Paradise Found - Hanalei Bay, Kauai

In winter 2025, Tung and I planned a trip to Kaua'i, as many of us in California tend to do! I had been planning to spend four days hiking the infamous-but-legendary Kalalau Trail, something I had done twice before. However, there were massive Kona Low storms forecasted, and we had to cancel the trip. It ended up raining so much that the state park had to close the trail!

So, I planned a return trip in early summer, which is a typically less stormy time of year. I secured another permit to backpack the Kalalau Trail (which can be easier said than done!), then Tung would fly out and we'd spend a week on the north shore together. The summer sun angles are much more favorable for this stunningly beautiful side of the island, and the water is calmer for swimming, so perhaps this whole thing was a blessing in disguise! I peeped at the weather forecasts and they didn't look amazing, but not awful, scattered showers most days.

Well, things didn't quite go as planned. I found out while I was ON THE PLANE that it rained a lot more than expected the previous day, and the trail was closed AGAIN!

So, I'm on a plane, it's landing in an hour, I have no rental car because I'd hired a ride to the trailhead, I have no suitcase because Tung's bringing it after my backpacking trip, I have nowhere to sleep because I had planned to be backpacking, I have no change of clothes, no beach towel, nothing! I don't have my full camera bag, no tripod, just my camera with one lens. It was the first time in my travels that I've truly been stranded.

Scrambling, I text Tung from the plane, telling him what happened. He's able to book a last-minute rental car for me for the week. I run to the store and buy a beach towel, keep myself clean enough with the ocean and beach showers, and eat plenty of good food. The hard part is sleeping, but I'm able to make it work at county campgrounds. It definitely wasn't the plan, but I could think of worse places in the world to be stranded :)

Sooooo... did I ever get to hike the trail? The park is making announcements each morning, that it is still closed, still closed, still closed. This sunrise was one of those mornings. I've driven near the trailhead at the crack of dawn to be ready if they announce it's open... but alas, it's not. So, this photo wasn't supposed to happen at all, but I guess it worked out that it did!

I end up driving to the permit office just after this. I'm there for over two hours, an amazing manager is able to slot me in for the tail end of my trip, IF I move my flights and extend my rental car. Learning my lessons, I make sure to keep my original reservations and book everything refundable. It still rains almost every day for two weeks, and the trail opens and closes again through the week, but when my permit day comes, it's open and I am THERE! It still rains a good amount, but that's just part of life at this point. The light is just incredible the entire time. No rain, no rainbows!

I am not a morning person, but this side of the island gets breathtaking light in the morning, sooooo, I ended up going out almost every morning. I photographed 20 sunrises/sunsets in 14 days!

Sometimes, things don't go according to plan, regardless of how much we plan-- but it's how we respond in those situations that matters. I came away with more photos on this trip than I have on almost any other!

With low clouds and showers, the weather changes quickly on the windward side. One location may be clouded in, while just a few miles away, there could be an impressive light show. Thankfully, I've chased light full-time for a decade, so, challenge accepted!

This was one of my favorite mornings, standing on the balcony with an incredible double rainbow that lasted for an entire half an hour, dramatic light on the 4000-foot mountains, and beautiful golden sand and turquoise waters below. It definitely was paradise found. I hope you enjoy it!