We decided to visit Hell and Heaven today; I met up with Alexis, Analyn, Chris and Ferlino at Moanalua Valley.

Trailhead

Too early for the chickens. Only the dogs were barking as we started our early morning hike. Thanks to Jasmin for dropping us off.

Aiea Loop Trail

Bench with city light views.

Aiea Ridge Trail

New sign. Summit Trail. No Exit. Advanced. All good to know.

Aiea Ridge Trail

Ferlino crossing the landslide area under spotlight.

Tripler Ridge

Climbing up the steady and steep ridge. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Pu’u Kawipo’o

Taking a break at the large, grassy hill top. The dolphin had “swum” over to another branch.

Aiea Ridge Trail

Approaching the power lines which sits at the base of the summit, where the clouds blocked the views but not the cacophony of civilization that floated to the mountains.

Ko’olau Summit Ridge Trail ( KSRT)

Making our way along the muddy ridge, Chris slipped and a branch poked him below his eye. Mountain first aid rendered – Bactine sprayed on and medical tape slapped on. Good to go.

KSRT

Looking back at the rest of the group making their way on the cloud shrouded ridge.

KSRT

The sun was fighting through the clouds.

KSRT

The rest of the group getting off the ridge and contouring around the protected plant enclosure.

KSRT

Peeking around the corner.

KSRT

Group photo on our descent down to Hell where we ran into a friend who was ascending, left to right: Chris, Alexis, Analyn, Noah, myself, Ferlino and Shirley. Can I shake your hand?

KSRT

Chris’s face says it all. We got a view!

Stairway to Hell

The dress was on. The flag was out. Time to take our group photo.

Bunker

Chris checking to see if the tent collection had grown since our last visit. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

KSRT

Leaving the chilly haunt of Hell. Which begs the question. Why is Hell not so hot?

KSRT

Making our way to the summit of Red Hill, where we soon …

Moanalua Saddle

… dropped into the crumbly saddle. Rope? I don’t need no stinking rope.

Moanalua Saddle

Comin’ down the mountain. But first take my picture.

Moanalua Saddle

Humping over the saddle.

Kulana’ahane Summit

The running man. Going the wrong way. Medical tape is not only good for facial cuts but torn pants as well. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Moanalua Saddle

Going up through the tangled and twisted roots that carpeted the ridge.

Moanalua Saddle

The group contouring their way up the Windward side of the ridge.

Moanalua Saddle

Making our way to the main obstacle on the ridge. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Dirt Triangle

Alexis climbing up from the Leeward side. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Moanalua Saddle

Crawling our way up the eroded ridge.

Moanalua Saddle

Don’t touch that crumbly rock?

Moanalua Saddle

Looking back at the H-3 Highway snaking its way through Halawa Valley.

Moanalua Saddle

The group climbing out of the saddle.

Moanalua Saddle

Going up the back stairs.

Stairway to Heaven

Not going down the front stairs.

CCL Building

Throwing shakas out at the 2,720′ summit. Somebody needs to get with the program.

KSRT

Leaving Heaven behind us with views of Kalihi and Nu’uanu Saddles to our front.

KSRT

Dropping down from the MMR junction, we saw a helicopter perched on Tripler Summit ahead of us and decided to see if we could reach it before it took off.

KSRT

No climbing today. Read the sign.

KSRT

We briefly interrupted the workers on the power lines as we quickly passed underneath them. Safety first. Mahalo.

Tripler Summit

A minute late and a helicopter short. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Tripler Summit

The helicopter pilot skillfully flew the workers up and down the spur ridges, dropping and picking them up.

Tripler Summit

No, we are not being rescued.

Tripler Ridge

Leaving the summit and the helicopter ride (wishful thinking) behind us.

Powerlines Ridge

We abbreviated the long Tripler ridge by taking the spur ridge down to the power lines, passing an abundance of smashed guavas on our way down.

Moanalua Valley

Making our way out from the back of the valley.

Moanalua Valley

I think we had our fill of California grass on this hike and then some.

