Bereft of hiking buddies for today, I decided to visit one of my favorite haunts on my own. Rules were meant to be broken. Sometimes, not all the time. I managed to snag an empty stall in the Moanalua Valley parking lot where a constant stream of hikers could be observed heading into the valley.

Kamananui Valley Trail

A harbinger of things to come. A trickle of water down the road …

Kamananui Valley Trail

… that was fed by miniature land locked reservoirs that reflected the forest canopy as I skirted around them.

Kamananui Valley Trail

Getting our feet wet in the shallow end of the road. Never play in the deep end.

Kamananui Valley Trail

Sharing the road with others.

Kamananui Valley Trail

Overflow from Moanalua Stream coursed and eroded its way down the trail as I met up and tagged along with the three iron ladies of the trail otherwise known as “entertainment.”

Kamananui Valley Trail

Joy making her way through the bowed branches of a hau tree.

Kulana’ahane Junction

Crossing the ankle deep stream to the other side of the bank.

Moanalua Middle Ridge

Leaving the valley floor as we began our steady climb up the ridge.

Heart Rock

I left my heart in Moanalua Valley, at the very bottom. Shattered and broken into a million pieces.

Moanalua Valley

Looking back into the valley that barely escaped being turned into a corridor for the H-3 Freeway back in the 1970s.

Moanalua Middle Ridge

Passing the wild orchids that populate the lower section of the ridge.

Moanalua Middle Ridge

The grass is greener on the other side of the rope. Photo by Gunner SB.

Moanalua Middle Ridge

Sugar getting ready to out-run the rain showers that were heading our way as the ridge took on a more eroded character.

Moanalua Middle Ridge

Walking in the rain clouds and mud as we made our way to heaven.

Pu’u Keahiakahoe

Group photo left to right: Sharon, Joy, Sugar and myself. We parted ways after they sang a rousing rendition of sugar sugar.

Ko’olau Summit Ridge Trail (KSRT)

Closed to climbing but apparently not the clouds.

Tripler Summit

Rain, rain go away. I still haven’t learned that nursery rhymes don’t work up in the mountains.

Bowman Summit

I was debating going down the Bowman trail if the rain didn’t let up. It will stop. The power of positive thinking.

KSRT

The rain soon left, but the clouds stayed to keep me company for a little while as I headed down into the saddle.

Kalihi Saddle

The ridge line and stiff winds kept the clouds at bay on the Leeward side.

Dirty Slide

Sliding my way down the flank of the ridge, I discovered that a series of mini-landslides had broken the continuity of the trail going back to the ridge line.

Rock Triangle #1

The grass had really overtaken certain sections of the ridge and even buried some sections of the ropes. Pays to pack your own webbing, never leave home without it. Where are those trail clearing crews when you need them?

Lanihuli Waterfalls

Looking across the valley towards the waterfalls cascading down the side of the mountain known as swirling heavens.

Rock Triangle #2

I couldn’t find purchase for my feet climbing down the slick rocks, so I scrambled back up and slapped on my spikes. Didn’t want to be on the six o’clock news.

Kalihi Saddle

Looking back at the rugged character of the saddle. Never fails to disappoint.

Witch’s Hat

The most storied section of the ridge in terms of “take my picture spot.”

Witch’s Hat

Scrambling down the backside of the last obstacle on this side of the saddle.

Camp Centipede

Taking care not to kick over any rocks and send an errant hundred footed arthropod scurrying my direction as I made my way down towards the power lines and into Kalihi Valley.

All pau

Thanks to Shirley for picking me up and dropping me back to my car, where I was re-united with my hiking “entertainment” group. Post hike meal at Ruby Tuesday, where the dinner theme seemed to be vegetarian.

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.

I decided to give the KST thru hike another try; if I knew what the outcome was going to be, I would have stayed home in bed. Joining me were Chris and Matt; Anne and Clayton came along just for the first day.

Trailhead

Thanks to Daryl for dropping us off at the Makapu’u Lookout. Photo by Daryl Cacatian.

Trail

Making our way up the dry grassy rocky landscape. Photo by Daryl Cacatian.

Manana Island

Looking out towards the seabird sanctuary.

