Moanalua Middle Ridge to Ha'iku Stairs

Before

This past Tuesday, I woke up at 5:00 a.m. so that I could hit the trail early.  I picked up three of the best hiking partners a girl could ask for, and headed to Moanalua Valley, where our journey to reach the infamous Ha'iku Stairs (Stairway to Heaven) via Middle Ridge began.

We hit the trail a little before 7 a.m. and thanks to a carved tree branch, lots of research, question asking/harassing all of my hiking friends who have completed this hike...we did not get lost.  One major anxiety was out of the way. We encountered several groups (on the way up and on the way down) who mentioned getting turned around and having a hard time finding the trail that finally leads to Stairway to Heaven.  

The first three miles of our hike was on a trail I have hiked numerous times (Moanalua Valley Road). It is relatively flat, not technical, shaded, and pleasant with just a few spots of mud and puddles.  Then the real trail begins, just past a state trail sign and a dry stream crossing.  We hiked our way gradually up, up, up over roots, through forest, and surrounded by lush plants and mountains.  It really is an enjoyably scenic trail.  I kept waiting for things to get sketchy.

To pass the time, we played a series of games, "Would you Rather" and "Guess Who" (asking only yes or no questions to determine who the other person is thinking of).  Thank you Jennah for finding a way to keep my mind off the climb and how much further we still had to go.  I'm going to keep this trick in my back pocket for future long hiking journeys.

We paused at several spots to ooh and aaah, catch our breaths, drink water, and capture a few snapshots.  The weather was absolutely perfect, just enough clouds to keep us from overheating, just enough sun to make the scenery appear almost fake, and wind to cool us down when we worked up a sweat.

Along the way we encountered plants and glimpses of the mountains that I had never seen before.  I felt extremely lucky to be able to roll out of bed and join my friends for a day on the trail.  We really have so much beauty right in our backyards living here on O'ahu.  On this particular trail it feels like you are able to reach out and touch the mountains in a way that you can't in every day life.  We really were one with nature on this trail.

We made pretty good hiking time, and by 8:30 a.m. we were already far enough in and high enough up to capture views of the ocean, parts of downtown, the West side, and the Wai'anae Mountain Range.  And our views would only get better.  We were at a mile every 35 minute-ish pace and soon we were seeing the beginning of the Windward side of O'ahu---Chinaman's Hat, the tunnels of H-3 Freeway, the Ko'olau Mountains---all were within our view.

The views helped make me forget that some rope work was coming up.  I realized after the first rope section, the one thing I forgot to pack...my gloves.  Or so I thought...they were actually in my bag the entire time (I had packed it for a previous day we intended to do this hike that got postponed due to weather) but I didn't realize it until we were hiking back down...

When you have spent the morning on the trail and know you haven't even reached the halfway point and you look up and see the trail going almost straight into the clouds...it can be daunting.  We had reached what was probably going to be the most challenging part of the hike.  When we were almost to the major rope section, we ran into a couple we had seen earlier on the trail.  They took a look at our gear (spikes, camelbacks, etc.) and said that we would be fine, but unfortunately they were turning around and heading back...they had come unprepared.  Their shoes were not suitable for the combination of rock, mud, and ropes that lie ahead.  I got a little nervous when we saw them turn around...

And of course this is when the clouds started rolling in...and the wind picked up.  So, we have reached the hardest part of the trail, increased the weather conditions, and just seen a couple bail out...but we kept going and we made it, and I'm so glad we did.  Every wind blown hair, every piece of dirt in the eye, all the mud under the nails, each bruise on my shins from rogue plant branches, all the huffing and puffing, and trusting in ropes that I didn't tie myself....worth it for that incredibly exhilarating feeling we all shared when we reached the top.

I felt like I had stepped back in time as we approached what was initially the Ha'iku Radio Station.  The tower and stairs are remnants from U.S. Navy contractors in 1942.  Seeing the old World War II Radio Tower just steps away from us was exciting!  Seeing the clouds roll away just as we reached the top was fantastic!  Seeing the look on my friends faces as we accomplished this mutual goal of ours was priceless!

Halfway

And then we saw the stairs and there was another wave of joy!  Hiker's High!  Life High!  I knew this was an experience and hike that I wouldn't soon forget.  I knew this could be a story for everyone to hear...over and over and over again.

Hitting the stairs meant we had made it halfway through our eleven mile hike.  It was time to celebrate with some champagne (Thanks April for bringing bottles for us to pop!) and some lunch (Thanks to 7-Eleven Hawai'i for the best spam musubi ever!)  After a toast, some sustenance, taking photos of other hikers, and running into one of April's other hiking buddies (only in Hawai'i do you run into people you know on top of a mountain), I explored a little inside the old Radio Tower Bunker.  Caked with the smell of sweaty (but grateful) hikers, mud, and decades of graffiti, there were also old beer bottles from around the world sitting on the top ledge.  Cheers!

I didn't want our time at the top to end.  I soaked it all in.  We saw tour helicopters fly by, Marine planes landing at Kane'ohe Marine Corp Base, we could see other trails that I thought I could never do (but did) like Tripler Ridge, Olomana first peak, Pali Notches, and Pali Puka.  It was hikers heaven up there.  Although it is not the tallest peak on O'ahu (that is Mt. Ka'ala on the Westside...I'll get there eventually), it is definitely the best views of O'ahu that I've had the pleasure of seeing.

It's going to be hard to hit the next trail.  Nothing will be able to compare to how amazing this hike was to me.  I was thrilled that it wasn't as terrible or terrifying as I had made it out to be in my mind.  I was thrilled that the weather cooperated and allowed us to get to the top safely and enjoy the panoramic views.  I was thrilled that I packed enough water and snacks.  I was thrilled that I didn't get lost, bitten, or fall.  This hike had everything I could ever want!

Thanks to our husbands, babysitters, and friends who made it possible to coordinate hiking for 9 hours (4 hours up, one hour at the top, 4 hours down) on a weekday. Thanks to Helen Keller, Khloe Kardashian, and Lou Gehrig for helping us focus on something other than climbing uphill for two miles. Thanks to beef jerky chips, spam musubi, avocado sandwiches, and pink bubbly for giving us energy to make it back down to our families.  Thanks to those amazing hiking mommas that I messaged countless times about what to bring.  And mostly thanks to April, Jennah, and Sarah for sharing this epic day with me!

After

In the end, we traveled:

11.5 miles

28,339 steps

237 floors 

Drank:

2.5 liters of water

1 mini bottle of Moscato wine

Ate:

1 spam musubi

beef jerky chips

1 fruit leather

almonds

Gummy Bears

Survived:

On pure adrenaline!