Oahu Got Trails: Hiking at Diamond Head Park

View south on Diamond Head Lighthouse

Date: January 28, 2020

Place: Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii

Coordinates: 21.263565, -157.805254

Length: 1.9 miles

Level: moderate

On January 2020, 6 weeks BC (Before COVID) I went to Hawaii on a trip with two awesome friends in celebration of our birthdays, a trip that was orchestrated by Pappa Quail who stayed at home to care for the chikas. Hawaii has several islands, only five of them are significantly populated and only four are serious tourists attractions. On this trip we decided to focus on three islands only, We started on Hawai'i the Big Island where we stayed the longest, from there we continued to Maui, which was a first time island for me too, and lastly, we came to Oahu, to add some different experience of Hawaii to our trip. In Oahu we stayed in Honolulu and did mainly touristy stuff, but we did dedicate some time to hiking as well, and the trail I liked most is one that's very close to Honolulu and that's the trail of Diamond Head. This volcanic butte isn't only a pretty nature area but it is also an historic site, having been one of the air defense bases before and during the second world war. After visiting Pearl Harbor once and before our next scheduled visit there it seemed a good idea to check out Diamond Head Park. 

Diamond Head

The first thing that captured my eyes when we parked were the little blue-billed ground doves that wandered all over the parking lot. They were as nonchalant around people as the pigeons in European cities. 

Zebra Dove

The parking lot area was nicely landscaped with beautiful planted trees, some of which were blooming. I didn't mind that the trees may not have been native Hawaiians, to me they were all new.

Kerosene Tree, Cordia subcordata

The summit trail in Diamond Head Park leads to the bunker at the top and its all paved and railed and very easy to follow. That said, the elevation change is of about 450 ft, a descent workout.

Our hike s captured by my GPS

As soon as we left the parking lot area and started up the trail the vegetation assumed a more natural and less landscaped look. Many of the plants now growing in Hawaii however, were introduced either a few hundred years ago by the Polynesians, or more recently by the western visitors and settlers.

It is the same story for the birds in Hawaii. Many of the birds we saw on that trip were also of introduced species. Still, for me they were all new.

Red-vented Bulbul

The first part of the trail is flat. The parking lot is already inside the wide old crater of Diamond Head and the bottom part of the trail merely crosses it to the southwestern side of the rim.

Diamond Head

Unlike Kilauea Iki, which is a recent crater in a young volcano, All of Oahu's volcanos, including Diamond Head are old and dead. Dead in a geological sense meaning they'll never erupt again. Biologically though, they are very much alive, and Diamond Head too is covered in vegetation. I recognized there some of the native Hawaiian plants that I first saw in the Big Island. 

Yellow 'Ilima, Sida fallax

The lower part of Summit Trail goes along the inside of the rim at a reasonably mild slope with only an occasional turn or a stair. 

The Rim

About half way up the rim the trail became much steeper with added stairs. Some of the stairs and walkways were not on the rocks but built from metal and attached to the rocks. View platforms extended away from the rim rocks and we stepped on one of them to take a breather and to admire the view. From this height it was easy to see the large ring of the crater. Diamond Head is a single-eruption volcano and its crated is a perfect circle.

The Crater

A good part of the trail is carved in the rocks however,or at least cemented on it. Plants were growing in the cracks between the rocks and some were blooming too.

Red Tasselflower, Emilia fosbergii 

Eventually we got high enough to see over the rim. To the north at first - the view was of the green hills, some already covered with the northeastern neighborhoods (or suburbs?) of Honolulu. We also noticed the thick blanket of clouds that hung over those hills and wondered if the clouds would move over our way. 

View North

We reached the bunker and entered it through an access tunnel. What amazed me was that this bunker was built before WWII, before the Japan opened war on the USA. 

Bunker Tunnel

Most of the inner spaces and passage ways inside the bunker were not accessible to the public. It was an eerie feeling to walk inside this old, falling apart base. I could imagine the place haunted by past ghosts. 

Bunker Stairwell

Whan of the spaces that was open to us was the room with the observation crack that watched over the bay of Honolulu. 

Battery Room

Web had a great view of the Honolulu coastline from the window crack of that room. There used to be a cannon there too, aimed at any hostile watercraft that might approach the city. 

Honolulu Coastline

Outside the bunker we ascended a flight of stairs to the top of the base where we had an unobstructed view all around. A lighthouse on the south beach, the Diamond Head Lighthouse, caught my attention. The full view image heads this post. 

