead of my shoulders and back.

After a bit I started to get the rhythm and really dig into the water and contribute to the boat. We paddled over super flat and super clear water with amazing views as the sun broke through the morning clouds. It’s hard to imagine that people actually live here and see this every day. As much as I love cold weather sports in New England, I could probably make a trade if it meant canoeing in Hawaii every morning.

Paddling practice from Lanikai beach with views of the Mokolua Islands a mile off shore. This picture was taken on my trip there in 2010 but it helps to get across the scene I was paddling through. Epic.

My heart rate peaked at 149 with an average of 121 over the hour long paddling session. I was more focused on getting my technique right than really trying to push myself. I think that after some practice I could start contributing more power to my stroke but for now getting the mechanics right is the most important.

After the practice I got one of the best compliments you can get as the new guy in the boat, “We couldn’t even feel you!” I wasn’t quite sure what they meant so I had them explain. Typically when a newbie is in the boat, the other paddlers can tell that they’re dragging extra weight through the water. If your timing is off or if you’re not pulling your weight then the rest of the boat can feel it and it can be pretty irritating. So the fact that they didn’t notice I was there was a huge positive for me. I’d love to get in on a team with a group of guys my age who could push me to compete and train hard. There’s just something about exercising with a team that brings out the most out of everyone which is something I miss now being beyond high school and college. This was without a doubt the coolest and most fun exercise I’ve done so far this month.

Outrigger canoe paddling is awesome, the end.

Dragon Boat Racing on the Charles River with Living Root

Posted on May 27, 2012 by The Young Urban Unprofessional

Dragon Boat Racing is described by Wikipedia as being similar to outrigger canoe racing but instead of a traditional 6-man outrigger canoe there’s a 22 person crew in a canoe with no outrigger. Of the 22 person crew, 20 people are paddlers all facing the front of the boat, one person is the drummer who sits on the front of the boat calling the cadence (similar to a coxswain in rowing), and another person is the steersman who stands in the rear of the boat and keeps the crew on course. It was started as early as 1500 years ago by the Chinese as a way to pay hommage to their dragon deity (one of their 12 zodiac signs) in return for good fortune in the rivers and to promote rain for their crops. Today Dragon Boat Racing is done all over the world with formal associations in Australia, the U.S., New Zealand, Italy, Hungary, and many other places. Up until a few weeks ago I had no idea such a sport even existed.

I found this random image on Google and while their timing looks way off, it's a good picture to get the idea of what Dragon Boat Racing looks like (Image courtesy of Google Images and http://richardbrickman.com/richtext/?p=41).

I found out about this sport through a friend of mine who emailed me a suggestion for a new type of workout for my 30 day lifestyle experiment on fitness (feel free to email suggestions to theyoungurbanunprofessional@gmail.com or tweet @youngandurban). My friend sent me the website of a local group in Boston called Living Root who practices three times each week and does various races in the Northeast and Canada. Their website indicated that they were very receptive to new recruits, even offering a free first practice, discounted first month practice, and then if you’re really interested after that then you can drop the $200 to become a member of the team year-round.

After a quick set of internet searches (Google, Facebook, Wikipedia, Twitter, etc) I found that the web is loaded with info on dragon boat teams, events, and training plans. Who knew that Dragon Boat teams from all over the world were blowing up the Twitter-sphere. I quickly decided that it looked AWESOME so I emailed Living Root’s team leader David Parker to get some further details on the team’s practice schedule and what to expect on my first day. He seemed super stoked to bring me on and I was psyched in return to give it a try.

Saturday Morning 8:45am - Getting the dragon boats ready for a great practice on the Charles River.

I arrived first to the docks so I could be ready when everyone showed up. I was kind of blown away by how chill and inviting the team members were. I was quickly introduced to many smiling people who were totally pumped to do some dragon boat racing at 9am on a Saturday morning. They supplied me with a life vest, a paddle, a short lesson and then promptly seated me in the rear of the boat. From this position I could watch other people’s form and try my best to keep time.

I found it to be an exhilarating workout, especially while sprinting. The fact that we were also practicing in the Charles River with the Boston Skyline as our backdrop was also very cool. Wearing my heart rate monitor I saw that my heart rate routinely peaked around 150bpm with my average staying around 130 throughout a 1.5 hour practice. When we were done I was totally beat and I could tell that my shoulder/back muscles got WORKED from all the paddling. I’d be excited to see how fit I’d become if I paddled three times a week for a year in addition to my hiking and running routine.