Trail

We soon caught up with another pair of hikers who let us pass them.

Pu’u Mai

Staring straight into the fringed female parts.

Sea Life Park

The sun shimmering across the blue-green water. It almost made up for missing the sunrise.

KSRT

Small kine climbing time. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Makapu’u Puka

Group photo left to right: Clayton, myself, Anne, Matt and Chris.

Makapu’u Puka

Hello from the other side. Drone photo by Matt Vidaurri.

KSRT

Time to pack away the drone and continue hiking on the rocky ridge line.

Makapu’u Cave

Chris chilling in the cave.

KSRT

Climbing our way up on the makai side of the cliffs. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Waimanalo

When you notice the geodetic marker for the first time, despite hiking over this area too many times too count.

To tee or not to tee

Not only hang gliders fly from here, but rocks as well.

Boost

Leaving behind the fenced communication tower.

KSRT

Dropping down into the saddle.

KSRT

Looking for some shady trees.

Kamiloiki Summit

It was an awesome day at the summit, no camping needed. Drone photo by Matt Vidaurri.

KSRT

Walking on the pine needle matted ridge line.

KSRT

Leaving our canopy cover for a stretch of exposed ridge line. Luckily the clouds were providing cover from the sweltering sun.

Caveman proving grounds

No unnecessary climbing today.

KSRT

Brushing our way through shoulder high buffalo grass. Scratch and itch.

Tom-Tom

Watching an isolated rain cloud sweep the Waimanalo coast.

Dorito’s Tower

Clayton and Matt checking out the rock tower reportedly first climbed by a hiker named Rito.

KSRT

Back in the forested ridge line.

Mariner’s Summit

It worked for me as a kid, how come it doesn’t work now? I want my money back. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Mariner’s Summit

Climbing down from the 1,361′ summit of Kaluanui. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Hahaione Pyramid

Contouring our way behind the roughly triangular shaped rock, depending on your point of perspective.

Scenic point

Talk story time.

Hahaione Junction

Club head + hiking stick = Golf club.

KSRT

Matt looking back at the stretch of mountains that we had just covered.

Kuli’ou’ou Summit

We parted company with Anne, Clayton and Matt at the 2,360′ summit due to cramping and work calling.

KSRT

Chris climbing up the severely eroded section after leaving the bustling summit.

Bear Claw Ridge

No time to go left or right, just straight ahead. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Scenic spot

Chris against the backdrop of the fluted flanks of the Ko’olau Mountains.

Pu’u O Kona Summit

Leaving the 2,200′ summit for cloudy views.

Hawaii Loa Summit

Nobody else here at the 2,520′ summit.

KSRT

Back on the cloudy ridge line.

KSRT

What happened to the partly sunny day forecasted by Guy Hagi? Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. I think it’s been more than twice.

Camp Wiliwilinui

We arrived at the 2,480′ summit to find that another couple had beaten us to call it home for the night. Luckily we were able to squeeze our two tents in with theirs. Thought we were in for a night of socializing, but they zippered up their tent as I guess our odor was particularly offensive. It could have been our manners.

KSRT

Day 2 – Rolled up our tents as our neighbors were still sleeping and we continued hiking in the clouds.

Ka’inawa’au Nui Summit

I guess we are in for another day of whiteout views.

KSRT

Dropping down the big hill to valley views of milkiness.

Ka’au Crater

Rocket ship ready to take off and leave the clouds behind. Wished we could have joined.

KSRT

Chris pointing to the cloud covered summit of Awaawaloa.

KSRT

Climbing my way up through the clouds to the 2,486′ summit. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Mount Olympus

The water is safe to drink up here.

Manoa Valley

Valley vistas improved significantly on the contour trail. Photo by Chris Bautista.

KSRT

Back on the cloudy again ridge line. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Manoa Middle Summit

We shared the summit with the HTMC trail clearing crew that had come up from Manoa Valley.

KSRT

The grassy meadows hiding the many false summits before we hit the crown jewels of the Ko’olau Mountains.

KSRT

Are we there yet? Photo by Chris Bautista.

K2

We crashed a wine and cheese party in progress. Came too late for the cheese. Just have to use our imagination.

