Another distressed hiker rescued from Kalalau Trail on day of inclement weather

Yet again, on a day of persistent heavy rainfall and flood conditions, Kaua‘i emergency personnel were tasked the afternoon of April 18 with rescuing another hiker from the famous 11-mile Kalalau Trail along Nā Pali Coast.

Friday’s rescue shortly after 2:30 p.m. was the sixth time since March 23 first responders were called to render assistance after one or more hikers, many of them visitors, found themselves in trouble while on the popular North Shore trail during bad weather conditions.

Kaua‘i Fire Department personnel with Līhu‘e Fire Station aboard Air 1 responded to the incident after receiving a report of a distressed 67-year-old South Carolina visitor who was hiking on the trail Friday afternoon.

A flood advisory was in effect for most of Friday morning as heavy rains deluged much of the island, beginning at about 3:30 a.m. and lasting until almost 11 a.m., with rain falling at rates of up to 3 inches per hour in some areas.

A flash flood warning was issued for the island shortly after 9 a.m., with Kaua‘i Emergency Management reporting water running over the Hanalei River Bridge. Streams, low-lying areas and other flood-prone locations were also bulging with water from the heavy rainfall.

Conditions quieted down and improved by about 11 a.m., with heavy rains tapering off and flooding no longer expected to pose a threat.

Before 3 p.m., however, heavy rain was again drenching the island, falling at up to 3 inches an hour in some spots.

Forecasters at the National Weather Service in Honolulu issued another flood advisory for the entire island for the next 3 hours as additional showers and thunderstorms were expected, causing the threat of streams and other flood-prone areas to again swell over their banks.

First responders on Air 1 arrived at the scene and discovered the distressed hiker at Hanakoa Shelter, near mile marker 6 on the Kalalau Trail.

The South Carolina visitor was loaded into the helicopter and taken to Princeville Airport, where upon landing was transferred to Hanalei Fire Station for further care.

First responders cleared the scene shortly after 4:30 p.m.

The last incident emergency personnel responded to on the Kalalau Trail was less than 2 weeks ago on April 8 involving a 48-year-old Tennessee visitor who was showing signs of apparent heat exhaustion.

Prior to that, the other four incidents were:

• A Utah visitor suffering from a leg injury was rescued the afternoon of March 23 from about 1.5 miles into the trail.
• Kaua‘i first responders rescued an Ohio visitor from near Hanakāpī‘ai Beach after the hiker suffered a shoulder injury while on the trail March 27.
• Dozens of hikers were stranded on the trail overnight April 3 after heavy rains caused Hanakāpī‘ai Stream to become too dangerous to cross. With no one needing medical attention, first responders advised the about 50 hikers to shelter in place to wait for water levels to recede and then hike out the next morning.
• Three visitors — one from Germany, another from California and one from Canada — were rescued April 4 amid inclement weather after suffering injuries that were not life-threatening. The trail was also closed at the time following the stranding of the about 50 hikers the night before.

“We continue to urge outdoor enthusiasts to avoid hiking during severe weather, as it can put them and our first responders at risk,” said Kaua‘i Fire Chief Michael Gibson in the Kaua‘i Fire Department report about the three hikers above being rescued April 4.