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Hello there fellow traveler… Today we’re sharing an epic story of hiking Kaena Point, a friendly reminder to always be cautious while traveling.
And who doesn’t love a good story every now and then?!
So we decide last minute to hike Kaena Point, a local told us it was a serious MUST DO, and we’re spontaneous like that.
We start our journey to catch the sunset at the point. It is an absolutely stunning hike on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Hawaiian seas.
We are walking along being sure to capture some epic photos. Stopping along the way to take in the scenery. When suddenly a man comes out from behind us…
Let me try and paint you a picture of this man…
He is tall and lanky, with no shirt and no shoes.
Now I can understand the no shirt, it’s a hot day, but as I stated this hike is on a mountainside. The trail is covered in rocks; no shoes would just be painful.
So okay, maybe he is just ill prepared? He is carrying a backpackers bag and a women’s shoulder bag covered with pink flowers. He has long brown, greasy hair and dirt marks all over him.
We are a little on edge already because when we arrived there a policeman pulls up, so Andrew goes to ask if we can park here.
He says “yes but be mindful of the area, weird things have been happening.”
Andrew obviously asks “like what kind of things.”
He says… “just things, keep an eye out.”
Not sure what we were supposed to be keeping an eye out for but ok.
Things progress from strange to super strange…
He stops to chat, while we take pictures and then walks with us. I attempt small talk session number 1.
Me: “Are you camping out here?”
Him: “…If it gets to that point.”
Then he takes off ahead of us.
No bye, nothing, just takes off. Okay, so maybe he’s just lonely?
Odd moments continue to progress… There is a gate separating the hike from the seabird sanctuary.
So that people don’t bring in dogs and so you can wipe off your feet before progressing. The strange man is waiting on the other side of the gate for us. I now attempt small talk session number 2.
Me: “So where are you from?”
Him: **with super thick foreign accent** “Cali”
Me: “Ohhhhhhhh, how long have you been in Oahu?”
Him: “few weeks.”
Andrew: “So what else have you hiked.”
Him: (with a chuckle) “not sure.”
We approach a fork in the road.
Me: “Which way now? Oh, there’s tire marks here, that’s odd how did those get there?”
Andrew: “I think that the police patrol the area to make sure everyone is obeying the rules of the park.”
Scary hiker man now JETS off in the opposite direction of us… No goodbye, no telling us anything just runs away.
Okay. So we should probably turn around at this point, no?
Nah. We came to see the sunset so let’s see it:
We head back from Kaena point post sunset in the dark, with only an iPhone flashlight.
We look up at the mountainside in front of us and low and behold who do we see?? None other than our scary hiker friend sitting on the edge staring down at us with a flashlight.
Now this hike is on a cliff, and we are now in the pitch dark and I mean dark, the kind of darkness that I have never seen before.
If we did not have our phones, our happy hiking butts would have been sleeping in the sand. Luckily we had two phones and decided to live Periscope on the way back, ya know so people would know if we were kidnapped, where we were.
We walk with a purpose, checking behind ourselves more than frequently, with our hearts pounding and our minds racing, we make it back to our car.
Always be vigilant on a hike, especially at night.
You never know who could be lurking around you.
P.S. don’t let this scare you away from hiking Kaena Point, it is amazing!
