17 Absolutely Essential Items for Camping, Squatting, or Living Long-Term in the Kalalau Valley 1. Spices – small plastic containers of potent powders and flavorful flakes like oregano, chili powder, garlic, onion, ginger, turmeric, lemongrass don’t weigh much and do wonders for occasionally feeling civilized in the middle the wilderness. Ditto for hot sauces.     2. Vacuum-sealed burritos – not everyone wants to catch fish, cut vegetab...

The morning of my second day in the Kalalau Valley, Isaac hands me a collapsible handsaw, shows me three dead trees, and tells me to split them. “These are guava,” he explains. “Java plum trees don’t burn well.” When I finish my work, I rinse my bandana in the stream. That afternoon we return to the beach via a path Isaac calls the “hippie highway.” It’s how those camping up valley get quickly to the ocean. About a quarter of a mile from the wate...