Konahuanui Summit

Typical socked in summit day on the highest point of the Ko’olau Mountains.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Making my way down the mud wall. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Nu’uanu Saddle

We slowly started to see the views again.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Leaving the clouds behind on the wind swept ridge line. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Following the webbing down the ridge line.

Chimney

Climbing down the chimney. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Pali Notches

Leaving the chimney behind us as we made our way towards the notches. Never say never. Photo by Arnold Yago.

Pali Notches

We spotted a familiar face on the second notch. Arnold!

Pali Lookout

Trying to blend in with the tourists. Photo by Arnold Yago.

Camp Pali

Mahalo to Arnold Yago, Daryl Cacatian and Nina Arca, Matt Vidaurri, Owen and Tricia Adams and Shirley Hamamura for bringing us refreshing beverages and hot food and keeping us company.

Pali Lookout

Day 3 – We woke up to the pitter patter of rain and gloomy weather that was hanging around the mountains. I know some of our friends thought we would have to call it on account of the weather and bail from our hike. But somebody said “we chance ‘em.” So off we went. Photo by Daryl Cacatian.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Contouring up the slippery rocks, we soon regained the ridge.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Rainbows are ones reward for hiking in the rain. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Nu’uanu Saddle

No swinging around the rain slicked rocks today, just careful climbing.

Donkey Kong

Making our way to the triple diked formation.

W

Clear on the Leeward side, cloudy on the Windward side.

Anvil

Chris dropping down from the anvil rock.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Lost and found on the mountain – one spike and one spike only.

Lanihuli Summit

Temporary views were granted to us at the 2,700′ elevation.

Kalihi Saddle

Descending down from the swirling heavens. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Kalihi Saddle

Chris standing on a knob overlooking the cloud filtered views of the Windward side.

Dirt Dragon

Riding the dirt dragon or what’s left of it.

Lanihuli Wall

Preparing to walk down the wall of uki grass.

Lanihuli Wall

Contouring around the can opener.

Lanihuli Wall

Making my way down the last tier of the wall. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Can Opener

Keeping a watchful eye on the sofa sized chunk of rock that looks ready to fall off the mountain.

Pimple

Carefully making my way around the crumbly rock, so I don’t do any popping. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Doorstop

Knock, knock. Who’s there? Hike. Hike who?

Bunny Ears

Rabbit. Rabbit. Rabbit. Oh never mind, it’s not the first day of the month.

Bunny Ears

Bunny earing myself coming down. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Kalihi Saddle

Approaching the power lines.

Witch’s Hat

No refreshing rest at the power lines as we continued up the backside of the hat.

Witch’s Hat

Making my way down from the hat. No trick or treat for me. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Kalihi Saddle

Uphill climb ahead of us. Photo by Chris Bautista.

#1 Rock Triangle

Climbing up the Windward side is the best side.

#2 Rock Triangle

Have rope, will climb.

Broken Wave

Getting my head out of the clouds. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Dirty Slide

Climbing back into the clouds. Can’t win. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Kalihi Saddle

Scrambling our way to the Bowman summit and our home for the night.

Camp Bowman

Day 4 – Waking up to long john feet. Always appetizing. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Camp Bowman

Getting ready for another cloudy and windy day in the mountains.

KSRT

The winds were pushing us around on the ridge line. Luckily it blew in from the Windward side. We would have been in trouble if it was blowing from the other side.

Tripler Summit

Rocket men and rocket ships in the clouds.

KSRT

Walking down the cloudy castle steps. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Relay station

Climbing past the no climbing relay station.

Stairway to Heaven

What happened to everybody? We had the place all to ourselves. I wonder why.

CCL Building

Trying to get warm in heaven. Photo by Chris Bautista

Moanalua Saddle

Leaving heaven as we went down the back stairs.

Moanalua Saddle

Chris using his kung fu grip going down the crumbly section.

Moanalua Saddle

Making my way around the increasingly eroded ridge of the saddle. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Dirt Triangle

Going down the Leeward side of the triangle offered us a temporary reprieve from the gusting winds.

Kulana’ahane Summit

Mahalo to Matt for meeting us with cold bentos and drinks in the middle of the saddle.

