Difficulty: ADVANCED
Time: 8+ HOURS
Distance: 12 MILES
Elevation Gain: 1800 FEET
Foot Traffic: LOW
Challenges: Overgrown, Muddy, Narrow Ridges with Steep Dropoffs, Shadeless
Sights: Stairway to Hell, Windward Side, Honolulu
What to Bring: Sunscreen, Long pants and sleeves, Water (>2L), Lunch
The lesser known of Oahu's staircases, the hike nicknamed "Stairway to Hell" is just like it sounds--- an old sketchy set of abandoned stairs that lead downhill to nowhere. Getting to these stairs is no easy feat as you will have to make your way up to and then traverse the challenging and dangerous Ko'olau Summit Trail (KST). But when you get there, you will be rewarded some epic views of the Windward side and some spectacular photo ops.
If you know even a tiny bit about Oahu hiking, you will have heard about the famous Haiku Stairs AKA "Stairway to Heaven". These were stairs built back in the WWII era, that led to an old radar tower, way up in the Ko'olau Mountain Range. Now these stairs are an iconic hiking landmark, not only because of the beautiful landscape you see, but also the local conflict they have created. They are illegal to hike, not only because they are damaged and dangerous, but also because they require you to trespass on people's private property, creating another set of problems.
What people don't realize, there are other less famous staircases to explore. One of these such staircases is one often referred to as Stairway to Hell. The stairs have been on my hiking list for quite awhile, but I was waiting to find the right crew to go with. After some tipsy bar discussion, plans fell into place, and I finally had a day set to take on these stairs. It would be an adventure to remember.
This is a shot of the hike. Our plan was to do an out and back from Aiea Ridge to the KST and then take the KST to the stairs (in red). Our plans changed once reaching the stairs, which led us down a different ridge, called Red Hill Ridge (blue). I'm not one to change plans half way through a hike, and I probably should have listened to my instinct... but more on that later.
Our day began in Keaiwa Heiau State Recreation Park, the location of the popular Aiea Loop Trail. Before the hike even began our first mishap occurred... none of us had brought any sunscreen. Oh well, we were already here, might as well hike anyway right? (I would regret that decision the next day... and the rest of the week...)
A totally new squad for today's hike-- Carly, Katie, and Anna. No better way to bond than 8+ hours of nature and dangerous ridges!
It didn't take long for us to make the turn up to Aiea Ridge (more on how to find that in this post). We would be on this trail for the next few hours, as we made our way to the KST.
Just like last time, I was pleasantly surprised about how much I enjoyed Aiea Ridge. It had its challenges with a couple narrow sections.
And even some steeper descents.
But balanced that with some great views. Overall, this is probably one of my favorite of the less maintained ridges that connect to the KST.
But we still gotta make it to the KST first! It's hard to tell what the views were going to be like with some gray clouds overhead. More often than not, the Ko'olaus will be socked in by clouds.
Just gotta make the final push to see what's at the top...
And after almost 2.5 hours, that's what we found at the top-- nothing short of spectacular. All the beautiful Windward views there to see-- the Sandbar, Chinaman's Hat, you name it.
And the view of the center of the island wasn't too shabby either.
Picture perfect... and this wasn't even our destination for the day. We almost didn't want to continue on.
But continue on we must.
The official Aiea Ridge summit. Brace yourself, it's KST time.
If you've never hiked on the KST, you're in for a treat. Unmaintained, grassy ridges, with steep dropoffs. And if it's clear like today, insane views like this.
There's really nothing quite like it.
And it's not without its physical challenges as well. The ridge rollercoasters up and down quite a bit, so you are forced to deal with some steep inclines like this.
I really enjoyed the KST portion of this hike, but we were getting antsy to find the stairs. Unfortunately that ridge in this picture is a "false ridge" and is not where the stairs are located.
