There was a full moon out tonight and instead of howling, we went hiking up Diamond Head. Picked up Chris and David from KCC and parked in a sleepy residential neighborhood side street. Started off a little past 3:30am and scrambled through dry grass, kiawe trees and crumbly terrain as we made our way up the crater rim.
Pillbox bunker
David and Chris silhoutted on the first pillbox bunker.
Crater rim
From the second pillbox bunker, we could see the city lights of Waikiki cast her glow behind the crater rim.
Diamond Head lighthouse
Looking down at Diamond Head Road and Lighthouse from the third pillbox bunker.
Fire Control Station
Looking at the fire control station buried at the top of Leahi or Diamond Head from the fourth pillbox bunker. Since we had time to kill, we climbed up the front of the fire control station to the lookout.
City lights
City lights of Waikiki from the fifth pillbox bunker.
Diamond Head crater floor, Koko Crater and Koko Head
At 6:00am, the tunnel opened and a stream of headlights announced that Diamond Head was open for business.
Best seats in the house
The best seats in the house was on the fifth pillbox bunker and not the lookout. As the lookout was soon to be as congested as the malls are during holiday shopping.
The Lookout at 6:00am
At 6:00am, the Diamond Head Lookout was very peaceful and quiet. That was about to change.
The Lookout at 6:40am
Soon we saw bobbing figures with flashlights making their way up the trail and to the lookout. It filled up pretty fast and the chatterings of English, Japanese and Korean drifted our way. Some folks made their way to the fifth pillbox and shattered our exclusivity and unfettered views.
Sunrise
Sunrises are always pretty to watch, but even more spectacular when you’re on top of a mountain.
Panoramic view from Diamond Head
Click here for the larger image.
Diamond Head Tunnel
Now the most dangerous part of the hike, we had to walk out of the tunnel without getting hit by the cars that were coming in and out of Diamond Head Crater.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
How do you get to the pillbox bunkers?!?
Hi Tia,
There are several routes to climb up to the rim. I don’t want to endorse any of them but if you google them you can find them.
Mahalo!