Hawaiian Jace: Stairway To Heaven

First of all let me apologize to any Led Zeppelin fans out there who may have accidentally come here hoping to hear one of the best songs ever recorded. Click here to ease your woes. No, this particular post is about the hike I was lucky enough to experience called "Stairway To Heaven" here on Oahu Hawaii. If you want to know the complete history of the stairs click here, but the gist of it is that these stairs were built in 1943 by the Navy to enable them to string communication cables from one side of the island to the other. Later the Naval base was decommissioned in the 50's and was then used as a navigation system by the Navy. In 1987 the stairs were closed off to the public and remain closed off today due to liability issues. The total stair count from bottom to top is 3,922.

There is a Guard stationed at the bottom of the stairs who's job consists of turning away any eager hikers. I found this out the hard way, twice. Yes, that's correct, I tried this hike twice previously last week and both times arrived too late only to be turned away by the guard on duty. This was super disappointing because just getting to the stairs requires going over, under, and through fences, stomping through bamboo forests, navigating small beaten paths, and did I mention this is all done in the dark? The only way to avoid the guard is to go very, very early.

So as my time here on the island comes to a close, this particular hike quickly shot to the top of my "must do list", mainly because it had thwarted me twice previously. Determined and motivated I decided to give it one last shot. Only this time I was going to leave at 1 a.m. in order to guarantee not being defeated yet again by the the man in the uniform. So I enlisted a group of friends, none of which had every done the hike before and we set off.

The cast included my roommate Austin, an eager 19 year old who likes hot pockets almost as much as I do. My friend Melinda who I knew previously from Provo and is currently here going to BYUH. Melinda's roommate Lani, a girl you want to bring on every hiking trip because she literally thinks of everything, and is more prepared than any elite boyscout. Also, my good pal Carlos Mozo, little brother to Jon Mozo, the man who's life is being made into a documentary that I have been very lucky to work on. And Finally a very good friend of the Mozo family, Dillion. Needless to say it was definitely a good looking group of people.

Close look of the Stairway structure.

So the Six of us set off on our Journey at 1 a.m in the morning. We arrived at a small neighborhood where you can park your car and cross over the first of many fences that are littered with "NO TRESPASSING" signs. The benefit of attempting this hike twice the week before was that I now knew the path of finding the stairs like that back of my hand. So getting to the beginning of the stairs quickly is no problem. After navigating our way to the base of the mountain where the stairs begin I was elated to find no Guard on duty! Finally, the term "3rd time is a charm" was actually applicable to a situation in my life! So there I was, standing at the bottom of nearly 4,000 stairs that had evaded me twice already, but this time there was nothing stopping me, except myself.

Only two more fences had to be crossed, and we finally set foot on the first stair at roughly 2:30 a.m. At this point the excitement and adrenaline was all I needed. I quickly realized I was going to need a better flashlight solution than my current tool which was my cell phone. This is where Lani comes in very handy, she didn't have a flashlight, rather she had TWO flashlights. So i stuck one in my mouth, grabbed the railing and started my way to the top.

It begins.

Going up these stairs you quickly realize they are like nothing you have every climbed in your life. Almost always steeper than a 45 degree angle, these 8 foot segments, although rusted and missing a step every now and then feel amazingly sturdy for the most part considering they are nearly 70 years old. Wide enough for just one person to fit, your arms are just as important as your legs as you pull yourself up each step. The stairs literally turn into a ladder in a few spots as they go completely vertical scaling the face of rocky cliffs.

Years of wear and tear taking a toll.

I'm not sure if it was the adrenaline wearing off or the lack of food in my stomach but after climbing for 20 minutes I became very sick. At one moment I thought I was going to have to turn back, and felt throwing up wasn't a matter of if, but when. So we took a break, I sat down, leaning against the railing trying to decide what I was going to do. Certainly I couldn't turn back now. Luckily, this gave Lani yet another chance to show off her preparedness skills. She was like having a mini convenient store following behind me. She not only had an apple for me to eat, but some ibuprofen as well. After about 10 minutes I felt much better, and our adventure continued.

I wish I could accurately describe the magnitude of these stairs, and I hope these pictures are able to do them justice somewhat. Looking at them as you climb is intimidating to say the least. They are built on the ridge of a mountain where in many cases you are standing in areas where these narrow stairs barely fit with 100 foot drop offs on either side of you.

