bojangles808
WKR
so i hiked the trail in december and was tempted to bring my bow but i never. weather forecast said it was supposed to pour. kinda glad i didnt its a long hike and very muddy dont think i would have liked packing out that deep. we hiked all the way to the kalalau campsite the first day and its 12 miles in with 5k elevation gain. left at 630 got there at 430. only saw a couple of goats after about 6 miles and they were in spots i would not want to hunt. very steep and slippery (at least in winter). i think the key is to go when they are rutting which is starting right now (at least on maui). we stayed a day in kalalau and then came back on the 3rd day. on the way back i saw a little bit more goats including a nice billie right off the trail at 20 yards (7/8mile mark?). he would have been dead if i had my bow. there really used to people so getting close i dont think would be a problem. issue with these billies is if they are on a cliff edge if you shoot them they sometimes jump of the cliff before you can recover. I lost two hunting last saturday this way.
for permits u need to book way out in advance your camping permit and for water i used iodine tablets and my buddy used a katadyn pump. we didnt get sick.
honestly imo if you are going to kauai though with the family id leave the bow at home. if you did hunt maybe do a day hunt on the kokee side of the island or hunt pigs with the toulons. the camping spot halfway in hamakoa isnt anything special the real gem is making it all the way to kalalau. its a pretty intense trek esp with kids to do in a day. if you were to do it (i dono how rugged your kids are) id probably hike in to hamakoa the 1st day, then make my way to kalalau beach hunting along the way the morning of the second day with the family. stay in kalalau 2nd night and hike out the 3rd hunting along the way. maybe camp in hamakoa again on the way out (can kids do 12 miles in a day?) but i think the hunting permits are only 3days so im not sure. for me though kauai is such a beautiful place personally id be spending most of my trip in hanalei at the beach with the kids.
heres some pics
for permits u need to book way out in advance your camping permit and for water i used iodine tablets and my buddy used a katadyn pump. we didnt get sick.
honestly imo if you are going to kauai though with the family id leave the bow at home. if you did hunt maybe do a day hunt on the kokee side of the island or hunt pigs with the toulons. the camping spot halfway in hamakoa isnt anything special the real gem is making it all the way to kalalau. its a pretty intense trek esp with kids to do in a day. if you were to do it (i dono how rugged your kids are) id probably hike in to hamakoa the 1st day, then make my way to kalalau beach hunting along the way the morning of the second day with the family. stay in kalalau 2nd night and hike out the 3rd hunting along the way. maybe camp in hamakoa again on the way out (can kids do 12 miles in a day?) but i think the hunting permits are only 3days so im not sure. for me though kauai is such a beautiful place personally id be spending most of my trip in hanalei at the beach with the kids.
heres some pics
Last edited: