You cannot drive the circumference of Kauai, and where the road ends on the lush north shore of the island is a beach called Kee. There, at what should be the quiet turnaround point for Sunday holoholo drives, is a chaotic jumble of rental cars parked wherever the drivers can squeeze them in. It is the end of civilization and the beginning of what is called a wilderness trail that has become a crowded, unmanaged and unmanageable danger zone for people who don’t know any better and those who think caution is for losers.

So how is it that the state’s solution to this chaos is to build a bridge in the wilderness to make the wilderness less wild?

It’s harm reduction, like giving condoms to teenagers or providing needle exchanges for IV drug users.

People are going to do risky things no matter what. They’ll ignore warning signs. They’ll sneak under barbed wire. They’ll wait until the guard is on break and rush the barricade. They’ll climb right over fences. They’ll shrug at stormy skies and figure that rain won’t dare ruin their vacation.

The best that can be done is try to manage the risk, and the state has no better alternative.

As it stands, 2,000 people a day — A DAY! — go tromping through Kalalau Trail and crossing Hanakapiai Stream two miles in. Hapless hikers get into all sorts of trouble, like twisted ankles, slipping down slopes, and medical crises for some who just aren’t fit enough to walk that far.

Perhaps the most dangerous threat to human life is Hanakapiai Stream, which can go from a crossable flow to a raging flood in a flash. When Hanakapiai is rising, hikers often take a chance rather than wait on the other side for help. People have died. The ones who have been rescued — from bad weather or bad falls or bad hearts or bad decisions — present a risk to rescuers from the Fire Department every time.

Some have called for the worst of the goofballs to have to reimburse the county for the cost of their rescue, which is often via a fire department helicopter, which is probably not as fun as it sounds. The argument against this, of course, is that it would deter people who need help from calling for help, thus potentially making their situation worse.

So what else can the Department of Land and Natural Resources do but propose to build a half-million-dollar bridge spanning 82 feet over Hanakapiai Stream, if not for the the sake of the unending roster of dopey hikers who can’t wait to get themselves in trouble, then for the safety of the Kauai firefighters who have to go save them?

But it is frustrating that Hawaii taxpayers have to pay for the insistent folly of people who just aren’t satisfied to sit safely in a chaise lounge and order drinks from the pool bar.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.