Right: Rainbow on the Na Pali Coast, Kauai (photographed from helicopter).

The islands of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui offer some of the best hiking experiences in the world. The amazing natural beauty of the state of Hawaii has attracted me five times, and I will gladly return.

Kauai:

Below are some images from the 11-mile Kalalau Trail, one of my favorite backpacking trips in the world. The trail crosses five valleys and ends at Kalalau Beach, where it is blocked by sheer cliffs (or Pali, in Hawaiian). Thankfully, State permits limit the number of overnight hikers to this wonderful area. You can also find greater solitude in the off season (non-summer). Unfortunately, the Na Pali Coast is so spectacular that noisy flight-seeing helicopters fly over frequently, sometimes every 15 minutes, which is annoying for hikers. Having also flown over Kauai once, I admit that the helicopter views are amazing; I even saw a full circular rainbow, but my lens was only wide enough to capture an arc. However, I get a bigger reward by working for the views, such as by hiking or kayaking. You can turn the hike into a day trip by having a boat drop you at Kalalau Beach, then you can hike back: call Captain Zodiac Raft Expeditions at 800-422-7824 or 808-826-9371, the only tour company which has a permit to drop off passengers at Kalalau, part of the Na Pali Coast State Park, from May 15th through September 15th, departing from Kauai's Tunnel Beach, about $100 per person, weather dependent.

Below: Cliffs rise spectacularly up to four thousand feet above Kalalau Beach on the Na Pali Coast:

Rainbow over surf.
 
 

You can hike to beautiful Hanakapiai Falls as an 8-mile day hike from your car, or a 4-mile side trip from the Kalalau Trail.

Palms and snorkelers on Kee Beach, Na Pali Coast.
 
 

Spectacular green cliffs along the Kalalau Trail on the Na Pali Coast.

Giant spike-leafed plants (agave-like) with tall blooms on the Kalalau Trail.
 
 

Of volcanic origin, the colorful cliffs of the Na Pali Coast are now eroding into the ocean.

Silhouette in a sea cave just west of Kalalau Beach.

Waves on Kalalau Beach at sunset, Na Pali Coast. 

Short-eared owl on Kalalau Beach.

Taro root, a traditional staple brought to Hawaii
by the original Polynesian immigrants in the 700's AD,
is a popular crop grown in Hanalei Valley, in northeast Kauai.
 
 

Kalalau Valley seen from the Overlook at Kokee State Park.
(Published May 2002 by Garden Isle Disposal Inc., a recycling and disposal company in Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii)

Rainbow over the Na Pali Coast (photographed from helicopter).
 
 

Waimea Canyon, the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific," is mostly a State Forest Reserve, open to hiking as well as hunting for feral pigs.
 
 

Maui:

Backpacking in Haleakala National Park on Maui is one of my favorite experiences in the world. Visitors can also day hike, ride horseback, bicycle, and drive to experience the fantastic scenery and rare ecosystem on this 10,023-foot dormant volcano.

Morning mists drift through the cinder cones in Haleakala Crater and often evaporate by mid-afternoon.
 
 

Horseback riders in Haleakala National Park. As you hike or ride horseback across Haleakala Crater, the dry moonscape turns into a lush green cloud forest in just 6 miles! The crater forms a bowl 7.5 miles long and 2.5 miles wide, and its floor averages 6700 feet in elevation. With a National Park camping permit, you can sleep overnight in the crater in your own tent. Or you can reserve one of the three cabins.
 
 

Bicyclists can coast down 10,000 vertical feet on the 40-mile road from the summit of Mount Haleakala. Commercial operators offer supported descents, as shown.

This wild nene, a goose native to Hawaii, drinks from a dripping faucet at a campsite in Haleakala National Park.

Nene geese, which are related to Canada geese, graze at a campsite in Haleakala Crater.
Leg bands shown here help scientists track these rare birds.

The ocean has carved this cave from basaltic rock columns, at Waianapanapa State Park, Maui.

The Big Island of Hawaii:
Humans first populated the Hawaiian Islands chain on the Big Island. Using large catamaran-like canoes with coconut-fiber sails, Polynesians became some of the finest sailors in history. In the 700's AD, Polynesians bravely canoed here all the way from the Marquesas Islands and later from Tahiti. Early residents left rock pictographs, used simple tools and irrigation, lived in relative harmony with nature, fought wars with each other, and passed down a proud culture through stories and songs to future generations. British Captain James Cook would not discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he called the Sandwich Islands, until a thousand years later, in 1778.

The Big Island is geologically the youngest island in the 25-million-year-old Hawaiian chain -- in fact it is still being created! Lava flows have blocked the Chain of Craters Road, and molten lava pours regularly into the Pacific Ocean. You can actually watch the Big Island grow. In 1987, UNESCO listed Hawaii Volcanoes National Park as a World Heritage Area.

The ocean has carved this arch from the volcanic basalt in southeast Hawaii.

Carved palm trunk on Halape Beach, Hawaii.

Clouds over Hawaii.
 
 

Seattle Aquarium: A tropical fish that eats coral. 

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