This is the scenery that I'd hoped for at the beginning of a kayak adventure during a recent trip to Kauai, Hawaii. It is the "Secret Falls" of the Wailua River. To get to the trail head meant a trip by water - hence the kayak part. Needless to say most of the adventure was not taken by kayak but rather by foot, barefoot that is.Yes, the man running the rental shop said the trail to the falls would be muddy and the best way to traverse the trail was without shoes. Being a naive tourist, what do you? Take his word for it, of course. This was no easy, lazy hike. First, the adventure began late in the day so there was a time factor involved. The trail was indeed muddy but what made it treacherous was the fact that beneath the mud were jagged rocks and tree branches. Ouch! (Something I remember saying numerous times) My feet are beginning to hurt as I write this and remember how it felt.
Some parts of the trail were along steep banks of the river and if you made a wrong move and slipped in the mud it could mean rolling down the bank and into the river - plus breaking or at least damaging body parts. There were about three places to cross the river along the journey to the falls. One such crossing involved a rope and moving water about to the mid thigh. It may have been the "hike from hell" and I don't intend to do it again but, in the end it was worth it all.