Moanalua Saddle

We soon said our goodbyes to Matt and resumed our hiking. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Moanalua Saddle

The winds and clouds were not giving us a break today.

Moanalua Saddle

Making my way down the constantly eroding ridge line. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Geo marker

Checking in with social media.

Tetanus Stairs

Descending down into hell.

Stairway to Hell

It was quite cold in this spot of the mountains. Time to quickly move on.

KSRT

If there were a speed limit on the ridge, laws would have been broken today. The law of balance. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Fenced meadows

Passing the fenced endemic plant section on our way to the summit of Aiea and home sweet home for the night. No dinner for me.

Aiea Summit

Day 5 – We woke up to more bad weather and my body in severe caloric deficit. Not to mention that my tent had somehow flipped upside down with me still in it. My stomach just quit on me again and my body soon followed.

Aiea Ridge Trail

After mulling it over for the better half of the day and with the weather and my stomach not getting any better, we left the summit to head back down to civilization. Sorry Chris. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Aiea Ridge Trail

At least the weather improved on our way back down, couldn’t say the same for my stomach. Photo by Chris Bautista

Aiea Ridge Trail

I was beaten like a rented mule. Dizzy and light headed, I had to frequently stop to right myself coming down the ridge. Photo by Chris Bautista

All pau

Thanks to Lopaka for meeting us at the end and bringing food and taking us back to our cars. Mahalo to Chris for keeping me company in the mountains and everybody else that supported us on the hike.

GPS Tracks

Our gastrointestinal interruptus hike covered 24.61 miles through the sometimes clear, cloudy, rainy and windy Ko’olau Mountains. While we did not get to “penish” to the end, glad for the company from beginning to the end. Big thanks to my wife for letting me try this again, I don’t think I’ll be back. Post hike meal in the parking lot, KFC is what’s for dinner.

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.

Today’s hike was to wrap up an unfinished trail. Met up with Bob, Gary, Gen and Glenn deep in Moanalua Valley.

Trailhead

We were here two weeks ago but had to abort the hike due to an alleged fallen hiker. Long story short. He didn’t fall. He was lost. Recovered.

Seven bridges

Crossing the storied arched bridges that harked back to a time when missionary families ruled the land.

Kamananui Valley Trail

Walking into the blinding sun.

Pop-Tart?

Crazy good. Not that crazy. Not that good. Not biting. Leave me alone.

Deep in the valley

We passed the valley and ridge junctions and plunged deeper into the valley to continue our hike.

Marker 17

The flat part was over. Now it was all uphill.

Steady climb

The trail cut a swath through the uluhe ferns. No bushwhacking needed.

Steeper

Bob scrambling up the mountain. Some trail sections required four points of contact.

Looking ahead

Clouds spilling over the Ko’olaus. A harbinger of rain or just cotton candy for the eyes?

Humming

The trail was once used by Hawaiian Electric to service the power lines back in the day.

Waianae Mountains

Looking into Moanalua Valley with the Waianae Mountains in the backdrop.

Bottle capped stakes

The trail soon intersected with the Tripler ridge.

Excuse me

A small group of hikers passed us going the other way. We also saw and yelled at some caveman hikers on the middle ridge going down. Running late.

Ohia lehua

Red lehua flowers populated the ridge going up. Don’t pick them. Too late.

Cloudy

Topped out at the 2,760′ socked in summit. No view. Move along.

HECO trail

Making our way down the somewhat steep and narrow ridge. Look! A view.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image.

More power lines

The ridge leveled and expanded as we made our way underneath another power line tower.

Area 51

Bob climbing up towards the defunct radar station.

Jungle gym

Posing with the undertaker. Photo by Genesaret Balladares.

Top of the world

Look at the camera. Everybody.

Last scramble

Climbing up the last hill.

Which way?

Group photo at the Moanalua Middle Ridge junction, left to right: myself, Glenn, Bob, Gen and Gary. Photo by Chris Bautista who we ran into at the junction.

Need a hand?

Gen making her way down past the 2,820′ summit of Pu’u Keahi a Kahoe. Look ma, only one hand!

Calling Tokyo Bay

We arrived at the CCL building just in time. Rain.

