Crater Hike

Oahu, September 2007

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A hike to the top of the crater at Diamond Head State Monument is a great trip to make the day after you arrive in Hawaii since your still on mainland time. We arrived at the gate at 5:45 am after a breakfast of Portuguese sausage at Zippy's and then proceeded along the 0.8 mile trail, gaining 560 feet from the crater floor to the summit. We thought we might be the first to the top but, not surprisingly, were beat by a busload of Japanese tourists.

Sunrise on Diamond Head. Em is in the middle of the photo on the stairs. It appears that I haven't reset the clock in the camera.

Em and I have switched places from the previous photo and, according to the time stamps on the pictures, 19 minutes have elapsed.

No matter where we travel, we can always count on one thing, the Japanese will be there and they will always have the coolest shirts.

To get to the top of Diamond Head you have to climb through a bunker. The trail actually goes through the lower opening to the left.

And of course, stairs are involved, but only at the very end of the trail. Even at 6 months gone, I beat a bunch of fit-looking Japanese hikers. They seemed very surprised to see my belly go by...

For the most part the trail is well graded and quite a pleasure to walk along.

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