Koko Head...Stairs of Doom

It is not uncommon on business trips for Bryan to ask his students about local interests and restaurants that he should check out during the week in a new city. So it was after his first day of class that Bryan came back to the hotel and informed me we needed to hike Koko Head....aka the Stairs of Doom. Another volcano hike, rather than a trail it's 1,050 stairs up. But the stairs are made from railroad ties and they aren't shaped evenly which make these steps almost double the width of a normal stair. (During WWII the military built some bunkers at the top of the volcano and and railway to get supplies up, hence the railroad tie steps.)

All week long Bryan tried to figure which day would be best to take this hike. He'd been told it was best to go around 5:00am so as to be on top of the volcano when the sun rose. Going that early meant we could potentially hike up and back before he needed to be at work. I convinced him that we should wait till Saturday morning so as to not feel rushed, and despite his concerns that waiting till our last day might mean it wouldn't actually happen (especially as he could see that he was more enthused about the hike than I was), he agreed.

And it's true, I had looked it up and had plenty of reservations as I read how difficult it was. The views were to die for (I was worried the dying part might be literal) and the bragging rights would be pretty awesome. I even found pictures of President Obama hiking Koko Head on one of his many trips to the islands. However, warnings abounded about being prepared for what you were getting yourself into...it wasn't for the faint of heart. But it was the one activity Bryan was most excited about. And seeing that I got to spend the week vacationing it up aloha style while he was working, I figured I needed to give him this. It was stairs. A lot of them, yes. But I could take them slow and rest along the way, right?

We did not get up at 5:00am. We got up early, but the sun was good and risen by the time we got to the trail head. The first couple hundred steps didn't seem so bad. The incline was more gentle at that point. It was about 1/3 of the way up that things went from gentle to steep. And at halfway they went from steep to straight up. It was indeed hard! The stairs were so wide I felt like I was doing lunges with each step and had to stop and stand to the side to catch my breath regularly.  But by that point I was darn determined to make it to the top.

 That's me in the pink trying not to die....

Halfway! Notice my cherry red face? It was super hot and humid.


We made it to the top breathing heavily. We (maybe just I) had to sit for a bit before really being able to take in the truly magnificent views.

And holy wow, magnificent they were indeed! Completely worth the major climb. After spending some leisure time up there taking in the views and patting ourselves on the back for achieving such a feat, we decided it was time to tackle the hike back down. In some ways going down was even worse. Easier on your heart rate, but much more difficult on your legs and knees. In some ways also much more dangerous as it's easier to slip or trip on the way down. At one point I did stumble and Bryan and a few others nearby grabbed me as I went down to my knees, certain I was going head over heels the rest of the way down. It would've made the descent much faster certainly, but also more deadly so not something I really wanted to do.

We joked later that on the climb up I felt like I was going to die, on the way down I tripped and thought I was about to, and when the sore muscles set in it felt like I had. But seriously, it was one of the coolest things (and hardest, probably) that I have ever done. I'm so glad Bryan insisted we do it. And believe it or not, I would do it again.

Then, because apparently we were still high on adrenaline and endorphins we decided to hike the trail to the Makapuu Lighthouse. It was nearby, so why not? It was a paved trail and nowhere near as hard. In fact, on the way down it felt almost easier to just run in spots, so we did. Who even are we...this fit and active couple? I'm not sure I even recognize us!

We went back to our hotel to shower and pack. It was still rather early in the day and our flight was a red-eye that night. What to do with ourselves? Any sane person probably would've headed to the beach after all that hiking. In looking back I'm not sure why we didn't go with that option. Maybe because we had to check out of our hotel and wouldn't have had a place to shower off before the long flight home? We decided to drive up to the north shore one last time and end explore Waimea Valley instead. And it was a perfect way to end our Oahu trip.

We weren't wearing our swimsuits so we didn't get into the water to swim to the waterfall. Next time, I suppose. Because there will be a next time. I need to come back to this island again someday. So different from Kauai where we took the kids in 2014. Kauai was more rugged and less touristy and commercial, and I absolutely loved it. One of our very best vacations. But Oahu was every bit as beautiful in its own way and had so much fascinating history and culture. I'm so glad I was able to tag along on Bryan's business trip.