I’ve been based on the road the past few years. I was cruising in my van for the past 6 months doing a cross-country road trip around the U.S with friends. I’m currently backpacking around the Hawaiian Islands during the winter…

I had a calling to go to the island of Kaua’i for years. I finally jumped on that plane last winter. I kept hearing about how sacred and beautiful the land was, and many people had spoken to me of Kalalau Valley. I had also been getting flashbacks of previous incarnations I’ve had on the land for quite some time. I was backpacking around the U.S. for 5 months before cruising out to Hawai’i. I was excited to go on adventures and connect with various communities.

I initially landed on a property where I did some gardening work, in return for a place to sleep. After a few days, someone I met there came up on an old island cruiser and we ended up ditching the farm to go camping. I got a hammock along with some other gear, as the adventures were upon us.

You can legally camp out on most beaches if you have a fishing pole by your side. I felt incredibly blissful, waking up next to a beautiful ocean with the sun shining in my face and the sound of the waves crashing. After a few days I couldn’t stop thinking about how ridiculous the idea is of going back to a city and paying a bunch of money to sleep indoors.

I ended up meeting up with another friend later on in the week. He told me that he was sleeping in the jungle and that it would be cool if I joined. You had to walk through some bushes and down a slippery dirt trail while holding on to ropes to get down to camp.  I was going on random journeys while exploring the land during the day, and squatting in the jungle at night.

One of my favorite places I visited was the Hindu Monastery. I saw the biggest quartz crystal I’ve ever laid eyes upon in one of the prayer rooms in the temple.

It felt amazing being able to meditate in that room. The energy there was overwhelming.

After frolicking around the island for a few weeks I was finally getting the itch to head out to Kalalau. All signs pointed that direction. The hike there is quite an experience; the trail lasts 11 miles along the Na Pali coastline. It’s absolutely breathtaking.

It was an amazing feeling to finally get there after trekking for that long. The beach and surrounding valley reminded me of a mix between Thailand and Machu Picchu. I hiked in on Thanksgiving Day with a duffle bag full of food and set up camp next to a huge waterfall. It was a blessing to have access to such potent water during my time there.

 I met some incredibly fascinating people who had been staying in the vicinity for quite some time. I’d occasionally scavenge passion fruit and guava, and we’d have full moon potlucks by the beach. I had a lot of space to go inward; read, meditate, connect with nature and the feral folk scattered around throughout the valley.  My adventure there lasted for 2 weeks. It was incredibly inspiring.

It was probably the only place I’ve had a legitimately hard time leaving. I ran out of food – the thought of hiking back out to restock and coming back for a few more weeks definitely crossed my mind. Over a few conversations around the campfire I’d heard about the Big Island and how lovely their community is. The idea of knowing that there is so much more out there to explore kept me from staying in Kalalau for longer. I booked a ticket and decided to island hop once I hiked back out. I did some more exploring around Kaua’i for about a week before flying out, including Waimea Canyon, which is known to be the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.

I was fortunate enough to carry the flow of Kalalau onto Big Island as synchronicities and magical adventures followed me throughout my stay. Big Island, like its name, is much larger and more developed than Kaua’i. There are endless crevices to explore. Everything feels so alive.

There’s a bunch of nomads and hippies scattered around the east/southeastern coast of the island. I ended up getting vortexed in that region and spent the majority of my time getting familiar with the local community. I got a chance to live in various eco-villages and learn more about sustainability, communal living and permaculture. Learning these skills is still one of my main focuses.

After spending a few weeks on different farms,and exploring the land, I headed to a regional Rainbow Gathering with some friends. All in all, I spent about 3 months between Kaua’i and the Big Island. I made some beautiful connections, explored landscapes I’ll never forgot and managed to stay warm and full of adventure during the winter.

Words and images by John Kilar.

Shot on an Olympus Infinity Stylus point and shoot.