Diamond Head Lighthouse

From there we also had a nice view of the southeastern shores of Oahu. On the day we hiked at Diamond Head we still had on our plans to go snorkling on one of the eastern beaches of Oahu. As our time on that island progressed it was becoming clear that we won't get there on our current visit. We discovered that the small island of Oahu wasn't all that small after all, that there was much to see there. 

From the roof of the bunker we also had a much wider view of Honolulu. It was easier to appreciate how big this city really is. 

Honolulu

We stayed at the observation deck on the roof of the bunker for some time, enjoying the grand view and the nice weather. Eventually however, it was time to head down. The upper part of the hike is a loop, where the trail continues on a metal ramp that extended along the crater's rim before curving back down the slope. 

Diamond Head Summit Trail

The vegetation was thicker on this part of the trail. Small trees and larger bushes grew through the gaps between the metal rails, some even growing through the metal mesh walkway.

White Leadtree, Leucaena leucocephala

The constructed metal walkway connected back to the cemented trail on the rim rock. We continued the way down on a long switchbacks section. I was fortunate to take a photo of this part of the trail with very few people on it, considering how many visitors were at the park at the time. 

Diamond Head Summit Trail

On the way down I looked at some other plants that I've missed on the way up. I must have missed many because my main focus was on having a good time with my friends. 

Sleepy Morning, Waltheria indica

Back at the bottom of the crater we had a leisurely walk back and I had more time and patience to look at the local birds. 

Common Waxbill

It was a beautiful afternoon, and we took our time walking back to the parking lot. Oahu was the last Hawaiian island on our trip and we knew that our unique vacation was nearing its end. In the news the was already talk about that virus that was dropping people left and right in China, but here it still felt like a far away thing, nothing of our immediate concern. We just wanted this beautiful moment to extend.

Diamond Head Summit Trail

 

This hike also wraps up the Hawaiian hikes on my blog, at least until I'll visit there again, who knows when.

Mile-a-minute Vine, Ipomoea cairica

Because I did much hiking and travel and very little writing in 2020 and even less writing in 2021 there's a lot of catching up I need to do. The trip to Hawaii was the last travel I did before the pandemic descended and changed everything world wide. Going back and looking at the photos I took on that trip, remembering what we've seen and the good time we had together before the game changed gives me both pleasure and much sadness.

Later that afternoon we marked another 'check' on our wish list in Oahu, and spend a beautiful afternoon and evening at Wikiki Beach. Our hiking in Oahu was done and our trip was drawing to its end. It was well worth it, a time I'd always cherish in my memory. 

In the water at Wikiki Beach

 

A Geological Landmark of Both Peaceful and Bloodied History in Maui: Visiting Iao Valley State Monument

Iao Needle

Date: January 26, 2020

Place: Iao Valley State Monument, Maui, Hawaii

Coordinates:  20.880763, -156.545400

Length: 1/4 mile to the needle look out, 1 mile loop by the river and the historic garden

Level: easy

 

The day after our visit at the House of the Sun - the Haleakala National Park, we decided to dedicate to snorkeling. We drove to a recommended beach in the south of Maui only to turn away because the ocean was too rough. Following another recommendation we drove to another beach north of Lahiana on the west shores of Maui, where we spent a few excellent hours enjoying the magnificent beach.

 

A beach north of Lahiana

A local man was walking to and fro in the shallow water, hunting octopi. It is a protected area but he needed to feed his kids, the man said. This was his ancestral fishing grounds and he still comes there regularly to catch dinner for his family.

We also enjoyed swimming in the mild, calm water. The bay was shallow and the water nice and temperate. My friends swam for some time then they settled on their towels on the sand for a siesta. I brought my under water camera and tried my best at under water photography.

The reef there wasn't very developed and there weren't many animal species there. There were a few fish species, colorful and agile, that made it very hard for me to focus my camera on them, combining both their moves and mine.

There were also a couple of sea urchin species. I was barefoot and had to be careful not to set my feet (or any other part of my body) on these spiny creatures.

There was still plenty of daylight left when we felt we were done with this beach so we decided to check out a state park that wasn't too far from Lahiana - the Iao Valley State Monument that's located in the West Maui mountains. 

It was somewhat challenging to find parking there - this state monument is popular among the locals. Most tourists don't go there, but the local people love it.

The one thing that struck me right away was the greenery. Everything was so green and lush in that valley! The river coming down the Iao Valley is one of the four main fresh water rivers on Maui, a lifeline for the human inhabitants there.

We started on the short trail toward the Iao Needle overlook platform, mingling with other visitors in the park. As always, I was looking for wildflowers, and even the smallest ones made me happy. 