Don’t forget Old Glory

The original route was to go down Moanalua Middle Ridge. However, Gen’s injured thumb and rain dictated that we seek the shortest way down. All 3,922 steps.

Slippery when wet

Bob and Glenn descending into the clouds.

Hitchhikers

Several hikers, Chuan and the two Eric’s, took our invitation to follow us down the stairs as the rain changed their mind about returning back down the middle ridge. And they had both thumbs.

Hoist house

Stuck in a building with no roof and rain pouring in. Might as well wait outside.

Windward view

The rain soon stopped and we broke below the cloud deck.

Smile, you’re on Candid Camera

Getting used to my picture being taken. At the bottom. Photo by Bob Tyson.

Platform

One of five landings that breaks the continuity of the stairs.

Tagging

Not OK.

H3

The H3 highway generated just as much, if not more controversy than today’s HART when it was being built in the late 1980s.

Valentine’s Day Massacre

The landslide sent trees, dirt and rocks cascading into a small section of the stairs resulting in twisted steps and handrails.

Landslide

The death of the stairs was greatly exaggerated.

Honk if you’re hiking

We could see the cars on the highway and they could see us.

Coming down

The group making their way down to the bottom section of the stairs, only to be greeted by…

Mr. Anderson I presume?

…the guard who was giving us an earful until we let him know that we had an injured person in our party that necessitated coming down the stairs. Note: Stairways to Heaven or Haiku Stairs is considered private property and the no trespassing rule is strictly enforced with round the clock guards and punitive measures being dished out.

School is in session

The gate was wide open. We simply walked out. The gate is normally closed and laced with barbed wire, sharp stakes and holes meant to deter hikers from accessing the trail.

One day

The other stairway. From hell.

1942 – ?

When will the obituary be published?

GPS Tracks

The valley to the mountain to the stair hike covered 7.57 miles. Post hike meal at Ruby Tuesday. What’s in the dip? Bet you can’t eat just one.

Having hiked Haiku Stairs from the Windward side before the sun has even cracked the day due to access issues, I have found there is another way to get to the top of Haiku Stairs, without skulking around in the dark! That being said, I picked up my friend in Kaneohe and drove into Moanalua Valley and parked at the end of Ala Aolani Street which is right before the park. We climbed over the fence and came across some hunters who were opening the second gate to the trail. They asked us if we were hiking to Haiku Stairs and gave us a couple of pointers and we started out on the old Damon Estate road now known as the Kamananui valley road that took us an hour to reach the Kulana’ahane trailhead.

Middle ridge

We walked about 30 feet past the trailhead markers and crossed the river bed and started working our way up the ridge. If you cross the stream at the trailhead markers, that will take you to the Moanalua Saddle which also leads to Haiku Stairs, but I understand it’s intense okole busting.

Moanalua Valley

Here we are looking back into Moanalua valley with the ridge splitting the valley into two. We also caught glimpses of the Windward side over the Koolau mountains.

Clouds rolling in

Pushing up the ridge, the clouds started to roll in and the wind started to pick up, Mother Nature’s air conditioner was cranking full blast.

Where's the ridge?

At this point in the hike, the clouds and the wind made it a real challenge to walk on the ridge. Luckily, heavy mud glued our feet to the ground as we trudged along the heavily vegetated trail.

Pu'u Keahiakahoe

We came upon the geodetic marker for Pu’u Keahiakahoe at an elevation of 2,820 feet after hiking for about three hours. We had zero visibility thanks to the clouds that had enveloped us at the peak. But we knew the CCL building had to be close by, so we branched off to the right from the sign, hoping the clouds would clear up soon.

CCL building

After hiking for about 10 minutes, our hiking prayers were answered and the clouds cleared up to reveal the CCL building.

Kaneohe

We carefully made our way along the ridge towards the CCL building, with steep drop off views of H3 and Likelike highway snaking through Kaneohe.

H3 freeway

From the CCL building, we saw the H3 freeway disappear into the cloud capped Koolau mountains. To the left, is the ridge that comes up from the Moanalua Saddle, another trail for another day.

