Aiea Ridge to Stairway to Heaven

Some of us went to Hell and some of us went to Heaven today. Some of us got two for the price of one. Just depended on how much sweat and tears one wanted to pay for the price of admission.

Thanks to Quan and Lilyn for dropping Jennifer, Katie, Tessa and myself off at the Keaiwa Heiau State Recreation Area where only campers and chickens populated the park.

Looking towards all the ridges that connect to the Ko’olau Mountain Range. Photo by Katie Bingham.

Nobody was edited out of this photo.

Traversing the open saddle. Photo by Katie Bingham.

Enjoying the scenic views from the 2,441′ hill. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Basking in the manmade and natural views.

A lot of sign waving was going on, I just wanted to make my mama saimin.

Taking out the trash and possibly releasing my frustration on somebody that was not here to share the load. LOL.

Leaving the 2,805′ summit. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Looking back at all the Windward valleys with their ridges and peaks.

Hiking on the windswept ridge with views of Kaneohe Bay ahead of us. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

We contoured around the protected plant enclosure where some of us almost got blown down into the valley.

This valley, that had stunning views stretching all the way as far as H3 snaking through Halawa Valley.

Working our way back towards the ridge.

Going up and down false peaks that delayed the scenic gratification. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Almost there, just past this small peak. Photo by Katie Bingham.

Going down the grassy ridge with sweeping views. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Welcome to Hell. May your stay be a pleasant one.

The best stairway view. Hands down. You just have to work a little harder for these views.

Panoramic view as we left Hell.

Jenn going down the stairs that Mother Nature is slowly reclaiming. Photo by Katie Bingham.

The girls making their way along the rusted cable. Everybody’s tetanus shots are up to date?

Climbing up what’s left of the last stair section that is slowly rusting away. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Leaving hell behind us as we warmed up. Quite the contradiction. Photo by Jennifer LaRochelle.

Traversing the ridge line with spectacular views of the valleys and mountains around us. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Our ending destination as framed by the rusty geodic marker.

We found two things on the ridge today, one was anticipated and the other was unexpected. I found somebody’s black jacket with camera inside that was returned to its rightful owner. Katie found or perhaps, roughly 30 bees found her and left a stinging impression. Props to her for keeping her head and not panicking and running off the ridge. My webbing didn’t reach that far. Photo by Katie Bingham.

Anybody got benadryl? The swelling and itching would come later. Photo by Jennifer LaRochelle.

Leaving the summit for crumbly ridges. Photo by Katie Bingham.

Scooting our way down the crumbly edge of the cliff.

Passing the small meadow on our left as we descended down the ridge. Photo by Katie Bingham.

Katie and Tessa climbing their way down.

Making our way through a patch of trees. Photo by Katie Bingham.

Jenn lowering herself down slowly the crumbly section.

Uki grass is your constant companion and friend in the mountains. Photo by Katie Bingham.

Tessa on the scenic rock. Photo by Katie Bingham.

Katie coming down the rocky ridge line. Photo by Jennifer LaRochelle.

Are we supposed to be contouring or climbing?

The girls coming down the last hill on the Western half of the saddle.

It was the end of the road for Jenn and Katie as they went down to the valley floor. Kudos to Jenn for working through her anxiety of doing cross overs. She handled the ridges like a champ. Our group still grew in size with the addition of Aida, Ed, Lilyn and Sally who met us at the top. Photo by Katie Bingham.

Group photo left to right: Lilyn, Sally, Aida, Tessa, me, Jenn, Katie and Ed. Photo by Sally Chow.

Starting our climb up the Eastern half of the saddle. Photo by Aida Gordon.

My webbing stayed in the pack this time around. Photo by Sally Chow.

Lilyn contouring on the Windward side. Photo by Ed Valdez.

Aida pulling herself back up to the ridge line. Photo by Sally Chow.

Making our way down the exposed and eroded ridge line. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Panoramic view of the valley and mountains. Photo by Ed Valdez.

Looking back to see that Matt had caught up with us from the valley floor. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Sally on the contour with views of Moanalua Valley.

Climbing up the biggest obstacle on the saddle. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Lilyn pulling herself up. Photo by Sally Chow.

Ed making short work of the rocks. Photo by Aida Gordon.

The group slowly making their way up the saddle to make room for the others that were coming up from the contour climb. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

There are humans up there! I’m glad Sally pointed that out, otherwise I might have confused them with aliens or animals. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Tessa coming up the crumbliest section of the saddle. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

We also met up with two other hikers who patiently waited for our group to ascend before they could descend. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Sally going up the short and tricky climb with the help of some dental floss. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Tessa pulling herself up with the last rope on the saddle. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Lilyn stretching her glutues maximus to pull herself up. Photo by Aida Gordon.

We took a leisurely break at the first landing, did calisthenics, munched on moon cake and chilled due to delays at our bottom connection.

Tessa climbing up the ladder. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Having fun on the stairs. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Perhaps too much fun.

Sally going up the backside to the world famous attraction that is still bound in purgatory as to its fate. Photo by Ed Valdez.

Matt coming up the hill where the stairs was replaced with a rusted cable. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

The group approaching the CCL building. Photo by Ed Valdez.

Sally climbing her way up to Heaven. Photo by Ed Valdez.

Group photo by Matt Vidaurri in Heaven.

No feces was actually dropped in the making of this photo. Nor did anybody actually get blown away. We also had to take the most direct route down as some of the group had problems with their IT bands and to preclude any medical rescues, we were forced to take the off limits stairs down. Hiking disclaimer.

Leaving Heaven behind us with heavenly views ahead of us. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Lilyn’s jump shot. Not a trampoline jump. Close enough. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Sally coming down the stairs while others had their photographic moments being taken. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Approaching the hoist house where somebody was already droning out. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Getting buzzed, in a good way and not a stinging way.

Stemming, sitting and standing.

Waiting for the rest of the group at one of five landings. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

One way traffic coming down the stairs. Photo by Sally Chow.

Approaching the last landing that interrupts the 3,922 steps to Heaven. This landing also temporarily hosted a trampoline that was brought and built and dismantled all in one day by a creative group several months ago. While they received a lot of flak and hate, I fall in the minority and heartily applauded their achievement. Nothing was disturbed on the man-made structure, nobody got hurt and people had fun. Just my two cents. Photo by Sally Chow.

Going down the stairs as it lead us underneath the engineering marvel known as the H3 freeway. Photo by Sally Chow.

Somebody needs to call the City & County and let them know of this potential tripping hazard. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Our bookended stairways traversal covered over 9.4 miles through hell, purgatory and heaven. Another fun adventure with good friends in the books. It was Ed and Sally’s first time on this saddle and they hiked it like it was an old friend. Thanks to Allison for driving us back to our cars. Post hike meal at Alley Restaurant where we were seated with the gay husband and family under the same roof. Oxtail soup was still on the menu. Hot soup does a body good.

Video by Matt Vidaurri of our Moanalua Saddle hike.

Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers.

Tagged as: aiea loop trail, aiea ridge trail, aiea summit, ccl building, dirt triangle, haiku stairs, koolau summit ridge trail, ksrt, kulana'ahane summit, moanalua saddle, north haiku stairs, red hill summit, stairway to heaven, stairway to hell