Stairway Hike

Oahu, September 2007

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What can I say about my hike up the Haiku Stairs, or the Stairway to Heaven. I think the statistics say it all: 3,922 stairs gaining 2,200 feet. The stairs are closed and there is even a guard to keep you away so I didn't plan on hiking them but one day, as we drove along the H-3 interstate towards Kailua I happened to see someone going down the stairs (they go under the elevated freeway) so from that point on I was obsessed. After some scouting missions, driving around the area we thought the stairs might originate, we finally consulted a map and found Haiku Road. Imagine that! I dropped Poobie off at the gate and waited for 15 minutes, just in case he found the way impassable. While I was waiting, Joe and Maurice approached our car, thinking maybe I was a cop. They were on their way up the stairs too... I told them to say hi to Poobie. They eventually gave him a ride home. Thanks Joe and Maurice!!!

Self portrait at the top of the Haiku Stairs.

From the spot of the previous picture, but looking the other way, is Joe. I caught up with Joe and his friend Maurice at the start of the climb and they were kind enough to give me a ride home (Em had dropped me off since we didn't know how long the adventure would take).

Despite the cloudy weather the hike was spectacular, however this is what it looks like on a clear day. Note that this photo is taken at roughly the same place as the previous photo.

Here's Maurice on the way down from the summit.

And here's another shot of Joe with the H-3 interstate below.

This photo, taken by someone else, does a great job of showing how the stairs cling to the impossibly steep and narrow ridge.

Another shot of Maurice and Joe as they approach the first landing or rest spot. The landings are crucial, as you can see in the next photo.

The stairs are in great shape, having been retrofitted in 2005 to the sum of $1,000,000 but they are very narrow. I'm not sure what it would be like going up and down these having to pass people.

This signpost is just about at the start of the stairs, however, just getting to this point is not easy. In my case I had to go around a chain link fence with barbed wire, walk along a paved road, turn onto an unsigned-muddy trail, then climb over another chain link fence with barbed wire just to get to this sign.

The stairs start below the elevated freeway then follow the ridges to the top of the mountains.

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