Suddenly youre alone on the mountain. A non-profit group called Friends of Haiku Stairs has drawn up some good plans for keeping the staircase and re-opening it with managed access, hiker fees, assumed liability, and minimal disturbance to the local neighborhood. An off-duty firefighter died in 2014 and a social worker died in 2011, both from falling off the trail. Climbing Haiku Stairs on Oahu - realhawaii.co Don't. No such facilities are available within the valley itself. The victim plunged off Mount Olomana's third peak, near Kailua, around 10:50 a.m.,Hawaii News Now reported, citing the Honolulu Fire Department. Shortly after the 17th crossing, you should see a sign for the Kulana'ahane trail (note: Do NOT take this). Copyright Journey Era, 2022 | Sitemap | Privacy Policy. Tripadvisor performs checks on . Plan accordingly. Its 328 steps to a raging waterfall. After Kahahana's death, a plot was laid to kill all the chiefs of Maui on the same . More advanced hike along the ridge line. 2023 Stars and Stripes. Native plants along the ridge and rare apapane (Hawaiian honeycreeper) sightings aside, the hike has grown in popularity over the years because of its whispered status as a legal access route, the back way, to the infamous HaikuStairs. This is a small playground area for children and at the back of the grass area, the paved trail begins. Charges usually start at about $10,000 and go up from there. olson.wyatt@stripes.com Twitter: @WyattWOlson. The Oahu Stairway To Heaven was built by the US Navy in 1942, along with a radio station and giant antenna at the top of the mountain that were used to communicate with ships in the Pacific during World War II. Do not attempt this hike. Well kept trail for the island, but still challenging. The trail takes you to the same lookout as the Haiku Stairs. Once you are inside the Moanalua Valley Neighborhood Park, you will find the trail at the back of the park. no reports have been added for Moanalua Valley Trail yet, add a trail report. Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. Drone shot of the mountain. Thank you for sharing your experience and pics. Its actually one of the safest parts of the hike IMO. There are notable repeat offenders that continue to make 4 or 5-digit profits in a single week, none of which benefits the environment which they are degrading. Even with all the information there is floating around online to help hikers prepare for it, I prefer to have a guide, someone in the flesh whos done this before, to lead the way to the finale peak, Puu Keahi a Kahoe, at the back of Moanalua Valley. adventures and follow local regulations. Though the trail is not particularly hilly, it is also not paved and there are muddy spots that should be approached with caution. The Moanalua Valley Trail isnt as popular as the Haiku Stairs themselves but it is growing in popularity and the trail can get quite busy. I hope you enjoyed this travel guide for the Stairway to Heaven Hawaii hike. She was . The Moanalua Valley Middle Ridge Trail to the Haiku Stairs is a 10.7 mile (roundtrip) hike along varying terrains with several rope climb sections and very narrow ridge climbing. With alternate trails and surrounding hunting grounds, its easy for dogs to get lost. A Mariposa County sheriff's deputy walks in a remote area near where a family and their dog were found dead . Theres something really special about this hike, and I still consider it one of the highlights of my life. Originally the stairs were built in 1942 by the U.S. Navy as a top-secret facility for transmitting radio signals to ships that were sailing in the Pacific Ocean. Super muddy, have to cross the river to complete. We did this trail in about 6.5 hours (both of us experienced hikers) with stoping for many photos and breaks. Start at the parking lot at the end of Moanalua Valley Road. Thats how it works everywhere else, and its why so many wonderful hiking trails like Angels Landing are still open in the mainland United States after all these years. He was a freelance writer and journalism teacher in China from 2006-2009. Every time I turned around to look back towards the city, the view just kept getting better and better. The ground can get dangerously slippery and muddy. The main reason to take the back way is just to stay legal and rule out any possible fines. My issue is with the multiple bags of rubbish and litter in the valley that I've personally removed. Bring ziplock bag to gather your trash respect the land & beauty of the island. Bring water & food. Nathan Stowell, 25, died on Sunday after falling 400 feet off a hiking trail of Hawaii's Mount Olomana. Legal? Both times I did the hike, the security guard yelled at us from a distance but didnt seem to chase after us or call the police. HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - U.S. Army officials have released new details surrounding the death of an Airman assigned to the 15th Wing. (Google Maps calls it Moanalua Valley Trail Start.) Moanalua Valley Trail to Haiku Stairs (Legal 'Backway' to Stairway to Thanks for looking! To get to the trailhead, park outside the Moanalua Valley Park and the trail begins just after the green gate. Check out their website and consider donating if youre a fan. Don't listen to the naysayers who hate tourists. It has about 3 times as much elevation gain and takes at least 3 times as long to climb. I'll save you some time and note that it goes nowhere :). The trail begins at the end of Moanalua Valley at Moanalua Valley Park. Trudging up the slope, it takes about half an hour to scale the first hump. So if you're going to be later than that park outside on the street so as not to get towed. If the weather goes bad on you, you could get stuck for a while. Still interested? Generally considered a challenging route. Some of the original cobblestone road remains intact, and leads to a large, petroglyph-covered boulder. Hawaii, like any other state, has property laws. Put a damn police officer in the station at the top and fine them and arrest them if you dont want people there. This is a beast of a hike, my friend says, as he slathers his face with sunscreen, the tinted kind that leaves streaks on your skin like war paint. Mahalo! Heed no trespassing and other warning signs. Thank you. