Swamp Monsters and Other Tropical Tales

Just a few miles away from Kauai’s Waimea Canyon, “The Grand Canyon of the Pacific,” is the wettest of wilderness areas: the Alakai Swamp.

Lording over the swamp and dominating Kauai’s interior is the 5,080-foot peak of Mt. Waialeale (flowing water), by many estimates one of the wettest spots on earth with an average of 450 inches of rain per year. On the western slope of Waialeale lies the Alakai Swamp, a slimy 10-square-mile maze full of decomposing trees and some of Hawaii’s rarest native plants and birds. The Alakai is the great watershed of Kauai and from it numerous waterways descend to fill Kauai’s many lowland rivers and streams.

I set out toward the swamp on the Pihea Trail. Lined with red-flowered lehua trees, a multitude of mosses, ferns and white lichens, it offers a preview of bog life to come. The Pihea Trail, which means “din of voices,” descends along the eroded remains of a road to nowhere--a 1950s county project that quite literally became mired in mud when the road builders were stopped. A din of voices subsequently was raised by islanders who felt that a road traveling through Alakai Swamp and over the mountains to Hanalei Valley might indeed have been a tourist attraction and an engineering feat, but was certainly an ecological disaster in the making.

A mile from the trail head, a side trail ascends a short distance to the Pihea Lookout, which offers a breathtaking view of Kalalau Valley and a Hawaii untouched by human endeavors. Another three-quarters mile of travel brings you to a junction with the Alakai Swamp Trail, then it’s 1 1/2 more miles of mushy, switchbacking trails descending among the branches of Kawaikoi Stream.

Rain began falling as I slithered down the black and muddy trail into the swamp. A field telephone line left over from World War II zigzags along with the trail. The Alakai is flat, featureless, disorienting, especially under a cloud cover. Giant ferns and ghostly trees stick out of a mass of rotting vegetation. And yet there is color even here: brown and pale yellow mosses gather around the bog pools with violets that grow to the height of small trees.

Except for an oozy ill-defined trail, the Alakai appears untouched by the modern world. Cattle, pigs and even goats cannot penetrate its interior through the deep mire. No crops can be grown, no minerals are to be found. The swamp’s height--about 3,000 feet--means that the rare native birds are safe from mosquitoes and the diseases they spread.

Hawaii’s Queen Emma had heard legends of Waialeale and Alakai before deciding to pay this part of her kingdom a visit in 1870. Disconsolate after the deaths of her son and husband, she figured that the great beauty of this area was just what she needed to lift her spirits. In 1870, she took a retinue of 100--including dancers and musicians--down the Pihea Trail. Just before the party descended into the swamp, she called her dancers and musicians and asked them to perform. It must have been a magnificent moment, with the dancers leaping through the makaloa grass and the musicians sending their songs and notes into the great labyrinth below.

I could have used a few dancing maidens to brighten my day, I thought, as it began to pour. The mud that reached the top of my shoes at the beginning of the trail, mid calf in the middle of the trail, had now reached my knees, so I knew it was time to retreat. It’s one thing to bog down temporarily, and quite another to bog down permanently.

After reaching trail’s end at the Mohihi (Camp 10) Road, I returned the way I came, walking out of the muck primeval through a scene from the days when the planet was but half-formed.

Directions to trail head: From Lihue, drive west on Hawaii 50 to Waimea Canyon Drive. Go right and travel seven miles to Hawaii 550. Turn right and follow it past Kokee State Park to the end of the paved road at Puu o Kila Lookout.

In addition to Pihea Trail, the Alakai Swamp Trail is another splendidly mucky way into the swamp. However, four-wheel-drive is often required to reach the trail head. You can combine trails with Camp 10 Road for an amazing loop of the area. Obtain the latest trail and weather information at Kokee State Park headquarters. The state park also features rustic rental cabins, a restaurant and a campground.

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Pihea Trail Where: Alakai Swamp, Kauai. Distance: 7 miles round trip; 800- foot elevation loss and gain. Terrain: Nearly trackless bo untouched by the modern world. Highlights: Swamp primeva; rare native Hawaiian plants and birds. Degree of Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous. Precautions: Extremely muddy and slippery trails. Good boots a necessity. Clothes you wear will be permanently mud- stained. For More Information: Kokee Museum (at the state park) (808) 335-9975.