The Nualolo/Lolo Vista, Nualolo Cliffs, and Awa'awapuhi trails can be combined to make a semi-loop, with the start and end trailheads separated by a bit more than a mile of road. After dropping off wife and packs at the Kokee Lodge/Museum area, I staged the car at the Awa'awapuhi trailhead and jogged (mostly downhill) back and started the hike in earnest.
After a brief climb over a hill, the Nualolo trail descends steadily through a forest which gradually opens up, eventually yielding views of the ocean and exposing large expanses of red dirt. This area of Kauai is drier than the Alakai swamp, and definitely drier than the lush Wailua valley leading to the Blue hole. Surprisingly, a few pine trees eventually appeared, which somehow didn't at all seem out of place among the warm, dry, and open hills in this area.
As the trail neared the Lolo Vista viewpoint, the trail followed a red ridge:
From this ridge we enjoyed views into the inaccessible-by-land Nualolo Valley appeared.
The Nualolo trail ends abruptly, and obviously, at "Lolo Vista", named after a nearby benchmark.
Hawaii has many warning signs, which hikers tend to regard more as suggestions... Thus everyone went beyond this "End" sign to find a better view, which included views north along the Na Pali Coast.
Just left of center at maybe 10:00 from Bop's tail, you can see the red hill which marks where the Kalalau Vallley trail makes its final descent to the beach; in a few days, Bop and I would be looking back at Lolo Vista from here. There is no direct road or trail connection from Lolo Vista--or anywhere in the Waimea/Kokee area--to the Kalalau Valley or trail.
After backtracking a bit, we returned to the junction with the Nualolo Cliffs trail, a connector which joins with the Awa'awapuhi trail. There is a short segment of this trail that has some loose rock and exposure--nothing too serious, and certainly not in the same league as parts of the Kalalau trail.
Eventually the Nualolo Cliffs trail reaches another junction, where another spur descends a bit to the Awa'awapuhi viewpoint. This picture, taken past the warning signs, shows that everyone obeys them:
Since the Awa'awapuhi trail is shorter than the Nualolo/Lolo Vista trail, this viewpoint was much more crowded. The view into Nualolo valley wasn't as good due to the lighting, and there were no great views along the Na Pali coast. It's not a bad viewpoint, but Lolo Vista is superior.
The trail back to the Awa'awapuhi trailhead was a mostly viewless, and increasingly warm, ascent through forest, with an occasional flower along the way.
More Pictures
