After Swanzy Beach and the Crouching Lion Inn comes Kahana Valley State Park. Hoping to bypass the first gate by securing a permit and lock combination, I checked out the visitor office and found some brochures of the area outlining conservationist and archaeologist efforts in the valley. I asked him if we could have the combination and though he was eager to, he told me that they change and issue the numbers to employees every Friday - and that he had missed last Friday's meeting. I shrugged, thanked him, grabbed the flyers, and drove deeper into the park. I noted the small houses lining the grove of trees including a bunch of shacks obviously used for campouts.
Parking is outside of a main complex of homes both recently built and under construction.
After dropping off my friend at the gate, parking, then a brief 10-minute walk past 10, or so, homes, I came to the first gate. Following Stuart Ball's directions, we turned left, down the dirt road, and made our first crossing. I was astounded by how untouched the trail seemed to be. Ripe yellow guava hung from branches and littered the trail, many freshly fallen and palm-sized. I feasted on a snack of guavas collected trail-side.