Lonomea

As we watched Kaua'i weather rainstorm after rainstorm and river levels rise higher than average/safe, we wondered if our backpacking trip to Lonomea would happen over spring break.  Kate was as anxious as anyone, convinced that this HAS to be an annual event and claiming heartbreak before it was even decided.  Ultimately, we shifted our trip from 3 days to 2, hopeful the river levels would drop enough to make all the packing effort worth it.

The morning of, the kids got a package of luck delivered by Leprechauns, and by safe river levels allowing us to head out.

We delivered our dog to boarding for a "mere" $85/day and headed to meet the group.  (Note to self: this is why I cannot get another dog.)  Heidi showed up without an injured Nic but with a car full of teenage boys.  We deemed her "Camp Counselor" for the trip.

I am unsure what the difference is between hiking and backpacking for my kids but they are all in for backpacking and whine every time about hiking.  Owen said his backpack was "infinity heavy" but he carried it most of the way.

Hot, sunny trail on the way down the canyon.  Brady's knee has been a constant issue for him since November and the trail down was tough, but thankfully his knee didn't seem to get worse.

The first river crossing made me jumpy.  Waist-high with a moderate current.  The group took shoes and socks off for the first crossing but quickly realized that was futile and kept them on for the next few.

On the third, Kate accidentally slipped and fell in, drenching her sleeping bag.  The weather was nice so we were able to dry it out at camp. 

I beat Zachary badly at "Farkle" the day before, and he owed me a Diet Coke.  He begged for a rematch, and his winning prize was a loaf of white bread to take on the trip.  It was a happy moment for him.  He would eat only white bread for every meal if that was an option.

Retrospectively, I wish I had been a little more relaxed about two things: food and bug spray.  We had two small containers of repellent but the mosquitos were rampant and nothing makes me as uptight as looking down at my legs and spotting 6 mosquitos at a time.  One of the teens claimed we had his bug spray (false) and used almost all of one of the containers.  I was feeling all kinds of panic, trying to show it only to Brady, who saved me with a mosquito net that I wore shamelessly.  

Brady and I also debated heartily about the amount of food to bring.  I am convinced I eat more food than him (always) and have a fear of hunger on backpacking trips originating from one of our first trips together.  I discussed the food fears with him probably 15 times on the trip and I hope he will forget my anxiety.  He was sure we would be taking food home with us and of course he was correct.  (Granted, if the river had risen and we were stuck for the night, we would have been starving.  I will be backing in more food next time.)

We made it to the falls and played for a couple hours.  The water was so cold but the rocks soaked up the scattered sunshine and warmed us up. 

The teen boys were such a party!  Of all their creative ways to make it down the river, this train was my favorite.

Love the faces we all pull headed downstream.

Kate struggled down the river her first time around and felt some embarrassment after getting stuck under the falls.  I was proud of her for trying again and not letting the moment define her experience.

Next up, the raging big falls.  The water flow was heavy and I was chilled, so just took photos of kids as they went down.

Zachary was anxious about jumping but played with his hair and then took the plunge.  Once he and Cedric jumped, the older boys each leaped as well. 

Ty celebrating staying on the tube all the way down:

It took an hour of consistent effort to get a fire started with the wet wood.  In the meantime, Derek and Hilary showed up with their dog, Poncho.  They returned from a medical service trip to the Marshall Islands at 8am that morning and earned a badge of respect for making the trek on the heels of that trip.  However, we were all concerned about Sonia and Spencer and their girls, whose car was parked at the trailhead hours before Derek and Hilary started down the canyon.  We knew it was likely they took a wrong turn.  It was dark and Brady and Derek prepped to go after them when their family crawled into camp.  They did in fact make a wrong turn, adding miles of extra terrain and some raging crossings to their girls' inexperienced backpacking legs.  We were all relieved they made it, especially with Penelope's lost hiking shoe in the process.

After eating Mountain House dinners (never again on an overnight...!), prepping hot cocoa for the kids and sautéed salami with easy cheese for Brady, and hearing a dramatic story of broken down hotel doors in the night from Derek, we tucked in for the world's most interrupted sleep.  Owen, after his 4th trip to the bathroom in 4 hours, "Wow, I have a lot of pee tonight." #campinglife

Not-exactly-fresh Kaua'i shrimp.

Zac's face was attacked and he easily had 100 bites.  His left eye was nearly swollen shut.  Derek had allergy meds which helped relieve the swelling, and although he was crushed to look swollen, he did a good job snapping out of it and making the best of the day.

We originally planned to be back for a work dinner at 5:30pm which would prevent us from making the extra 4 mile, round trip hike to the falls, but Nassib somehow had cell service and we were able to cancel the dinner and head back to play.

What had been a boys-dominated weekend was infiltrated with girls on day 2.  Hooray for friends!

Owen was the first out of camp and chatted with me the entire time.  We played "Name that Animal" for a straight hour.  His early start with me made it so we all arrived at about the same time.  

Kate had no fear on day 2, taking her friends for their first time.  She was all smiles.

We went to the big falls for a few quick trips off the cliffs before heading back to camp.  I really do not love cliff jumping but I also couldn't stand the FOMO.  It took me a solid 5 minutes before I jumped--after Kate who led the charge!

The waterfall was much less intimidating.

Back to camp and time to climb out of the canyon!

One last shot of the leftover group--Ty, Cedric, and Zachary took off early.

Camp Counselor Heidi.  Major respect for this girl doing a backpacking trip without Nic.

The rivers dropped visibly from the day before and crossings were easier.

The kids encouraged each other on.  Halfway up, Kate, Tate and Shay took off while I helped Penelope. Owen was the champ of the group, gabbing and encouraging everyone up the difficult path.  I ended up connecting with Heidi when Penelope dropped back to be with her family.  When we were nearly to the top, Derek was running down the trail with cold Gatorades.  I hate Gatorade but oh boy, it is delicious when you are depleted!  

Owen, Kate and Zachary all agreed it was the trip was best thing we've done here in a long time and definitely the highlight of spring break.  For me, the best part was driving home and discussing it all together.  We were laughing and happy and connected.  

A few quotes...

"Lasagna in bags...does it make you fart?"

"Cup of noodles is SO GOOD." 

"I don't need any more sunscreen!"