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| A panoramic view from the top |
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| Grass at the top |
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| Hawaii kai as seen from the top |
These
volcanoes were much smaller volcanoes and erupted 800,000 and 30,000 millions
of years before today but much after the two main Oahu volcanoes (Waianae and
Koolau) became dormant. The Volcanoes of the ‘Honolulu Series’ erupted as
a single event occurring only for a few weeks or months.
Today, Hawaii
Volcanoes National Park on Hawaii Island is one of the
few places in the world where visitors can see an active volcano. They can
watch the lava flow erupting and dropping directly into the Pacific Ocean making
Hawaii a destination unlike any other.
The Koko
head crater trail consist of a steep hike along the old tram route consisting of
1,040 wooden steps to the top. Each step is an old railroad wooden tie
and many in between ties are missing.
History of
KoKo head as told by Denby Fawcett to the Civil Beat. Denby Fawcett is a longtime Hawaii television
and newspaper journalist, who grew up in Honolulu.
The
tracks are part of the former Koko Crater radar station built by the U.S. Army
in 1942-43.
John
D. Bennett, a coastal artillery historian, says the Army Signal Corps
originally operated the early warning radar facility. The radar unit was in a
bombproof tunnel at the summit of Koko Crater.[2]
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| The railway track |
The
tracks over which hikers pass today were installed as part of a tramway to
transport army personnel and supplies to the top. A gasoline-powered winch near
the crest of the crater hoisted the tramcar.
A
base camp at the bottom of the crater had barracks and a mess hall as well as
buildings for equipment maintenance.
After
the war, the facility was taken over by 169th Aircraft Control and Warning
Squadron of the Hawaii Air National Guard.
The
Federal Aviation Administration also used a portion of the Koko Crater summit
for a microwave-link facility.
The
Air Force inactivated the facility in 1966, returning the tramway and the
facilities at the summit to the City and County of Honolulu.
The
property below Koko Crater is now known as Koko Head Regional Park.
Bishop
Estate-Kamehameha Schools originally gave the 951-acre area to the city in 1928
with the request that it be used for recreational purposes,
In
1965, the Air Force relinquished 22.7 acres at the foot of the crater to the
city. The former military buildings were turned into the federally funded
Hawaii Job Corps center to teach vocational skills to disadvantaged youth. In
1995, the Hawaii Job Corps relocated to Waimanalo.
This hike is
more of a workout than a hike. It is so grueling that it is sometimes referred
to as 'The Stairmaster from Hell' or 'The Koko Head Stairs Of Doom'.
But, once
you reach the top, the view is so breathtaking that you instantly forget the
pain of the steep ascent.
Do not
forget to carry enough water, put on a sunscreen and wear light breathable
clothes and carry a camera to snap the pictures.
From the top,
you see a 360 degree panoramic view of Hawaii kai and Makapu’u Lighthouse Trail.
President
Obama also visited the trail and hiked to the top during his 2015 winter
vacation to Hawaii.
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| The bridge |
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| It is more difficult to come down |
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| View from the top--Hawaii Kai and Makapuu Light house trail |
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| Capturing the beuaty |
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| Hikers at the top |
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| Hawaii Kai |
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| At the top |
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| View from the top |
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| View from the top |
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| Sunrise as seen from the top of the trail |
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| Houses appearing like matchboxes |
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| The descent is difficult |
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| the steep hike |
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| stairs to the top |
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| view from the top |
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| Koko head from below. |
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honolulu_Volcanic_Series
[2] http://www.civilbeat.org/2014/03/denby-fawcett-the-past-and-the-future-of-the-koko-crater-stairs/