As we climbed, the rain started to fall. This made me nervous at first, because the last thing I wanted was another obstacle to deal with. Climbing a set of soaking, wet stairs isn't exactly preferred in a situation where if you fall, you are not going to stop for a very long time. However, the rain felt good and cooled us off as we climbed. It did cause the stairs and rails to become very slippery but was not enough to make us turn around.

Stairway to Heaven.

There are basically 4 main platforms that you encounter on your way to the top. These are flat spots that feel very rewarding to get to. The first one is by far the most difficult to reach, but eventually we arrived, and it felt great. We still had thousands of stairs to go, but hitting this first platform filled me with all the motivation that was just sucked out of me trying to get there. After a short break we continued to the top.

First platform. From left to right: Dillion, Carlos, Lani, Me, Austin, Melinda, and Tripod.

Built by mad scientists.

At this point I had my second wind, and sort of hit my stride. The obsesive compulsive disorder inside me was busy distracting me as it had me counting each and every stair I was going up. I lost track of time and position. Before I knew it, I had got quite a bit ahead of my friends. I kept going until I hit a realitively flat spot. This is where I had one of those moments that we live for, and never forget.

Surrounded by clouds, with light rain falling around me. I leaned against the rail and looked out over the valley. I could barely see the lights from the towns below glowing through the thick mist. I closed my eyes and took a slow deep breath realizing this may be the purest breath I had ever taken in my life. I felt the cold air rush into my lungs and imagined the oxygen being mixed into my blood hitting my heart and being pumped through my body. Standing there, on a mountain in Hawaii in the middle of the pacific ocean breathing this air is something that will stay with me forever.

Beautiful.

The group caught up to me and we made it to platforms 2 and 3 rather quickly. We could feel that we were getting close. The weather continued to get worse. This wasn't the Hawaii you imagine in your head. Far away from sandy, sun soaked beaches where 85 degree sun rays tan your skin. No, we were some 2,000 feet above sea level at this point, surrounded by rain clouds dumping water on us. With the temperature somewhere in the the lower 40's, I felt like I was right back in Utah.

Continuing on.

Finally, our destination was just a few hundred steps away. Climbing up, the giant radio station with two large satallite dish like structures on top came into view. We had finally reached the end of this amazing staircase. We were cold, tired, and hungry but the sense of accomplishment was enough to distract us from these discomforts. At least for a few minutes anyway.

Getting to the top doesn't exactly reward you as you might think you should be for climbing a near 4,000 stairs. You feel like there should be a hot tub at the top, and a buffet filled with your favorite foods. What you get though is a rundown concrete building complete with wet floor, rusted metal, and grafitti all over the walls.

I climbed to the top of the radio tower. Fighting the wind, rain and cold in order to get this shot. Worth it.


Hanging out at the top, inside the graffiti covered radio tower.

This is the part I tell you to buckle up because I'm about to throw a crazy life changing analogy your way where I compare a hike to the grand scheme of life. But that's exactly what it was. Life really isn't about the beginning or the end. Rather the experiences you have getting to the end that matter. We get so focused on where we want to be tomorrow that we forget to enjoy where we are today. Don't rush through life too quickly because the only thing waiting for us at the end of our earthly life is a six foot hole in the ground. What comes after that is another journey in of itself, but you might as well pull as much out of this one as you possible can. Take a minute to stop and fill your lungs once in a while with the air around you.

Ascending the staircase.

Carlos facing his fear like a man.

Our trip was only half over and we still needed to climb back down. This proved to be a bit quicker than going up, and with the sun finally peaking over the ocean we could now take in all the beauty that was around us. My pal Carlos wasn't too happy about that, because he isn't exactly the biggest fan of heights, but like a champ he pushed through it with a clean pair of shorts. Stopping periodically to take photos we eventually reached the bottom where the guard was waiting for us.

Luckily he was very cool about the situation, and he even warned us that cops had arrested people the day before, and he recommended we take a different path back to our car to avoid the same fate. So back through the bamboo forest we went, making it back to the car in one piece.

7,844 stairs later I can finally scratch this hike off the list. What an amazing way to say goodbye to such a beautiful place. But at least I know this isn't goodbye forever, as I will hopefully be making many more trips back to this wonderful place.

More Photos from the hike.