Nervousness, excitement, determination, those were the feelings on the morning of May 10th as our group prepared to hike the Haiku Stairs.  2:30 AM is no joke.  There was no backing out if you had second thoughts once we hit the road.  Our Crossfit group is an adventurous bunch, and everyone was ready but 3922 stairs and 4,000 feet is bound to make even the most ambitious a little concerned.  Although some people say the staircase travels straight up, the average slope is about 30 degrees, however there are many steep sections!

A little background on this thrilling hike.  The stairs are locate on the Winward side of Oahu and although the stairs are not open to the public, recently in the news it appears they might reopen the stairs with a managed access point at Winward Community College.

So why were the stairs built?   A powerful radio station and antennae were needed by the U.S. Navy to transmit signals to Navy ships that were operating throughout the Pacific.  They decided to use an Alexanderson Alternator, an enormous piece of equipment that required an equally sizable antenna.  The antennae were stretched across the Haiku valley.  Access was needed in order to finish the job.  The staircase was built, although originally a cable car was available for the workers to ride to the top instead of having to make the climb.

We started early to avoid running into the guard that is stationed by the entrance and had no problem arriving at 3:45.  I have had friends though that went to hike at that time and the guard was already there.  I guess we got lucky!

Hiking under a full moon, we were able to see everything clearly without headlamps. It turned out to be a perfect morning for the hike since there were no clouds.  The sunrise was incredible!

It took us about 2 1/2 hours up and 2 hours down.  We rested for quite a while on the first platform that you come to.  The distance from the bottom of the stairs to the first platform is the longest stretch.  Talk about quads being on fire!  All the pain was worth is for the sunrise though and the fog just poured off the mountains!

I'm so glad to have done this hike, and with such a great group of friends.  Hopefully, they will reopen the stairs and make it a "legal" attraction again on the island.  

As we were about half way up the crater at 5 am, I started to wonder why we decided to get up at 3:45 do this.

Trust me, it's definitely worth it coming to the top dripping with sweat to feel that cool breeze from the ocean on your face, cooling your skin.  The view is breathtaking, and I find it so amazing how the clouds make shadows on the top of the water.

Looking out over this incredible display of God's creation brought to mind Psalms 95:3-7,

"For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.  In his hands are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.  The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.  Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care." 

We live in Wahiawa, which was about a 40 minute drive down to Koko Head District Park.  Sunrise is around 5:45 or so and you'll just have to time it depending on where you live.  It took us 25 minutes to get to the top without  many breaks.  For some people it takes them an hour or longer and really just depends on your fitness level.  I wouldn't recommend doing this with kids just because it's very strenuous and going back down would be difficult.  I'd say, to experience this in the morning, it's worth waking up extra early and!  

The address is:  

423 Kaumakani Street, Honolulu 96825

You can visit their Google + page here

This is a really nice, easy "hike".  I say "hike" because it's not really one at all ... more of a paved stroll through botanical gardens. Actually, that's exactly what it is and extremely beautiful.

They have different pricing options for groups, and you can check it out on their website here: http://www.waimeavalley.net/admission.aspx

Basic admissions:

Adults $15

Children $7.50

Seniors $7.50

Military Adults $10.00

Military Children $5

Military Seniors $5

The valley is open seven days a week, operation from 9am-5pm.

This is about a mile and a half if you walk to the waterfall and back.  You do have the option of riding to the waterfall as well.  It's really amazing to see so many different type of plants, some of them look so fake!

This is definitely an easy, fun choice for a late Saturday morning.