Mokoli'i Island

From this direction, we could see all the way up to Kualoa Ranch and Mokoli’i Island sitting offshore, or more commonly known as Chinaman’s Hat.

Haiku Stairs

Looking down at all 3,922 of Haiku Stairs. One thing that was strikingly missing from this hike was the absence of other hikers. We had not run across another soul from the start of Moanalua valley to the top of Haiku Stairs. Where did they all go?

Olomana

Coming down the stairs, we saw the Mokulua Islands, Olomana and Waokele Pond before the clouds started spilling over the Koolau mountains and splattering us with a light rain.

Hoist house

We stopped to take a breather at the graffiti covered hoist house. Hmm, A-frame, pulley, could a zip line be in the works one day?

Going down

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, the guard asked us if we saw a dog up there. On the stairs? He said hunters were looking for their missing dog. Then he casually threw in that he had called the cops about 15 minutes ago when he saw us coming down the stairs. He said there were some recent injuries, so they were really cracking down. That explains the lack of hikers. We beat a hasty retreat, found out that the hole in the fence that we had used months ago was now fixed up, so we had to scale the fence and walked back to my friend’s house in Haiku Gardens, where he drove me back to Moanalua Valley.

Haiku Stairs or Haiku Ladder or Stairway to Heaven is one of the “outlaw” hikes on the island. The State closed the hike to the public in 1987 when vandals and years of hiking took its toll on the stairs making it unsafe. Yet in 2002, the State spent a reported $875,000 to fix the stairs to avoid liability as people continued to hike the stairs, but failed to get an agreement over land access, so the stairs remains closed to the public. Determined not to let our tax dollars go to waste, we got up before the crack of dawn and parked in Haiku Valley. This was our second attempt to climb Haiku Stairs, as almost a month ago we were turned away by the guard that watches over the trailhead. We slipped through the gates and found the well-trodden path going into a bamboo forest, popped into a clearing and went back into the bamboo forest. After going through the hole in the chain link fence and following the road to your right which takes you to the trailhead, we were in luck as the guard was not at his post yet, but found almost a dozen hikers ahead of us making their way around the gate that blocks the stairs.

Going up

Keep in mind that Haiku Stairs is on the windward side of the island, the side that rains a lot. Today was no exception. Going up the stairs, a passing rain shower dumped buckets of water on us and was gone after a couple of minutes.

Stairs and more stairs

The metal stairs are quite narrow, all 3,922 of them, which makes passing other hikers sometimes problematic. But it wasn’t a problem for us. If somebody stopped ahead of us, it was a good reason for us to catch our breath!

H3 Freeway

Stopping and looking back down, the H3 Freeway snakes through Kaneohe and disappears into the Koolau mountains. Resist the urge to wave to the cars below you, as some drivers have mistaken the friendly waves for distress signals and called 911.

Rainbows

There are five platforms on the way to the top, where you can take a well-deserved breather and take in the awesome sights, such as this triple rainbow that briefly appeared from the first platform.

Stairway to Heaven

As we left the first platform, the clouds started to roll in, obscuring the top. We were climbing into the clouds via the “Stairway to Heaven.”

Motivation

Some hikers have left inspiring messages on the handrails to keep you motivated to reach the top.

View to the North

Looking to the North, you can see from Kaneohe to Kaawa.

Kaneohe Bay

You can see Kanoehe Bay and Mokapu Peninsula, home to a Marine base, that partly encloses the Southern end.

View to the South

Looking into Kailua and the three peaks of Olomana.

Stairway to Heaven

The top of the mountain that stands at 2,720 feet. It took us close to two hours to reach the top. The view from the top was completely socked in with clouds, the view was actually better going up than when we got to the top.

Communications Control Link

The top of the CCL building which was once used to communicate with the Wahiawa communication station until it was closed back in the 1950’s. We waited around to see if the clouds would clear up, no such luck. Going back down the stairs took about an hour. The guard didn’t bother us when we got to the bottom, as he seems to be there to prevent people from going up, but I have heard that sometimes HPD is called to issue citations. The hike is moderately hard in terms of effort, but easy in the sense that it goes straight up and down and you have support in the form of the stairs and the rails. Also, please remember this hike is closed to the public.