I joined David on an impromptu after work hike to a WW2 bunker. This was a first for me. Hiking in work clothes.

Small hill

The most dangerous part was crossing the freeway filled with pau hana drivers going home. Made sure we made eye contact. Road kill didn’t sound appetizing. After that it was a short and rocky climb to the top. Photo by David Concepcion.

Coastal Defense

This site once housed one of the aft main 14″ gun turrets salvaged from the USS Arizona that was sunk at Pearl Harbor. Photo by David Concepcion.

Bunkers

David entering the two tiered bunkers.

Light out. Light on.

It was headlamp time. Pitch black conditions. The military long stopped paying their electric bill.

Climbing down

Going down the rabbit hole. Photo by David Concepcion.

Looking up

We had to descend 6 ladders that took us down about 120′ below the surface.

Briefing Room

Meet up for the Zombie Apocalypse. Photo by David Concepcion.

The Dusty Mile

Going down the long narrow corridor that connected assorted rooms. Kicked up a lot of fine dust as well.

Bathroom humor

Or was that scatological humor? Photo by David Concepcion.

Fill in the blanks

Missing the cake fresheners. Photo by David Concepcion.

Less claustrophobic

The corridor widened along with the increased dust intake. Hack. Cough. Photo by David Concepcion.

Smokey was here

Only you can prevent bunker fires. Photo by David Concepcion.

Storage

This cavernous bunker filled with corridors, levels and assorted size rooms was the largest that we have explored to date. Photo by David Concepcion.

Turret room

Entering the turret room that was directly below the top site that once housed the gun turret. Photo by David Concepcion.

Spiral stairs

The elevator was not in working order. Photo by David Concepcion.

Ladder to the top?

Locked shut. Photo by David Concepcion.

Chute?

Delivery method for the one ton shells to the top?

Another storage room

Possible powder room where they stored the 110 pound silk bags of propellant. Photo by David Concepcion.

Boiler

Every bunker needs heat and power. Photo by David Concepcion.

Daylight

We saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Photo by David Concepcion.

Out

Squeezing through. Photo by David Concepcion.

All pau

The bunker exploration was a brief trip back in time and we took lungfuls of dirt home as souveneirs. Post hike meal at Outback. Wait time – 45 minutes. Scratch that. Tex-Mex food at Chili’s. Photo by David Concepcion.

I drove all the way out to the country town of Hauula to meet Kelly for a short bunker hike.

Who let the dogs out?

Reports of large and loose vicious dogs running in the neighborhood could not be verified. Thankfully. There are loose dogs, but they paid us no mind.

Water tank

We followed the paved road up to the water tank and picked up the trail on the left.

Which way?

Soon, we noticed pink ribbons to our right which led to the bunkers. I believe if we had continued straight, the trail would wind deep into Kaipapau Gulch.

Steady climb

It was a brief and sharp climb to gain the ridgeline. Short cardio burst.

Tangled thicket

The exposed trail was briefly interrupted by a dense weave of hau branches.

Kaipapau gulch

The gulch is home to an impressive waterfall that only flows after heavy rain. Or so I heard. Another hike for another day.

Looking back

Kelly coming up the trail with a crisp and clear view of the Ko’olau Mountain Range in the background.

Bunker #1

Between a tree and a rusty door. Tetanus shot updated?

Rolling out

Who needs doors? Photo by Kelly Quin.

Two tiered bunker

Kelly standing on top of the two story bunker.

Hello?

No ladder, unlike other bunkers, just a rusty door to get to the bottom bunker.

Rabbit hole

Headed to the second bunker.

Bunker #2

Kelly going into the smaller and second bunker.

Observation

The cast iron pedestals are what’s left of the observation mounted instruments that were used during WW2.

Camouflage

Kelly standing on top of the second bunker, which like the other bunkers are almost completely obscured by the surrounding vegetation.

What’s down there?

We continued down the ridgeline to find…

Bunker #3

…the third bunker. Photo by Kelly Quin.

Laie view

Group photo left to right: myself and Kelly.

Skylight

The last bunker was quite small with no view but a good sized boulder had found its way down the hole, bending the top rung in the process.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image.

Purple orchids

These flowers are quite common on the trails.

All pau

Walking back out to our cars.

GPS Tracks

The bunker hike covered 2.66 miles in under two hours. Post hike meal at North Shore Tacos. Shrimp Tacos and Ginger Lemonade per Kelly’s recommendation. Thumbs up.

I met up with Glenn and Chris at the Koko Head Botanical Gardens to do a nice Sunday stroll up the entire Koko Crater rim, we have hiked up from the arch and from the tracks. But never have we completed the entire Koko Crater rim.

Koko Head Botanical Gardens and Makapu’u

The grassy and kiawe trees eventually changed to the rocky and cacti inhabited rim of Koko Crater or Kohelepelepe which means traveling vagina. Take a look at Koko Crater on a topographical map and you will see why.

Cracked Rim

Going up the rim presents an interesting view of the fractured rim and presents numerous climbing possibilities. This is a different perspective of Koko Crater that you don’t experience if you just go up and down the tracks.

Kamiloiki and Kamehame Ridges

Our hike was blessed with a nice thick cloud layer which blocked most of the scorching sun rays. Unfortunately, vog conditions were in effect as well, producing hazy viewing conditions.

A little climbing

Heading to the lookout is a nice and steady climb up the rim, punctuated by several opportunities to rock climb or for those less inclined, to simply contour around.

Going into the bunker

We had brough headlamps and flashlights to root around these long abandoned bunkers at the top of the summit that was left over from World War 2. The tunnel leading to the bunker was actually very low, forcing us to crouch over as we stepped on scattered debris and rubbish on the floor that was partially illuminated by our headlamps.

Inside the bunker

If you’re claustrophobic and nyctophobic, going into these bunkers would not be a good idea. It was pretty cool and anti-climatic at the same time when we got to the bunker, as it was just filled with more debris on the floor and a shaft that went up to the surface. Two things prevented me from trying to climb up the shaft, the bottom part of the ladder was torn off and the middle of the shaft looks like it’s blocked by some sort of ventilation shaft.

Top of Puu Mai

The top of Puu Mai was teeming with hikers that had come up from the tracks. This hike gets a lot of activity, especially on the weekends. I can see why, as it’s a relatively short hike that has payoffs with great views waiting at the top.

Hanauma Bay and Koko Head

As we started to climb down the rim, the plinking and cracking sounds coming from the rifle range were really cranking that morning. Must be a result of all those increased gun sales.

Counter-clockwise on the rim

We spent some time at the top, checking out the views and enjoying the breezy tradewinds that had just picked up. Going down the rim, the rocky parts continued until the knob formation.

Molokai

Once past the knob, the rim leveled off and it was a nice gradual slope on the way back down as we caught views of Halona Blowhole, Sandy Beach and the islands of Molokai, Lanai and Maui. We got back to our cars around 9:30am and had brunch at Zippy’s, thanks Glenn!