Here’s a video of the Living Root Team from 2010 to get a glimpse of what it looks like to do Dragon Boat Racing (feel free to ignore or mute the techno music in the background lol):

There were several things that I enjoyed about this team/practice/sport. 1.) The coaches really emphasized teamwork because you could have a boat of super strong athletes but if they’re not working together in synch then they’re useless. 2.) I enjoyed the raw power that’s needed to pull your weight in the boat. Using your back/shoulders/abs to drive the paddle through the water was a great feeling. If you’re not pulling your weight then you’re dragging the whole team down. 3.) I had a great experience meeting the various members of the team, it seemed like a solid community to be a part of with some veterans, some newbies, and overall a bunch of motivated friendly people.

I’m sure with some focus on my technique to help harness and focus my enthusiasm I could actually get pretty good at this sport. Unfortunately, much like the Boxing workouts I liked so much earlier this month, the practice schedules conflict with my work schedule. Practices are at 6:30pm twice during the workweek and once on Saturday mornings. During the week this would be impossible for me to get to practice and on Saturdays I’m generally on an adventure somewhere climbing/hiking/other shenanigans in New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine. I think if I worked in the downtown or Cambridge areas I would definitely sign up for a year just to try something new. However, until a new work arrangement happens, I’ll have to put Dragon Boat Racing on the list of awesome things I’ve tried, enjoyed, and would totally recommend to other people who are looking for a fun alternative form of exercise.

Another Lunch-Time Workout: Road Biking in the Suburbs

Posted on May 27, 2012 by The Young Urban Unprofessional

For as much as I complain about my job, one thing that I really appreciate is the upper-management’s support for lunch-time fitness. I suppose if your senior scientists are taking an hour for lunch to do yoga, to hit the gym, to go road biking or to go running then I’d say it’s fair game for me to do the same. It also helps to have locker rooms with showers so that a lunch-time workout doesn’t have to turn into a smelly and uncomfortable afternoon for you and your coworkers. I have many friends who don’t have such luxuries with their jobs and are thus required to do workouts super early in the morning or late at night (or just be smelly at work which is also an option, albeit an undesirable one). It becomes complicated and difficult to stay fit if your job doesn’t support an active lifestyle.

Today I went for a bike ride during my lunch time. Thankfully I work outside of the city so biking becomes a much safer and a more pleasant experience overall than trying to bike downtown. Biking downtown is less of an exercise and more of a survival experience. I’ve biked to work from my apartment downtown on several occasions but I’m doing it less often these days due to a number of close calls (car doors opening, MAss-holes driving, and complicated intersections with people who run red lights, ugh). Suffice it to say that biking in suburbia helps me get a better workout on my bike and not having a car to drive myself there, I resort to keeping my bike at work and just doing trips from there.

My college graduation present to myself: a new Trek 2200 bought on ebay for 50% off.

I bought my bike as a college graduation present to myself and I’ve got a lot of good use out of it. I bought it new on ebay for 50% off the retail price (score!) and putting it together was surprisingly easy considering most of the components were already in place before shipment. Having only raced on my bike once in the past few years (25 miles during a sprint triathlon), I’m kind of a n00b when it comes to pushing myself while cycling, I’m not quite sure where my limit is.

Today I pushed myself pretty hard but ended my workout not feeling that tired or winded (min/max/average heart rate = 89/170/129). My bike computer told me I averaged 17mph which my friends tell me is decent but still fairly slow for a 45 minute ride. I’m sure I could push myself harder but like I said, I’m not sure where that line is and what it feels like to be there. I’m sure that will come with time. Perhaps I can get into a few road-biking specific races this summer. I know there are many group rides that go in and out of Boston but I generally get home from work late and spend the weekends in the mountains so I frequently ride alone. Pushing yourself against yourself is a hard way to get better, I think spending some time riding with actual cyclists will help me to improve.

I really like biking but I also realy like friendly competition so I think I’ve got to find a group to ride with in order to improve my cycling skill and bring myself to a level where I can get a really killer workout. Until then it’ll be a mixture of survival biking in the city and lunch-time cruising at work.