Kalalau Trail (HI)

[irish08]

I was wondering what is the fastest someone has done this trail unsupported? I have not found any times for trying to do this for time online.

I hiked/ran this trail yesterday in 5:54:07, this included starting my Garmin at the trail head and going to the middle point of the Kalalau Beach. The time above reflects total time including all stopped time at the beach and the few moments I took along the way. As far as third party verification, my wife knows I was out there as well as others I passed along the trail. I passed one group of people who appeared to be doing a trail running photo shoot of some sort but did not stop to get names as this was in the most dangerous section of trail.

If anyone is interested in doing this trail in the future let me know. Also if anyone with any speed wanted to attempt this I am sure they could knock a bunch of time off. The Garmin indicated there was 10,160ft of climbing and loss.

[Peter Bakwin]

Cool! I haven't heard of anyone doing it for speed. It's so good, and most people don't live there so they are only going to get to do it once (if they're lucky). So, people take their time and enjoy the incredible views. It's certainly a classic though - one of the world's most classic trails.

You should give your name so that we can credit you with the FKT. As I read your post, the time you quote is out & back, right?

Thanks for posting.

[irish08]

My name is Brendan Gilpatrick.

Yea I tried to find anything on someone doing it for time but did not find anything. I was lucky enough to be on the island for 2 months so thats why I was able to go for time. If it was anyones first time on the trail I would take the time to camp at the end like everyone else does as it is by far one of the most beautiful trails I have ever seen.

It is an out and back, and the way back is a lot faster. The key for this hike if doing it in one go is making sure you have enough water.

[Matias Saari]

Congrats Brendan. I have hiked the trail in order to camp at Kalalau but plan to run this out-and-back next time I visit Kauai.
Might I suggest future KFT attempts start at the trailhead and turn around at the waterfall at the far end of the beach? "Middle of the beach" is rather vague for a turnaround point.

[ziggy]

Brendan, nice work, going under 6 hours is pretty fast based on what I have seen online. I will be on Kauai the end of next week and planning on running some or all of this depending on conditions. There was some info on the UltraList about it, but the best article I found was here:
www.ultrarunning.com/ultra/features/world/ultra-running-in-hawaii-p.shtml

what time of day did you start? How'd you do with water?

[irish08]

Matias, next time I will go to the waterfall I guess, turned into camps with hippies. I figured the naked guy making a hat out of grass was a good enough place to turn around and since I had a GPS recording did not really think much of it. FKT have an inherent margin of error so I figured if someone goes to a different position then that would then become the place and time to beat.

Ziggy, I started at 8am, I am a late riser and I have started this trail in darkness and found it would probably slow someone down in the end. If you are fine with heat then start at daylight. As far as water, I have a Salomon advanced pack bladder full with water with amino acid mix, and two full handhelds in the pockets that the vest has. I think it is beneficial to have your hands free for this trail due to the nature of it. I ran out of water with about 1.5 miles left but by that point you are weaving around tourist doing the 2 mile hike in so it worked out.

In all honesty if you have not done this trail hike it first. Its to beautiful not to experience it this way first. I was fortunate enough to be on island for a couple months and will be back in the future so I thought it would be fun to set something to set a standard for faster people to beat. Just be safe, this trail requires a lot of concentration.

[Ryan P]

I was also interested in the FKT for this trail and found this video posted by talented ultrarunner Max King here: youtu.be/Gca6Fgw8jHc. Looks like he ran it in 4:59:38. Might be worth taking a look at to consider updating the FKT. Looks like he mispelled the name of the trail, otherwise his video would have been more widely viewed.