The trail to the needle view point was paved and a small bridge span the river that was running down from the mountains. We paused on the bridge to look down at the waterfall. A couple of stone structures were there, erected right at the lip of the waterfall. I didn't see any path leading to that spot so I assumed whomever made these structures had waded through the water to get there.

When the needle came into view there was no mistaking it. A volcanic pillar that was separated by erosion from the main rock of the mountain side. The needle, as the south-facing mountain slope, was covered with vegetation, painting it green. It looked like a thumb sticking out of the earth.

Iao Needle

The valley extended far behind the needle, but the trail didn't go there. If there was a way to hike there, I would have to come there again in order to do so. For the time being, we settled for seeing the needle and explore a bit the park's grounds. 

We had a nice view of the stream as we approached the view platform. It was fairly narrow and it run softly. It was hard to imagine that this stream was responsible for the erosion of the grand valley behind the needle. This stream also sustained the agricultural community that lived in this valley before the modern settlement of Maui. 

A flash of red in the bushes turned to be beautiful tropical flowers the identity of I did not get. 

At the view platform we stood and gazed at the Iao Needle for a good long time. Below this needle in this valley, in 1790 was the Battle of Kepaniwai, the battle in which King Kamehameha the First defeated the Maui warriors, a major win in his campaign to unify all of Hawaii under his rule. 

Iao Needle

Turning around, we had a nice view of the valley's opening.

We turned away and started back down the path. Soon the needle was hidden behind the trees, and now it was the peak north of it that attracted me. It look like it would be a nice climb to go up there, but I didn't see any trail leading there on my map.

A narrow path diverted from the paved trail and we turned onto it, going down to the river. On the way I turned my attention to a spider web. In its center was something that looked like a small spiky fruit of some plant. On a closer look however, I realized this spiky thing was the web's owner herself - a strange looking spider, all folded up in a ball with her sharp points facing outside.

We strolled between some huge and very impressive trees. It was impossible to capture how grand these trees actually were. We enjoyed the deep shade beneath the trees.

We found a nice spot by the river bank and sat down, taking our shoes off and dipping our feet in the fresh water. My body was still salty and sticky from the ocean swim earlier but my swim suit was locked inside the car so I settled for rinsing my feet only, as did my friends. There were many other people around, and a few of them were sitting inside the river, enjoying a more serious submerging.

We sat for a good long time by the river, just chatting and relaxing. Eventually however, it was time to go. The sun was getting lower, making pretty patterns of illumination in the vegetation.

Like today, old Maui had well developed agriculture. Traditional Polynesian agriculture was done in built terraces and a water system that channeled river water into and out of the terraces. The park has a beautiful living historical garden, and coming from the river back to the paved trail we meandered through the garden.

The main plant staple of old Hawaii was the taro. From taro roots the Hawaiians made a mild flavored fermented mush called poi. I first tasted poi on my first visit to Hawaii about 18 years ago and I liked it. Pappa Quail didn't like poi, and neither did my friends after we got some to try a few days later, in Honolulu. 

Taro is planted in water. It is still grown in large quantities throughout Hawaii, and is the base for many other types of foods besides poi.

Taro

Bananas are also widely grown in Hawaii. There were banana plants in the garden as well, carrying flowers and bunches of green, still developing fruit.

Banana

There were other plants that I didn't recognize like this berry-baring plant in the photo below that I first thought was manioc (cassava), but turned out to be something else that I don't know.

Today Maui is known for its marvelous pineapples, which we sampled and approved of on every possible occasion. 

We finished our garden tour, and went back up to the main trail above the river.

When we got to the parking lot we had the chance to find the answer to the eternal question, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" As in almost every other place we've been to in Hawaii, there were chickens roaming freely. The young hen we saw was striding with determination from one side of the lot to the other, and when she reached the edge of the asphalt she took a giant leap in the air, aided by her weak chicken wings, and landed on a low branch of a large tree. From there she adjusted to higher branches with smaller hops until she settled in her roosting place, hidden from our view inside the foliage. She was getting ready for the night.

Following the hen with just as much determination, was a very colorful cock. The cock crossed the parking lot, strutting confidently between the cars until he reached the asphalt's edge. There he paused and contemplated before eventually jumping up on the tree. He was much less graceful than the hen, and didn't get as high in his first jump. I guess all those fancy feathers to weigh on the male bird.

Like the chickens, it was time for us too to get ready for the night. We left the park and started driving back to our lodge in Kihei, at the southwest side of Maui, for our third and last night in that island. On the morrow we will be flying to Oahu.