I had been hearing a lot of good things about Diamond Head hike in Oahu, so I made sure it was on my to-do list. I begged mom to go on the hike with me but couldn't win in convincing her.
Entering Diamond Head State Monument which was only about 10 minutes from our hotel.
We got to the gate entrance at 5 pm but were told the last hikers were allowed in at 4:30. I thought maybe I could change moms mind about the hike, but she still didn't feel like trekking the trail with me. We went back the next day and she dropped me off.
We had to drive through a tunnel to get to the trailhead.
Here is mom at the Diamond Head entrance, great view!
A little basic background info on the Diamond Head Crater: The crater Diamond Head got it's name after Western explorers mistook the calcite crystals in the rocks on the slopes of the crater for diamonds. In 1904 Diamond Head was purchased by the Federal government and designed for military use and coastal defense. The trail to the summit was build in 1908 as part of the U.S. Army Costal Artillery defense system. The switchbacks along the trail were designed for mules to haul material for the construction of the fire control station Diamond Head. The climb from the trailhead to the summit of the crater is 560 feet.
I arrived around 11 am, paid my $1.00 entrance fee and after a quick picture, began the hike.
The hike itself was about a mile, one way, through switchbacks, tunnels and steep stairs.
Here is the beginning of the hike, the top of Diamond Head crater is up there somewhere!
The beginning of the trail was the flattest part of the hike. It was a crowded hike, especially as the trail began to get more and more narrow.
There was no shade along the trail, it wasn't too hot outside but being directly in the sun made it much hotter.
Still on the look out for the top!
Some of the switchbacks on the way up.
This part of the hike reminded me of some of the trails in Azusa canyon.
Starting to get some nice views as the incline increases.
First stairway of 74 concrete stairs, leading to the tunnel.
Passage through a dark 225 foot long narrow tunnel.
The view is getting better!
Second stairway consisting of 99 steep steps. The cross beams above the stair way supported camouflaging.
Next was the spiral staircase consisting of 52 stairs, which accesses the 4 levels of the Fire Control Station.
It's hard to tell from this picture, but you can barley see the top of peoples heads. You enter this area after walking through the tunnel. It's a small, 10 foot area that you walk through before crawling under a small opening in rock to get to the top, well almost! The majority of people on the hike were not regular hikers. There were lots of elderly people as well, I don't know how some of them made it through this small area.
After getting through the above area, the last set of stairs consisted of 54 metal stairs. These stairs replaced the ladder to the summit in the 1970's for hikers.
Map with the different points on the hike and things to look for once at the top.
After climbing over 200 stairs, uphill switchbacks and crawling in tunnels, I finally made it to the top!
I was hot, sticky and sweaty but the view from the top was worth the climb =)
I bet the sunrise and sunset are amazing from up here! Too bad the park closes before sunset.
View of Oahu, I looked for our hotel but couldn't spot it.
After about 10 minutes enjoying the view from the top, I headed back down.
View when exiting the spiral stairs.
On the way back down the stairs.
I made it down the trail in about 20 minutes. Just the right time that I told mom to be back to pick me up. It was a great hike and good workout. I'm very glad I did it!
Mom and I went straight from Diamond Crater to Waikiki Beach to eat at Duke's restaurant. There is a Duke's in Malibu and Huntington Beach but the Duke's in Waikiki is the orginial, since Duke (the Hawaiian guy that made surfing famous worldwide) is from Waikiki.
It's traditional American food but the fish tacos were delicious. The restaurant is located on Waikiki Beach and the ambiance was relaxing and beautiful.
Our hotel had a free shuttle that ran every 30 minutes and dropped off in the downtown Waikiki shopping area and Waikiki Beach. It was only a 10 minute shuttle ride so mom and I took advantage of the shuttle a few times.
The Honolulu police department is directly in front of Waikiki Beach, mom had to sneak a picture in while we were waiting for the shuttle.
Later that night, mom and I ate dinner at PF Changs. She had never been there before. We had another delicious meal. Just thinking of the sea bass on ginger soy spinach makes me want to go back right now! MMM.
This concludes this part of the Hawaii trip. One more posting and the Hawaii posts will be completed. Pearl Harbor is my next and final topic.
It's Wednesday evening right now, meaning it's almost Thursday, meaning it's almost the weekend =) I am doing testing with my students this week and it's tiring for both them and me but it's going well. We are giving them the Stanford Achievement Test, which is an American standardized test. The test includes questions about American geography, currency, and past presidents! So sad that these Japanese kids are taking this particular test. The school only uses it as a guideline to see where students are, so hopefully it's not too big of a deal when they do poorly.
This Friday is the school talent show, so I'll there Friday night helping out. Not much else going on over the weekend except that I am going to try to get on base to do one last grocery shopping trip, to hold me over the next 6 weeks. Lately I've been able to find some good fruits at the Japanese grocery store, including: oranges, apples, bananas, tomatoes, avocados, kiwi and even watermelon! I was so sad to go back to the store and find they are no longer getting watermelon. Oh well, one week of watermelon was a nice treat. I also found plain yogurt with no sugar and plain soymilk at the Japanese store. All of that has been able to hold me over for a while =)
XOXO
Kristen
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