[satyrsxlm]

I was just in Kalalau for a week. I ran the trail one morning in 1 direction... so, from my tent in the designated camping area, just before Kalalau beach, to the very end of the trail (parking lot) (11 miles)... in 2:20:00.
I was told by a ranger that the fastest in and out time (parking lot to Kalalau beach and back) is 5 hours flat. Done by a professional North Face sponsored and supported runner. I can't seem to find any info on the internet though.
I could beat that time with a bit of training. The trail was in great shape when I did my 2 hours 20 mins. I was fortunate

[Matias Saari]

I watched Max King's previously referenced YouTube video (misspelled Kalulau).
Max ran the full trail (TH to Kalalau Beach waterfall and back) in April, 2012, less than a week after competing in the U.S. Olympic Trials for steeplechase.
He wasn't in a huge rush considering that he stopped several times to provide narration for the video (with the clock running) and took a lengthy break (with the clock running) at the beach.
Max reached Kalalau Beach in 2:13, then spent 22 minutes there (taking a dip in the ocean and rinsing off in the waterfall at the far end of the beach), before beginning his return at 2:35.
The return took him 2:24 and he reached the trailhead finish in 4:59:38, a time that is supported by the Park Ranger's report (previous post) of a fastest known time of "5 hours flat."
That's an impressive time; it would be interesting to see what an elite runner could do there if they were really "going for it."

[Gregory Wagner]

I'd just like to make a few comments about this trail, having run it myself at a fairly relaxed pace this past weekend in about 5:50 (including 50 minutes at the beach at the end).  There was a fair bit of mud on the trail for me.  Water can easily be obtained from any of the streams passed on the way provided you bring purification tablets.  The beautiful waterfall at the end of the trail is a particularly logical place to refill.

I had GPS watch / barometer with me, which recorded the total length of the trail at 10.1 miles.  It's possible that the trail is a bit longer, but I doubt it's fully 11 miles as is usually published.  Also, its barometer estimated the one-way elevation gain at around 3,100 feet, which I trust more than estimates based on GPS or elevation data sets (since the whole route is traversing steep terrain, these estimates are probably not very accurate).  So the total trail out and back is perhaps roughly 21 miles and 6,200 feet of gain.

The condition of the trail is determined by how much rain there has been and how much mud is on the trail.  The trail is well built and not too technical except in the two miles from the trailhead.  The trail is well graded and there are few steep sections.  There is one section of trail which descends eroding slopes and traverses above cliffs at mile 7 which frightens those unused to heights (but is safe if one is careful).  The greatest danger is posed by storms and heavy rain, since the trail crosses countless small streams and a few large ones, which can swell into impassible raging torrents.  However, this requires a particularly strong storm I think.

As Peter said, this trail is unbelievably beautiful, and the Kalalau Valley at the end of the trail -- hemmed in by sheer cliffs rising 4,000 feet above the ocean, guarded on east and west by wild complexes of pinnacles and fluted ridges, and teeming with life and blessed with a beautiful pocket beach, accessible on land only by the Kalalau Trail -- is perhaps one of the most beautiful places in the world.  I think a strong runner could manage a pretty fast pace and under 4 hours would not be too difficult.  It could be fun to run this trail fast if one has the chance to do it multiple times - which would be pretty fantastic - but for a first time trip it might be difficult to move fast even if you try because you will find yourself rooted to the earth, gaping at the panorama of endless ocean, waterfalls streaming from cliffs thousands of feet above you, and rock formations too wild to believe they are real.

[Greeny]

I did it on Tuesday 15th July from the waterfall to Ke'e with a 25lb pack (including the gallon of water I begun with - so it got progressively lighter - I drank the entire gallon) and a five-foot spear-gun strapped to my pack. I left the waterfall at 5:55am, did the first fiveish miles in Nike running shoes and the second 6+ miles in bare-feet. Trail was as good as I have ever seen it, hard, baked clay the entire way to Ke'e and I came away with a total time of 4hr 20min and I stopped about five times for perhaps five minutes at a time. The first nine miles were mostly in shade as I left early so you couldn't have asked for better conditions. The two weeks before that I did it with two girls in 5hr 50min, trail was horrible from Hanakoa to Ke'e (six miles according to signage) and it was raining heavily at times. Weather makes a huge difference to how quickly you can move as the clay turns very slick after even a brief downpour... Didn't see a soul or hear a helicopter or tour boat until Hanakoa was bliss being on the trail alone & watching the sun light up the valleys..

