WAILUA — Alternative routes make hiking Sleeping Giant accessible to anyone willing to tie their shoes. At least once a week I rise by 6 a.m. to be on the west trail of Sleeping Giant by 7 to get a
WAILUA — Alternative routes make hiking Sleeping Giant accessible to anyone willing to tie their shoes.
At least once a week I rise by 6 a.m. to be on the west trail of Sleeping Giant by 7 to get a quick 40-minute workout before heading to an office where I sit on my behind all day.
This well-worn mountain draws visitors and locals alike. On any given day you’ll find yourself completely alone or passing a dozen other hikers going to and fro on the trail. Regardless, after eight years of hiking this trail regularly, it never feels crowded.
For a meandering start and a three-hour hike begin at the trail head off Kuamo‘o Road; for a 40-minute aerobic rush start in the Homesteads off Kamalu Road, or for a 90-minute workout with eastern exposure and killer views from top to bottom, begin in the Houselots.
One hiker I met while climbing the west trail rates the three treks as easy, medium and difficult. Roxanne MacDougall has lived at the foot of Sleeping Giant for 14 years and hikes this steep, shaded western ascent three times a week on average. Because of the incline she justifiably identifies this side as the most difficult.
While indeed the Kuamo‘o Road is the longest of the three, it offers dense shade and a lovely stopping point at a picnic table early in the hike. MacDougall rates this side as the easiest.
The Houselots trail head, with it’s friendly switch backs, is still a challenge due to the rough nature of the trail and a few points that require scrambling over rocks. She rates it second most difficult.
“If I could hike it everyday I would,” MacDougall said. “The smells, the sounds, the view — it’s sensory and spiritual.”
MacDougall confessed to her initial intimidation. She began getting in shape on a bike and eventually gained the confidence to attempt the climb.
“Now I am in the best shape I’ve ever been,” she said. “This is the world’s most beautiful Stairmaster. It’s aerobic and fat burning going up and going down it’s good for balance, agility and weight bearing — it builds bones. Your bones respond to the light concussion going down.”
Sleeping Giant drew Seth Renspurger and Rana Townend all the way from Wainiha.
“Sleeping Giant is a totally different feel from the North Shore with its pine trees,” said Renspurger. “It reminds me of the Pacific Northwest.”
“That’s one thing we love about hiking Kaua‘i,” Townend added. “There’s so many different hikes — from tropical to bamboo forests.”
Nearer to home was Kate Silliman hiking with her son Eddie and friend Stephanie Jannelli.
“I am trying to get out and about more. I live close to the beach and don’t get up here that much,” Silliman said. “Once you’re up here it feels really private. This is where God’s secret lives. It’s more like a whisper — where down on the ocean it screams to you.”
To hike the long and shaded Kuamo‘o Road trail drive up Kuamo‘o Road 2.3 miles and park on the shoulder. All the Sleeping Giant trails have trail head markers. For a shorter but steeper climb continue up the road to Route 581/Kamalu Road, turn right and drive two more miles. Turn right on Lokelani Road, just before it deadends at Olohena Road. Lokelani ends at the west trail head. For the trail starting at Wailua Houselots turn on Haleilio Road and drive one mile to the parking lot marking the trail head.
• Pam Woolway, lifestyle writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 257) or pwoolway@kauaipubco.com.
