Wishing to explore the iconic symbol of Hawaii but wanting to stay away from the high heeled hordes that flood Diamond Head daily, I decided to literally borrow a page from a published list that details the many other ridges of Diamond Head.

Full moon

Met up with George and Glenn at the trailhead that was sandwiched in between expensive real estate. Parking is not free.

Abandoned reservoir

Grafitti, trash and shrubbery have taken over. Photo by Glenn Toyama.

Hello?

Looking up, we saw the tourists gawking at the sights below them.

Follow the cable

Cables are laid out on some of the ridges and the entire crater rim.

A ridge too far

Another ridge to explore for another day.

Ratty ropes

Climbing up the rocky face, ropes are present but not needed. Photo by George Vuong.

Looking back

The ridge we had just climbed up.

Good morning Waikiki

The sun was casting its reflection across the waters of Waikiki.

Crowded at the summit

Lots of leg room here. Group photo left to right: Glenn, myself and George.

Down the stairs

We went down the stairs to connect back to the rim.

Fire control station

Looking back at the four level command post that was completed in 1911.

On the rim

George on the ocean side of the rim.

Diamond Head Lighthouse

Keeping the ships away since 1899.

Pillbox junction

The last exposed bunker on the ocean side of the rim.

Coming up

Glenn checked out the lower level of the bunker. No homeless reported. But we did see what looked like several homeless camps in the gullies of the outside crater.

Another bunker

Looking down at one of the two bunkers that are emplaced below the rim on the ocean side.

Looking back at the rim

The sun was slowly chasing the shade away.

Crumbly way down

George and Glenn making their way down the loose and crumbly trail.

Concrete way down

A roughly poured concrete strip goes down from the bunker to Diamond Head road. Read that people use this to run up to the crater rim.

On the road again

We popped out on the road and began walking to the next ridge that would take us back to the rim.

Going back up

Figuring out which ridge to go up. A guy shouted to us that we were going up the wrong way and lots of people have been helicoptered out going this way. Really?

Contouring the concertina wire

The two lower bunkers were heavily ringed with rolls of concertina wire which forced us to contour to the sides to avoid death by a thousand cuts.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image.

Back on the rim

It was getting hot on the exposed rim.

Search light bunker

Looking into the last extant bunker that used to house one of six search lights.

Twin bunkers

Followed the trail down between two former anti-aircraft bunkers that led us to the Kahala tunnel entrance.

Road less traveled

Took a side road that hugged the crater.

Storage tunnel

One of seven storage tunnels bored into the crater walls.

Back up

The road eventually terminated and we followed the closest ridge back up to the rim.

Ala Wai Canal

Looking at Ala Wai Canal, created in 1928 that drained the swamps and created the Waikiki that we know today.

Blown away

It was a windy day on the rim. Claimed my boonie hat. Time to visit the surplus shop.

Scrambling up

George going up a rock face on the rim.

Clear day

The Ko’olau mountain range in the background.

Balancing

George traversing a narrow section of the rim.

Urban sprawl and crawl

A sea of urbanization spilling from the mountains to the ocean.

Scooting the rim

George going across the last narrow rim section.

Scenic point

Views of Waikiki and the Waianae mountain range in the background.

Tourists

We completed the rim loop at the lookout. More tourists.

Claustrophobic?

Glenn felt a little claustrophobic going through the dimly lit tunnel. Lucky it was a short walk.

Traffic jam

It was a chore navigating the crowd of high heels, slippers and dress shoes.

Abunai!

Going out the Kahala Tunnel.

GPS Tracks

Hiking the crater rim covered 4.7 miles under hot, crumbly and fun conditions. So far, explored seven ridges and fourteen more left!