Lanikai Pillbox Hike (Ka'iwa Ridge Trail)

This hike is one of my absolute favorite hikes on the island.  It is short, kid-friendly, close to my house, and offers a relatively high reward for the little amount of effort it takes to get here.  It offers fantastic sweeping views of the windward side of Oahu from Kaneohe all the way to Waimanalo, Bellows, and beyond.  It prominently features the two mascots of Kailua and Lanikai- the Mokulua Islands.

Na Mokulua, the official name for the islands, means "the two islands" in Hawaiian. (I believe "Na" itself is short for "Na Really").  The one on the left is Moku Nui.  The one on the right is Moku Iki.  Most people just call them "the Mokes."

Both are bird sanctuaries and visits are regulated by the Department of Land and Natural Resources.  Many people kayak there from Kailua Beach, but you must buy a permit for landing on the beach of Moku Nui.  Moku Iki doesn't have a beach at all, so it's not really possible to land a kayak there.

Hey man, you're wrecking my aloha

The one bad thing about this hike is parking is extremely limited.  There are a few spots on the side of the road near the trail head, but once those are taken you must use street parking in front of someone's house.  As you can imagine, the locals have had many problems with hikers blocking driveways, leaving trash in their yards, using their hoses without permission, being loud and disruptive, and other such lapses in common courtesy.  If you hike here (or anywhere, really), be respectful of the residents and act like you are a guest on their land.

This hike is a fairly short climb through a wooded area followed by a bit of ridge walking.  My wife gets scared every time we let the kids wander around by themselves because she is afraid they will go tumbling down the mountain.  I am proud to say we have yet to lose a kid on this hike.

The trail leads to two World War II-era defensive positions (hence the "Pillbox").  The large guns and other fun stuff have long since been removed, but you are instead treated to a gallery of artwork from local youths.

I am told the trail continues to a third pillbox, but most people turn around at the second pillbox.  I have never ventured much past #2, despite the many times I have done this hike.

One of the things I like best about this hike is the opportunity to see just how clear the water is over here.  The light blue colors are the sand, the brownish colors are the coral.  Look how easy it is to see to the bottom even from this height.  (This also makes for great snorkeling)

Many people venture here to watch the sun rise.  I am normally not that masochistic.  However, I did make it up here one morning that I woke up early intending to do the Haiku Stairs again, but was turned away by some local fuzz. I think it worked out well for me.

I had the pillboxes to myself for a few hours and I took the opportunity to attempt some star trails.

Overall, this is a fantastic hike with a great payoff for a little amount of effort.  I would recommend this to anyone.

Mariner's Ridge:The Adventures of Staley the Dog

In my never-ending quest to trek all the hiking trails in Hawaii, I am always looking for family-friendly trails.  There are a handful of hiking trails that are appropriate for kids of all ages.  We thought Mariner's Ridge was one of them...

The reviews on the interwebs say it takes people about an hour to get to the top of this trail, and 45 mins to come back.  So we planned on spending 3 hours on the trail, thinking that shirley would be more than enough time for us.  After 2 hours of climbing and trodding, we were only about 2/3 of the way there.  I guess toddlers hike at about 1/3 speed of regular adults. 

Had we continued on this trail, it would have taken us at least 5 hours.  On this day, we decided to turn back but vowed to return again another day.

When I found time to attempt the hike again, I decided to being my trusty sidekick, Staley.

Bonus points if anyone knows why I named my dog Staley.

I wasn't quite sure how she would fare because it has been a long time since I have taken her on a long excursion.  Her brother has a bum leg and he doesn't always get along with other doggies.  So Staley doesn't get a whole lot of one-on-one time with me out in the open.

This trail starts out like many hikes here on Oahu- with an ominous "No Trespassing" sign.  This only serves to ward off some ignorant tourists.  So under the chain and onward we go.

Since this trail starts out high on a hill, it isn't long before we get to some really nice views of Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, and houses that cost more money than I will make in my entire life.

Over the ridge and through the forest, this trail has several switchbacks and some easy rocks to scale.  Staley handled everything with ease, and only nearly fell off the mountain a few times.

At the end of the trail is a fantastic landing area that has some sweeping views of eastern Oahu.  It was a bit cloudy and rainy on the day I went, but I can imagine how spectacular the view would have been.

All in all it is a fairly easy hike with great views.  It is easy enough for a toddler to scale, but we needed to plan for much more time.

Here are some pictures where I was playing with my macro lens.

And here are some more random pictures of the hike.  Thanks for reading!

Diamond Head

This post comes as a special request from my biggest fan and most avid reader (or at least, the most avid commenter).

When you visit San Francisco, you have to see the Golden Gate Bridge.  When you visit New York, you have to see the Statue of Liberty.  When you visit Chicago, you have to see the Sears Tower (no apologies to the new name holders; I know it's not the Sears Tower anymore but I refuse to call it anything but Sears).  When you visit Oahu, you have to hike Diamond Head (after seeing the Arizona Memorial, of course).

Diamond head is the most popular and accessible hike on the entire island.  On any given day, the parking lot will be full by 8AM, and you can see people from all walks of life and fitness levels making the climb.  It is a relatively short hike, and only has a few dozen stairs to navigate.  My 3-year-old did this hike very easily, and proudly told everyone on the way down that he made it to the top.

Like many hikes here on Oahu, Diamond Head has a long history of serving other functions before it became a tourist trap.  Once upon a time, it was an active volcano and helped form this part of the island.  I won't bore you with the science, so instead I will give you this link to Wikipedia.

Then when the US military came to town, it set up a communications station and defensive position at Diamond Head.  The military still owns and operates some facility here, but what you can see from the hike are the remnants of the pillboxes and other features that have long since been abandoned.

What makes Diamond Head one of the most universal trails on the island are its facilities.  They have a bathroom with running water, a parking guard to keep your car from getting broken into, and a nice sign to take your picture in front of.

The trail itself is fairly well maintained.  It is part concrete, part packed dirt.  There are guard rails as you go up the switchbacks and climb the stairs to the lookout points.  There is plenty of room to pass and be passed by other adventurers.  There is one long tunnel that is now illuminated by running lights.

This is one hike where you don't feel like you are about to fall to your death with one wrong step.  On the danger scale, I would put the Diamond Head hike somewhere between running with scissors and sticking your tongue to a frozen pole.  Actually, nobody here in Hawaii would understand that last reference, so let's just say it's less dangerous than eating poke (raw fish dip).

The view from the top is pretty neat.  You have a good view of Honolulu, Waikiki, and some of the surrounding features.  In terms of scenery-per-effort, this is one of the best values on the island.

The real problem with this hike is getting a parking spot.  Either you need to get here early and beat the jetlagged tourist rush, or you need to come during the hottest part of the afternoon (1PM ish).  The parking lot is small, and if you don't get a spot you have to hike from down the hill somewhere.  I would honestly say it would be better to find something else to do than to make the hike twice as far as it needs to be.  So, get there early.

That is all there is to say about this hike: short, easy, running water, bad parking.  Enjoy a few more random pics of this hike...