[Tom Haxton]

I ran the Kalalau Trial roundtrip this morning in 4:51:58, which appears to be a new fastest known time. I left Ke'e Beach at 5:53 am. My splits were 23 min at Hanakapi'ai River, 1:20 at Hanakoa River, 2:13 at Kalalau River, 2:21 at the waterfall at the end of the trail, 2:29 at Kalalau River, 3:26 at Hanakoa River, and 4:26 at Hanakapi'ai River. I saw a few backpackers, and I passed one couple trail running the whole trail. They were heading out around the 7 mile mark while I was heading back. Maybe they can "verify" my run if they happen to look up this website.

I was really lucky with the weather: clear, no rain, temperature in the 70's, and it didn't feel very humid for Hawaii in August. I'm not getting any consistent information on the dewpoint, but maybe it was around 60 degrees. I'm glad it wasn't wet, because I probably wouldn't have attempted the exposed section at 7 miles if the ground was soft.

My new Steripen stopped working after the first use, even though I tried to dry it out, so I had to use iodine and carry my collapsible canteen while the iodine treated the water. I only gave it 15 minutes, so hopefully I don't come down with anything! Rocked a fanny pack. I drank about 32 oz each at 25 min, 1:35, 2:30, and 3:41. I ate a Cliff bar at 2:35, a Pemmican bar at 4:00, and a few more bites of another Pemmican bar at 4:35.

Obviously a top trail runner like Max King would run this faster if he were going for speed, but now I understand why the FKT isn't faster, since I found myself slowing down or walking for safety on a lot of the trail.

[Marc Laveson]

On 10/7/2014 I ran the Kalalau Trail in 4:26:26, which I believe is the new FKT. I will publish a blog to this website with my Garmin data and full splits when I return to San Francisco.

I left Ke'e Beach at 6:41am, crossed Hanakoa River in 1:02, and made it to the waterfall at the end of Kalalau Beach in 2:02. I spent 5 minutes taking pictures, watching an insane surfer being towed by a jetski through the breaks, and soaking in the awesome scenery before turning back. I left the Waterfall at 2:07, crossed Hanakoa River at 3:02, and hit the trail head at 4:26:26.

It was a perfect day to be on the trail. There was no rain, which made for ideal trail conditions given how slippery the mud and rocks are when wet. The entire trail is runnable, even "Crawlers Ledge," however the footing is extremely technical at times which slowed down some of the major descents. And if the waterfalls, ocean, and hills do not distract you, then you're doing something wrong. During my run I carried an Ultimate Direction Peter Bawkin backpack with ~65oz of water, which was a perfect amount. For calories I had 3 GU's and a baby can of coke.

I set out on my run with a secondary goal of the FKT and a primary goal to enjoy the scenery. I spent about 25ish minutes taking pictures, enjoying the waterfalls, and talking to people along the way. I believe this trail can be accomplished in sub 4 hours with a serious attempt.

[Pierce Murphy]

Round trip 4 hours and 12 minutes. 
I am from Kauai, age 21. I run for the University of Colorado, Boulder now. I have ran the trail two times. I ran with a friend but a different person for each time. I ran 4:12 the first time then 4:06 the second time. Both times were in the summer of 2013. Both times we reached the water fall at Kalalau in 2 hours flat then came back slower. The first time we did not bring water or food so it was brutal. We drank out of streams and ate guava. The second time I was prepared and took off 6 minutes. It was by far the hardest run I have ever done!
Havnt heard of any faster time! I would like to break 4 hours this summer.

[Pierce M]

Dec 2, 2014 23:07:58 GMT -5 Pierce Murphy said:

Round trip 4 hours and 6 minutes. 
I am from Kauai, age 21. I run for the University of Colorado, Boulder now. I have ran the trail two times. I ran with a friend but a different person for each time. I ran 4:12 the first time then 4:06 the second time. Both times were in the summer of 2013. Both times we reached the water fall at Kalalau in 2 hours flat then came back slower. The first time we did not bring water or food so it was brutal. We drank out of streams and ate guava. The second time I was prepared and took off 6 minutes. It was by far the hardest run I have ever done!
Havnt heard of any faster time! I would like to break 4 hours this summer.