Hike Kaua'i With Me, LLC — Local services in Kauai

First - the hike. Patrick was a great guy and we had a great conversation and hike together. We ended up on the Makaleha Trail, first ones out in the morning. If you've done the trail, you'll know there are some pink flags along the way and it's usually not hard to pick up the trail, never more than a hundred feet from the river. It's challenging for sure, with mud and some tree falls, boulder hopping, etc. Great payoff at the end with a nice two tier falls.

Now - the communication. I found Eric's company through a Google search. As others have commented, I communicated very clearly that I was looking to hike to the Blue Hole, and arranged the trip when I was on the South Shore (after having been on the North Shore) in anticipation of that. (If it's not allowed or advisable to hike the Blue Hole, that's fine, but had I known that I would not have arranged a guided trip).

In retrospect, I should have been aware that that is not where I was headed. I received a couple of boilerplate emails from Eric, and instructions to meet Patrick at Kealia Beach Park. When I arrived and mentioned the Blue Hole, Patrick mentioned that this was never communicated to him, he didn't have the right gear for that trip, it was a bit far from where we were parked, and that he only had half a day to hike. So on to Makahela we went. I've done a lot of hiking while here, brought my own gear, and this is one that I undoubtedly could have done on my own, but I will say it was not on my radar. However, it didn't justify the $300+ price tag, which I thought was fair for a guided trip in an off-trail, hard to navigate part of the backcountry. It was way too much for a hike up the Makahela Trail. As others have said, on the way back we passed several groups headed out without guides, on their own.

If you are going to book with Eric (whom it would seem is a middle man who connects people who contact him to local guides), make sure you very clearly communicate your wishes to him, and make sure you get a confirmation back on exactly what it is you are going to do.

I'll close by saying, again - Patrick was a great guy and we had a great hike together, and he knows the island. I'd hike with him again for sure. However, if you arrange a trip with Eric, be specific about your wishes and get confirmation back if there is a specific trip...

In my humble opinion, this was not worth the time or money spent.

I originally contacted Eric to see if it was possible to hike to the Blue Hole. He was very clear that it was not. (And correctly so).

But he said that he had other "unique" guided hikes that I might be interested in. I thought about it a while and decided that based on the reviews and the price that maybe there was something that he could show us that we may not be able to find on our own with a good trails guide. So I signed up.

We met out guide, Anna, and we followed her to a trail head a mile or so out of Princeville. The hike was a pretty simple walk up a well marked trail that lead to an OK view of Hanalei Bay. That was about it. Several times on the trail, we met other hiking groups who were just walking up on their own. So, I felt pretty stupid for having shelled out $350 and a tip for this.

Now, maybe if it had been raining buckets, finding the trail and doing the hike may have been a bit more difficult, but if it had been so, I wonder if I would have wanted to even go. That trail with the view of the inside of a cloud would have been very uninteresting.

To compound the futility, our guide, Anna, gave us the clear impression that she would have rather been anywhere else than guiding us up the trail. Whether she was a bit embarrassed by taking $350 from a couple of gullible tourists for a pretty simple walkabout or whether she just didn't much care for being a guide, I do not know, but it was clearly a negative vibe. We took a couple of guided kayak tours whilst in the Islands and a day trip with Holoholo Charters and had very positive experiences with guides on those tours. After Anna roared off from the trail head, my wife and I looked at each other and in unison said "boy is she curt".

At any rate, save yourself a bunch of money and more importantly, trail time and skip this, unless you have a very clear understanding that you will not see something that you could not easily find on your own.

In Hawaii, you live and learn, but maybe you can learn from...

I am a 47 y/o female and did a solo hike with Eric and had a fantastic time. We met before sunrise and hit it off from the start. Not being in very good shape and having had foot surgery, I was a bit concerned about being able to accomplish a 4 hour hike, but Eric immediately put me at ease and I completed the hike at my pace and thoroughly enjoyed it. Eric is so smart! He knows all the ins and outs of the island and not just the terrain. We talked about everything! I asked advice on other hikes, places to eat, etc and he offered history lessons, hiking tips and would even offer a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on if need be. I would not hesitate to book a hike with him again. They are tailored to your needs and it is YOUR hike. You set the pace and make the experience your own. The scenery was beautiful and Eric offered to take pictures of me and allowed himself to be in some goofy pictures too! He is kind, hilarious and extremely informative and knowledgeable. At no point did I feel unsafe on this hike. Prior to the hike, Eric kept the lines of communication open, so I felt at ease with the meet up spot and had no trouble getting to the trailhead. Half way through my hike it started to rain, which in my opinion made it even more fun and beautiful. Eric thought it was cool that I didnt mind the rain and one of my favorite things to do was grab a Koa tree for a hand hold and give myself a "shower." Girls: no need to do your hair or makeup, just put a hat on and go!! :) At the end of our hike I had brought along a couple of cold Coronas and even some wedges of lime and we both had a beer in the rain, sitting on the back of Eric's truck! My coolness factor exploded and I made a great memory and another new friend. Thanks for such a wonderful and beautiful hike, Eric! See you again soon! Robin Kramer Green Bay, WI

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