Two hikers from California perished on the island of Kauai today after they plunged hundreds of feet from a steep and at places treacherous trail leading to the base of Opaekaa Falls. This tall waterfall is a popular tourist attraction but mostly viewed from the the road by tourists. There is a trail that goes to the falls over state lands and in many places the path is girded by ropes to guide hikers down. Rescue officials don't know exactly where the two female hikers took a wrong turn but another hiker found the bodies 35 feet from the base of the falls. This is a sober reminder that Hawaii remains a wild place and Mother Nature provides such beauty at a price in terms of risk and danger. There are dozens of injuries in the oceans or on the trails each year. Hiker deaths are very rare, however. Here's a post from WaterfallsWest describing the trail down.

To reach the base of 'Opaeka'a Falls, continue on Kuamo'o Rd. past the viewpoint for 0.4 miles to an unsigned turnout on the right (opposite some houses). There is a trail here with a sign indicating not to proceed due to dangerous conditions. It is not illegal to go on this trail but it is quite difficult and slippery, especially if it has been raining recently. The trail leads down to 'Opaeka'a Stream, right near the top of the falls. You need to cross the stream, which is not difficult, but you will most likely need to get your feet wet. 'Opaeka'a Stream and falls seems to have fairly constant flow throughout the entire year. After crossing the stream, find a faint trail leading downstream and away from the falls, and up a small hill. When you reach the top of this hill, you will come to an open area. Proceed across the open area to find a faint and hard-to-see pig trail leading through the bushes. Be careful here because there is what looks like a steep rocky path leading straight down the cliff. Obviously, people have gone down this way, and when I was here I almost turned back because it looked too dangerous to continue down this way. But this is not the right path. The correct path is further up and leads straight through some bushes. It starts out somewhat level, but soon drops down to the bottom. It is steep and slippery. Fortunately, there are ropes along the way to guide you down. Without the ropes there, it would have been torturous getting down this section when I was here because it was quite rainy and those tree roots in Hawaii are incredibly slippery.

I would say there is a significant chance that the visitors taking this hike read about it in Kaui Revealed, a guidebook by Andrew Doughty. These guidebooks are extremely comprehensive to the point of being quite dangerous. I'll write about these books -- which some are calling Hawaiis' most dangerous guide books -- in another post shortly.

—Alex, 12/20/06