We grow as we live. Day to day we experience, adjust, learn and so we change. It's gradual and, unless it's part of a course with a prescribed curriculum or the result of an intense event, almost imperceptible. For the 27 of us who "survived" hiking the Kalalau Trail on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai, it was an intense curriculum indeed.
The Kalalau Trail description makes for daunting reading. Eleven miles (17 kilometres) of continuous ups and downs, the elevation changes add up to a ridiculous total. Throw in the heat and humidity and heavy backpacks and it is an endeavour not to be taken lightly. The riveting section of any Kalalau blog bears down on the "hiker's crawl" section, a supposed death-courting stretch of trail with sheer drops undertaken only by the ignorant or the very foolish. But, of course, descriptions are penned by people with biases and fears and agendas. Having traveled the trail several times, I felt confident that with preparation and support and exit strategies, it was something within reach of our select Bellerose Composite High School team. Naturally stuff happens – and it did – as will be shared over the coming days. But my premise that there exists in young people in particular strength and resolve and a desire and ability to build community was reinforced daily.
A couple of days of acclimatizing were built in to get us somewhat used to the change. Our late arrival in Honolulu and the four-hour time adjustment should have been followed by an easing into the next day. Hardly. The majority of the group were up by 5:30, runners on and ready for a brisk walk and run to the summit of Diamond Head crater. A little over three hours later we grabbed a quick breakfast and were at the Mesa Airline counter checking in for our inter-island connector to Kauai. From there we would pack into rental vans for the drive up high to sleep at elevation at Kokee State Park.
