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and shrubs to help me climb the crumbling slope. After about 20 feet or so i came to a section of "trail" completely devoid of any trees or strong bushes to grab on to, i would have to use the rope. I leaned into the mountain as much as possible, letting go of the safe solid tree i was holding onto with my right hand and transferring it to the rope. This meant putting most of my weight onto that poor rope in order to get my left leg up to the next foothold. The rope stretched like a long bungee cord. I fell towards the mountain as quickly as possible releasing the tension on the rope so as not to snap it and hugged that mountain like a best friend thought lost forever. Ten seconds later my heart started beating again. I erected myself using the rope as leverage to see if it would still hold, and it did. Again i stood on the edge of a precarious slope. I listened to the wind in the trees and the birds all around me and thought hard about how crazy i really am. I looked up that slope one last time and said to the mountain, "i'm crazy, but not stupid." and turned right around and went back the way i came.

Kauai has a lot to offer in the way of hiking. Some of these hikes have some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, like from Hihimanu. But i would never suggest to anyone that they attempt this trail alone, if at all. Go hike the Kalalau trail 11 miles one way spend the night and hike it back. Or hook up with an eco-tour company and do the 10 mile Power line trail over some of the most rain beaten terrain found in the world. You'll see equally beautiful scenery, and in some cases even have your life threatened by extreme trail conditions, but you won't be in nearly as stupid a situation as i was when i hiked Hihimanu by myself in May 2006.

by peter Artley

Hihimanu is a summit in Kauai County, Hawaii. It has an elevation of 2,360 feet.
Degrees Minutes Seconds:
Latitude: 221030N
Longitude: 1592918W Decimal Degrees:
Latitude: 22.175
Longitude: -159.48833
From Lat-Long.com

Learn more about this author, Peter Artley.
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