Kamananui Valley Trail

Does somebody need medical tape on their butt again? Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

All pau

End of the long road. End of a long day. Somebody needs to get with the program. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

GPS Tracks

Our two for the price of one hike covered a little over 13 miles. Fun day with a great group. Post hike meal at Lilihia Bakery. Oxtail soup tastes better when a dead fly falls out of your eye.

Note: I have been made aware the 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.

When we last hiked to Haiku Stairs, I had heard about another lesser known stairs that was located across the valley on Haiku Ridge, called Haiku Hidden Stairs or Stairway to Hell. Not one to pass up the chance to check out a new hike, I met Glenn at the end of Iwaena Street in Halawa Valley at 6:30am.

Crossing the streambed

We entered the Halawa Xeriscape Garden through an access gate to the left of the main gate and pushed our way through chest high grass to get to the back of the garden, where the trail went to the left through more tall grass. Eventually, we came across a rain gaging station and crossed the dry streambed to regain the trail.

Underneath the H3 Freeway

The trail continues underneath the H-3 Freeway or more formally known as the John A. Burns Freeway.

Access Road

As we made our way out from underneath the H3, we had to push through more tall grass to get to an access road. We picked up the trail again by going up the hill right before the bridge. The trail is ribboned and roped in certain steep parts until we got to the top of Halawa Ridge, where we took a left on the dirt road which lead us into Halawa Valley.

Landslide and the Tetsuo Harano Tunnels

The trail is initially open and strewn with fallen trees and branches. A good sized pig startled us as it ran across the trail. After that, a couple hunting dogs started to follow us until they found their owners. Then the trail was swallowed by uluhe ferns and thick pockets of vegetation. Slogging through all that, made me long for a narrow ridge with thousand foot drops on both sides. We eventually came out of the valley to be greeted by a landslide that had taken a big chunk of the trail away, luckily there was a trail to the right that went around it.

H3 through Halawa Valley

Looking back at the H3 snaking it’s way through Halawa Valley. If it wasn’t for the Damon Estate and a certain petroglyph encrusted rock called the Pohaku ka Luahine, the H3 would have gone through Moanalua Valley instead. The trail then gradually wound its way through the sides of the mountain. No steep climb with rapid elevation gains here, this trail makes you work for the views.

Panoramic view from Haiku Ridge

We got to the top of Haiku Ridge around 11:30am to take in awesome views of Haiku Valley and Kaneohe. We could even see the CCL Building across the valley as we ate our lunch. Click here to see the larger panoramic view from Haiku Ridge.

Moanalua Saddle

Spending five hours trudging through the valley and the sides of the mountain, I was looking forward to the welcome break of climbing hills and ridges.

Geo Marker

When we got to the top of the hill, it was capped by a geo marker with commanding views of the Windward side of the island.

CCL Building

As we made our way along the trail, we encountered the now familiar A-frame foundations that once held antenna cables that was strung to the opposite side of the valley. That must have been an engineering feat to pull off back in the day.

Rusted stairs and cable

We soon came upon the first section of the rusted stairs, that gave way to staked cables that provided solid holds on the narrow ridge.

Bunker

After passing a bunker or storehouse, our destination was just over the hill.

Panoramic view from Haiku Hidden Stairs

We got to the stairs around 1:00pm, the view was more panoramic and stunning than one afforded by the Haiku Stairs. Click here to see the larger panoramic image from the top of Haiku Hidden Stairs.

Jungle Stairs

Did I mention that parts of the stairs are almost completely overgrown? Not only that, but the stairs are missing steps and railings on some sides going down. And what railings exist, may crumble to dust when you touch them as I found out when I was going down the stairs, one section of the railing literally dissolved into rusted dust when I grabbed it.

Stairway to Hell

I was sorely tempted to go down until the stairs terminated at about the middle of the ridge. However, the day was getting long and we still had to haul ourselves back to our cars. Luckily I stopped halfway down the stairs and we hiked back out the valley and got to our cars around 7:00pm just as darkness covered the island.