Well another year older, these birthdays seem to be sneaking up sooner and sooner these days. Been scoping out the weather for a while now and we just happened to have a good 2 day break from the rain for my birthday on the 17th.
My brother and Chris and Colin came to stay at my house friday evening in Santa Cruz and we loaded up early Saturday and headed towards Hollister to meet up with some friends from Santa Barbara who had camped there the night before. Arrived around noon to blue skies and a perfect day. We were eager to get on the trail so Ira in his Coilovered Tacoma and I took off on some trails.
I instantly got myself on a bad line and was dragging pretty far sideways not being able to go forward or reverse without flopping on my side. Some Austin Powering later we were all good and onto the Jungle Trail.
Jungle had been washed out pretty bad since I was last here which made it fun. There was alot of poison oak on the trail though so you had to be careful of all the branches coming into the truck.
Next we hit the V-notch trail which turned pretty hairy after a while. My friend in the red toyota fell into the crack and got his truck wedged in and I had to go around and winch him out.
Ran some more trails and then back to camp around 6 where we made some drinks and dinner and chilled in the sun. We struggled with a fire for a while because the wood was wet but at about 10pm Dustin showed up from Santa Barbara with a whole truck full of wood and we dumped in on making a nice raging fire.
Things were heating up when Colin brought out the costco sized bottle of Tequila and we started getting wild. I have a 800k volt stun baton in my van and Colin volunteered to get tazered bringing him to the ground, was good times. The rangers showed up later telling us we were being to loud and to calm down which we did but only a little bit. They never came back and we all had a great night.
Just what I needed for my birthday, good friends, good weather and no major breakage.
After a few good days in Oahu I was pretty excited about heading over to Kauai as I heard it was much different then the other islands. Hopped on a puddle jumper plane and before I could finish my bloody mary was in Kauai. Jake picked me up from the airport and we headed to his house. Jake and I grew up together in Mendocino and he now lives in Hawaii working with his tour company Barefoot Tours. Barefoot Tours Website
While on the island we planned to go on different tourist activities and make a video of each one to put on his website so people could see what they are buying. Not a bad life.
First things first we go out exploring and head into the country to check out a huge waterfall. Margerita's in hand we hike through the jungle down some very steep and muddy hills sliding all over the place but we dont spill a drop (pro's). Its amazing here and perfect weather.
We walk along the river for a bit until we get to the top of the falls. Its about 200 feet down and quite a sight to behold. I get on my stomach and inch my way over the falls looking down into a huge crater valley with rainbows and lush jungle looking like something out of Fern Gully.
After coming from Oahu, Kauai is so much more laid back, no traffic, empty beaches and very little rules it seems. Loving it.
Another day we grab a fresh 10 lb. tuna from the fish lady and head back to the house to make some sashimi. Jake sets up the DSLR camera for a time lapse of gutting the fish. We get 3 nice sized slabs of meat and make some bomb sushi. Fresh ahi is on my list of favorite foods for sure.
Time for some surfing! I have surfed before but was never to good at it, probably because I dident give it enough practice but its still fun. Jake needed to make a video for a surf instruction company so Simone and I went out with the instructor while Jake took video and pictures. The instructor was a local Kauaian kid and gave some good pointers and our conditions were perfect for beginners. We had some waterproof camera's and GoPro's and got a pretty funny video from it. Was fun!
Kauai's roads do not go all the way around the island because part is to rugged for roads so we went to the end of the road on the North Shore for a hike along the coast. The views were incredible and the hike was actually alot more hardcore then I thought it was gonna be. We hiked about 3 miles scaling the coast giving us views of the Napali Coast and North Shore.
On the way down the trail we ran into a group of hikers who looked very distraught and it turns out Jake knew one of the girls. She said her boyfriend was under a waterfall up the trail and a rock came down and hit him on the head causing a huge gash and they had to write S.O.S in the sand with rocks and sticks until a helicopter flew by and saw their distress signal and airlifted him out. Pretty crazy, I will think twice about going under waterfalls from now on.
