Kaupo GapTrail

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Page Type: Route

Location: Hawaii, United States, Australia/Oceana

Lat/Lon: 20.71350°N / 156.256°W

Route Type: Hike

Time Required: A long day

Difficulty: Walk up

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Page By: Don Nelsen

Created/Edited: Sep 14, 2004 / Mar 19, 2007

Object ID: 162166

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Page Score: 86.94% - 4 Votes

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Table of Contents

Approach

Take Hwy 37 as described in the "Getting There" section but continue on south past the junction to the summit to where the road becomes Hwy 31. Follow this increasingly narrow, winding road toward Kaupo. About a mile and a half before Kaupo, the road changes to well-graded gravel but is still a good road. The trail starts 1.8 miles up the gravel road to the right of the store on the left (landward) side of the highway. (The store may or may not be open at any given time, so be sure to have acquired what you need for this hike before you get to here)

Route Description

In order to gain the full 10,000 vertical on this trek you will have to make your way down the road and start at the beach about .8 mile and 320 vertical feet below the store. The only way I could see to do this is go east .5 mile on the hwy, turning south on a side road and following it down to the beach another .3 mile. This is private land and there's no trail as such.

Once at the right hand side of the Kaupo store, facing the mountain, go to the end of the gravel road. The trail starts out as a jeep road eventually turning into a regular trail. This is private land until you cross the park boundary but the owners have given hikers permission to pass. The trail winds up the Kaupo Gap through dry land scrub for about 3.0 miles to the park boundary. Continue on up the hill. After about 3.8 miles more, pass the junction leading to the Paliku shelter taking the left fork. The most direct route to the summit is to always take the left forks for the rest of the trail. The last few hundred yards of trail are on the summit road, finally arriving at the 10,023 ' summit. Congratulations! You've just done over 10,000 vertical in one continuous hike! Now all you have to do is fill your water bottles at the visitor center and return on the same trail - (yeah, sure!)

Essential Gear

The trail is rough in sections and there is virtually no shade so good footwear, a hat and sunscreen are neccesary. There is no water for the entire approx. 18 miles so bring plenty. You start out firmly in the tropics but end up in the subarctic so light gloves and a windbreaker may be useful as well, especially in winter months.

You are unlikely to see anyone on the Kaupo section of this trail and very few people, if any, until you are within about 4 miles of the summit on the Sliding Sands Trail so know what you are getting into and plan accordingly.

Miscellaneous Info

If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.