Koko Crater Trail

In the post just before this one, we visited Oahu's Koko Crater Botanical Garden, and I mentioned there was also a hiking trail to the rim of the crater, which I was going to cover in a subsequent post. So this is that subsequent post, and the trail we're doing is no ordinary trail. The trail's actually an abandoned railway, built during WWII to serve fortifications along the crater's rim, so instead of endless switchbacks you're facing 1048 railroad ties that form a rough and eroded stairway straight uphill, getting ever steeper as you approach the top. They weren't originally meant as stairs, and are slightly too far apart and too steep to be comfortable as stairs, and in some places the dirt between them has worn away, so in case you were thinking "1048 stairs? Sounds easy", just be aware that it's not quite that simple.

The city's position is that this is an unofficial and unmaintained trail, no matter how popular it is, so anything that falls into disrepair is going to stay that way. They've also gotten tired of rescuing tourists on the trail (according to a 2014 article) & they tried closing it to the public at least once, but soon relented due to public outcry. The trail's probably only become even more popular since then, since it was briefly in the national news in December 2015 when the Obama family hiked it. I occasionally point out that this is not a blog about politics, but I can't imagine the current White House occupant doing this, even if he could find Hawaii on a globe. As far as I know he only goes outside to cheat at golf on courses he owns.

Anyway, a few possibly-helpful tips for this adventure:

• As always, bring more water than you think you need, because you might need it. The only caveat here is that a backpack full of water can kind of tug you backwards and put you off balance, so be mindful of that.
• On a related note, keep an eye on people uphill of you if you can, so you can get out of the way if someone slips & starts tumbling toward you. I didn't see this happen but have seen news accounts of it happening.
• It gets hot, so go early if you can. When I say this, I always mean you should go earlier than I did, since I'm kind of hobbled by not being much of a morning person.
• Once you're done, you will probably be in the mood for a cold beer or two (or so). And you're in luck: A few blocks from here, at the Koko Marina Center minimall, there's a Kona Brewing brewpub, with a range of beers on tap and a fairly standard brewpub menu with burgers and so forth. Overall it's not my absolute favorite among all local breweries, but you can't beat the location.