Got to a rugged beach which had some crazy riptides and a sign showing how many people had died there recently so I went for a dip in the river while Jake and Simone cruised around. People had stacked rocks all over the beach which made for a interesting sight.
The next week Jake and I went on a photo tour of the island and they loaned me a nice DSLR camera and took us to some great spots.
This guy knows how to live.
Kauai looked pretty insane from the plane on the flight in and I was stoked to get to see it from the air on a trip around the island from Airventures. Jake took pictures while I did video and we had a GoPro setup in the cockpit. The pilot was really cool and we got to see a pod of whales from the sky which was a new experience for me. We also flew over where they filmed Jurassic Park and it really doesn't even seem real. Seeing everything from the air gave me a better idea of the islands layout and how small it really is but also how diverse the landscape is.
It was now Jakes Birthday and we planned a big 4 day camping trip. Made a costco mission and loaded up with everything we would need. Since he only has a single cab truck it took some maneuvering to get everything in the bed and still have room to sit in the back. Danielle flew over from Oahu and we picked her up at the airport the morning we were leaving.
Drive over to the other side of the island where the road ends and end up at Piohale Beach which is a huge stretch of beach miles long which you can drive on. Such a unique spot, the scale of the beach is hard to take in it is huge. You wont find a place like this anywhere else in the world, ive looked.
We drive out into the middle of the beach and set up camp stretching a big tarp over the truck and onto the hill side for some shade.
Next we set out to find some firewood for tonight, Jake and I go into the dunes to find and chop old dead branches and such which turns into quite a mission.
With our firewood situation semi under control we then witness a kid in a tacoma driving down the beach starting to get very stuck in the deep sand. His motor seems to be bogging out bad and he is just digging until he gets stuck. I walk over to him and start deflating his tires for better floatation. After they are down to about 5psi and put it in 4low we get in his truck and he just cruises out no problem. He was so happy for the help he gave us a bunch of real firewood which came in handy as all we had really gotten was sticks and such.
A great dinner was made in front of a colorful sunset, I love this place.
The next couple days were spent relaxing on the beach and swimming in the protected reef pool outside our camp called Queen's Pond. It was seriously hot during the day so we defiantly spent some time under our camp canopy just hanging out.
After we had had enough sand to last a lifetime we packed the truck up and headed into the mountains to Koke'e State Park. I rented a cabin near the park and was quite suprised how big it was when we got there. It was set up like a mini lodge with bunk beds and everything, very cool. We were at 4,000 feet elevation so the weather was pretty cold which was a nice change from the blazing heat on the coast. There are even redwood tree's up here because of all the rain and fog.
The next day we went out on a hike along Waimea Canyon. They call this the Grand Canyon of the Pacific and I can see why, it is absolutely huge! Ive never seen anything like it. The hike was great and we had alot of fun taking pictures, swimming in the waterfall and admiring the staggering views.
I was feeling a little to sexy for my shirt and had to bust out my signature gay pose
I had seen a video Jake made flying over Kauai in a Ultra Light Glider and it looked like the coolest thing ever so I had to try it while I was here so we booked a flight. Showed up at the airport and the pilot had a rad converted shuttle bus like my old one and was a very cool guy. Got suited up and we took off.
I was surprised how much power it had which I later found came from a 1000cc engine, that makes sense. The Ultra Light was very nimble and we zipped through canyons and over Koke'e where we had camped earlier, was awesome getting to see the area from a completely different view point. Coming over the Napali Coast was the best part and we did a fly by over where we camped on the beach at 50mph only 3 feet off the ground, it was quite exhilarating. On the way back he let me fly it which was strange because the controls were reversed. It was hard enough keeping it in a strait line so I can imagine the skills it took for him to fly into a canyon 4 feet from the edge fighting wind and currents. This is something everyone needs to do at least once, I will never forget it.
After almost a month the time had come to go home. I felt ok with this as we got to do so much and I felt like I saw the whole island from every perspective, will be back for sure. I am planning to move to the Big Island with Jake in August and work with him there so the good times shall continue. Looking forward to seeing my friends back in California and the amazing summer season ahead!!!
