This post is off-topic – it has nothing to do with prescription medical product liability litigation, or even the law.  Bexis recently took a vacation on the island of Kauai, in Hawai’i, for the sixteenth time.  He hiked, for the tenth time, the first two miles of the Kalalau Trail, to Hanakapiai Beach.  That’s nice, but it’s not really an adventure.  The actual adventure begins at the beach itself.  Bexis is memorializing it here because he is getting old for this kind of thing, and he has not seen any description of this particular adventure in any travel book – even the Ultimate Kauai Guidebook − or online.

Bexis does not want his discovery to disappear without a trace, so he is detailing it here, on his blog.

To replicate Bexis’ adventure, first, do not bother with the difficult stream crossing where the trail meets the Hanakapiai Stream.  Instead make your way down the well-established, albeit unmarked, somewhat rough (big rounded rocks) path along the near (eastern) side of the stream.  You will pass some pleasant day lunch sites and freshwater pools.  Then you must clamber over the last of the large rocks to reach the sandy beach.

Note:  Hanakapiai Beach exists only in the summer months.  The ocean is far too rough and dangerous at any other time of the year to attempt this adventure.  It is also best pursued at low tide.

Facing the ocean (makai in Hawai’ian), adventurers should turn right (east) and follow the Hanakapiai Beach.  The cliffs gradually get closer to the ocean.  Some 50 yards to the east is a large, horizontal cave, perhaps what’s left of a million-year-old or more lava tube.  From the beach you will not see the back of this cave.  There may be a shelf of sand that you have to climb onto before entering the cave.  The amount of sand in the cave varies from visit to visit.

Once inside the cave, your eyes will adjust, and you can see the roof of the cave above.  Walk about 15 yards into the cave.  The ceiling in this part of the cave is quite high, and there is no need to stoop (yet).

After your vision is fully adjusted to the darkness of the cave, turn to the left (again, an easterly direction), facing away from the ocean (mauka in Hawai’ian).  In the distance you should see sunlight from the back entrance to the cave.  The sunlight will be quite distinctive against the cave’s darkness.  If there is no sunlight – abort the adventure.  That means the other end of the cave is filled with sand, and thus passage is impossible.

If, as Bexis did, you can see sunlight, move cautiously towards it.  Keep your hiking stick, or hand, in front of and above your head, because the roof of this part of the cave is much lower.  Bexis had to crawl on his stomach to get through the cave’s back entrance. (here’s a 2018- vintage video of the cave – but the sand was higher in 2026).

The back entrance of the cave leads to a small beach close to the ocean.  If the waves completely cover this beach, don’t go further, because the ocean at Hanakapiai is dangerous.

If this beach at the back of the cave is passable, the next part of the adventure is to climb up the rocks to the shelf that runs along the cliff face to the east of Hanakapiai Valley.  You will need a pair of water-resistant shoes for this next part.  The shelf is rough, but walkable, for about the next 300 yards or so.  Other than occasional spray, the waves should not be much of an issue, although it is never a good idea to turn your back entirely on the ocean.  Most of this part of the adventure involves walking and climbing across bare, sometimes jagged, lava rock.  The rest is residual patches of sand.  The winter storms prevent any plants from growing on the shelf.

Picking your way across this moonscape by the ocean will take 15-20 minutes.

The adventure reaches its destination when the shelf ends at a good-sized – but not nearly as large as Hanakapiai – beach.  The descent from the shelf to this beach is relatively easy, and the sand is every bit as soft as the sand on Hanakapiai Beach.  Here’s a picture:

Depending on the waves, and your inclination, you can spend an hour on this beach.  Bring snacks.  The near side of the beach features another good-sized sea cave (a bit of which is visible on the right side of the picture), which is home to numerous small sea birds, that will undoubtedly be annoyed by any human presence.  Beyond the cave, at the other end of the beach, is the waterfall that drops from the cliff above and cascades down the rocks.  The waterfall lands a pile of rocks rather than on the beach itself, so you can’t stand under it (probably a good idea, since that’s where the rocks came from) but as the picture shows the rocks are covered with lush inter-tidal vegetation.  That area is also home to numerous good-sized, but harmless, black crabs.  Except possibly in the early morning, the towering cliffs provide plenty of shade.

Repeat the process in reverse to return to Hanakapiai Beach.

That’s Bexis’ adventure.  A trip through a cave and then around a rocky, but quite passable point, to a deserted beach with its own cave and a lovely waterfall.  Bexis has successfully done this four times, with his family.  Bexis is now 70 years old, so if he can do it, so can any reasonably fit person who would like to experience a truly deserted beach in Hawai’i.

Hiking through caves and clambering over rocks to secluded beaches may or may not make me a better lawyer, but it’s fun.

Aloha.