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Anyone who hikes the 10 miles round trip is obviously going to go to the top of the stairs, or beyond. My wife Intan and I are usually in our second home Bali, but our journeys take us to destinations all over the world. In this web series,we bring you our favorite Oahu trails once a month. There is one short section of stairs that was mangled in a storm, but the damage is pretty minimal and you can pass that part without any trouble. Please see J T s comments below before attempting this. Find adventures and camping on the go, share photos, use GPX tracks, and download maps for offline use. Can be very muddy like lots of the ridges out here on island. Ive done both hikes many times over the years, and I have to say there is really no comparison in terms of difficulty. After the first three miles, when you start to ascend, it could get really slippery, if youre not an experienced hiker, DO NOT do this hike after rainy days. This is the name that will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more. Try hike the Lanikai pill box brah. There are four pieces of gear that I simply never forget when I go on a hike. Ive done the Hawaii Haiku Stairs hike several times now, and even after traveling in many countries, its still probably my favorite trek in the world. The Stairway To Heaven trail is scary, but not very dangerous in my opinion unless you goof off or do something dumb. . As soon as you veer from top of the middle ridge, roughly 2000ft from the top of the stairs, you are trespassing and can be fined for doing so. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Hey there! UPDATE 02/2023: Theres still hope that the Stairway To Heaven Hawaii trail may be saved after all. We did not have spikes or gloves and it was 100% fine, but it would have been a help especially if there has been recent rain. This blog post will explain some of the details and history of the Hawaii Stairway To Heaven hike, and then Ill discuss some of the politics behind the stairs and plans for their future. Bring plenty of water and sunscreen. Make sure you have done your research (YouTube) and you should be ready to are some awesome views. Theres also a legal way to reach the top of the mountain by climbing it from the backside via Moanalua Valley trail, which Ill explain in more detail later in this guide. The Kullana'ahane is a better marker. . Personally I think hikers should decide for themselves what kind of risks theyre comfortable with, but bear the responsibility themselves if they have an accident. Stairway To Heaven Hawaii Hike: Epic Haiku Stairs Oahu Trail I'd recommend doing this hike early as possible to avoid the potential crowds. I first discovered the Stairway To Heaven Oahu hike on the internet in 2015 and knew I had to try it. The steepest section of stairs is actually near the start of the hike, right before you reach the first platform. Wear spikes if you have them, makes most of the trail up the ridge line easier. It was beautiful! All Rights Reserved. Hiker, 24, plunges to his death from dangerous Hawaii trail Firefighters hiked up the trail and made contact with the woman at 10:12 p.m., and determined both hikers were uninjured so, it was decided to escort the hikers on foot. The 2nd mile of this trail brings 1100 ft of elevation, is far more exposed and the trail teeters in the middle of sharp angled drop offs on either side. There are shorter hikes on this island with better views and less risk. That isnt to say people arent, or should not be super respectful, ie, no trash, tread lightly, be quiet, etc, all that goes with just being a responsible and respectful human being. It has been a long perpetuated myth that simply being on the stairs is what gets you fined. HONOLULU (KITV4) Honolulu Fire received an emergency 911 call about hikers in distress on the Moanalua Valley Trail on Friday evening. We will be hiking in later June so probably drier. If you receive a citation you will be required to appear in court. Also, more so than the Moanalua Middle Ridge Trail, the peak to the radio station is far muddier and much more slippery. Im Jackson, an Australian adventure traveler who has been on the road for eight years now. This is the trailhead for the hike and you will follow this path until you reach the middle ridge. There should be more information about this soon. We celebrated National Take a Hike Day (Nov. 17), with a round up of our top picks for the best hikes on the Island. On my hike up the Moanalua Valley Trail, I went halfway down the stairs and back up just to explore and then returned via the Moanalua Valley Trail although I met some people who were going to try and exit via the stairs.
