Adventure Travel Gone Wrong on Kauai

By Alex Salkever

Adventure travelers already know that Kauai is Hawaii's best bet for waterfalls, and that it's blessed with copious rainfall (making Mount Waialeale one of the wettest places on Earth). But most of those waterfalls are on private property. And while waterfalls may be pretty to look at, they aren't necessarily as safe as plunge pools.
With guidebooks printing detailed maps for bushwhacking through private property to get to these waterfalls, Kauai's cataracts have gotten crowded and, according to the rescue workers in Kauai County, dangerous. The worst offender is probably Puhi Falls, a mild-looking waterfall just 20 feet high--that still manages to send one jumper a day to the local hospital.
The guidebooks have likely resulted in two off-the-beaten-path deaths already, albeit not at Puhi, after falling off a trail to some hidden cascades. County officials are incensed, as are private landowners, but that's not yet stopping the popularity of Kauai's plentiful falls.