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.

This was our second attempt at hiking Palehua Ridge in the Waianae Mountain Range. A week earlier, we had drove to the end of Umena Street at the top of Makakilo and had obtained the combination to the gate, which Camp Timberline changes every month, which soon lead to another locked gate, but no key. So we parked our truck and walked up and down the road in a frustrating attempt to find the trailhead. Not knowing that we had literally come within yards of the trailhead when we had walked to the top communications site. Luckily, the Palehua Ranch caretaker found us and politely told us that nobody is allowed to be walking on Palehua Road, as it’s considered private and leads to scores of homes sitting on land leased from the Campbell Estate. He told us that for a $100 deposit and signing a liability waiver form, he would give us the key to the second gate which would allow us to drive all the way to the top of the upper communications site where the trailhead was located. Being beat, we said we would do it another day, which was today. After we parked our van at the top, we found the trailhead, which is to the right of the communication buildings. The stairs lead us to a bamboo grove which leads to a knob called Mauna Kapu.

Nanakuli Valley

Reached the top of Maunu Kapu, which means “Sacred Mountain” in Hawaiian.

Boulder Tunnel

Scrambling through some large boulders stacked on top of each other, making it sort of a boulder tunnel.

Cook Island Pine Trees

Walking a narrow trail to the stand of pine trees in the distance. After we got within the pine trees, there is a large fenced area that we climbed over, I believe it’s meant to keep the feral pigs out.

Palikea

Arrived at the summit of Palikea at 3,098 feet, which is marked by a clump of ti leaf plants. It took us about an hour to reach the summit, luckily the trailhead starts at about 2,200 feet, so we only gained about 800 feet in elevation. You can see Lualualei Valley and Makaha in the distance.

Waianae Mountain Range

Looking back at where we came from, it’s the two communication towers poking up from the ridgeline in the middle. Soon after this, things took a turn for the worse. We got lost and were just trying to follow the fence and the colored ribbons fluttering from the tree branches. We were stumbling around for three hours, before we finally found our bearings and re-traced our steps back to the trailhead. We were trying to find the trail that is supposed to loop past an abandoned cabin and come out at the lower communications site.

Pearl Harbor

Walking down the trail, we caught this great view of Pearl Harbor or Pu’uloa in Hawaiian, which means long hill, home to the shark goddess, Ka’ahupahau. Diamond Head and the Ko’olau Mountain Range can also be seen in the distance. This hike is relatively easy, as there is not much gain in elevation, as your car does most of the climbing up the mountain. Just don’t get lost, like we did. Then again, sometimes half the fun of hiking is just walking around and exploring, as long as you can get back and don’t have to call 911!

Koko Crater at 1,028 feet high, dominates the Hawaii Kai skyline. If you look closely, you can usually find ants of people going up and down the mountain. After reading countless posts about what a great hike this is and how it beats a stairmaster, I decided to give it a try. After driving into Koko Head District Park and parking next to the baseball field named after Mike Goeas, a former police officer that founded the PAL football program in Hawaii Kai. I followed the road until I hit the tram tracks that starts the climb towards Koko Crater.

Trailhead

There are reputedly 1,048 railroad ties or steps to the top. The tram tracks was built by the Army during WW2 to haul supplies to the top of the mountain. And no, I didn’t bother to count the steps going up. I was too busy just trying to make it to the top!

The Bridge

About half-way to the top, the ground gives way to a gully that’s about 10-15 feet deep. So now, the tram tracks serves as a bridge of sorts. It was around this point, that I kicked myself for leaving my water bottle in the car. I thought I wouldn’t need it. Wrong! The sun beating down on me didn’t help matters much. I thought about going back to get the water, but knew if I did, that I wouldn’t be coming back. So after a break, I continued my climb to the top.

Back on solid ground!

About 50 feet or so, the gully ends and the tracks are back on solid ground. For those leery of heights or not as sure-footed, there is a trail to the right that goes around the gully and connects to the tracks when it meets solid ground again.

Give me some water!

I felt sorry for this dog, as he didn’t look too keen on making this climb. At least, he was going back down. Coming down, hikers and dogs have the right of way, just step to the side and let them pass.

Are we there yet?

I believe this is the steepest part of the mountain. When I finally made it to the top, I found two older women chatting away, congratulating me on getting to the top. They told me that they do this every week! I really need to get back into shape!

View from the top

It took me roughly 35 minutes to make it to the top of Koko Crater or Pu’u Ma’i. I heard the “regulars” shoot for 20 minutes and some even run up and down the tracks. I was happy with my time! You can see Kuapa Pond in Hawaii Kai and Diamond Head in the distance from the top of the abandoned heliport.

Hanauma Bay

Looking to the left, you can see the breached volcano crater of Hanauma Bay and the companion tuff cone of Koko Head.

Botanical Garden

Peering over the crater rim of 200 acres of the Koko Crater Botanical Garden, looks all the same from up here! You can also see Makapu’u Point in the distance. After soaking in the views, it was time to go back down and guzzle my water that I left in my car! This hike is relatively easy, as it’s straight going up and down, parts of the ground supporting the tram tracks are eroded and you just have to watch your step, especially going down and always bring water.