Hiking Trails on Oahu

  Ma’akua Gulch – May 4, 2012 After the Sacred falls incident in 1999, the state took a look at all their trails and discovered that Ma’akua Gulch posed the same hazards as Sacred Falls. The state indefinitely closed Ma’akua Gulch soon thereafter. Ma’akua Gulch has been closed ever since, sort of. Ma’akua Gulch is located in the town of Hau’ula. In fact, if you drive on Kamehameha Hwy and see the Hau’ula sign, make a left and take the Homestead road to its terminus and you’ll be there near the trailhead. Joining me was Marvin. Our original plan was to do Waiahole Uka. But when I met Marvin at the trailhead, it was pouring which immediately changed are plans, so we decided to do Ma’akua Gulch. Furthermore, it is not a good idea to do a gulch hike in the rain, but we took the risk. There was no flash flood in effect, yet. I drove us to the Hau’ula-Papali trailhead on Hau’ula Homestead Road and the rains decided to stop. We got out of the car and took the paved road passing the Hau’ul...

The Stairway to Heaven (Haiku Stairs) - May 29, 2011 The Haiku Stairs or what people refer to as The Stairway to Heaven is infamous on Oahu. The brief history goes as follows. The steps were built in 1943 by the Navy who needed to set up radio communication.  The trail was open until 1987 when vandals dismantled parts of the stairs. The stairs was closed from then on. The stairs was rebuilt in 2002 costing the state $875.000, however the trail remained closed because legal access to the trailhead had not been agreed upon by all parties involved. To add to this, residents in the Haiku Valley area have fought to prevent hiker's from accessing the trailhead. You can only access the trailhead by going through someone's  property in the Haiku area.  Residents of Haiku feel that hiker's illegally trespass, leave trash, and park irresponsibly. They too are an integral part in the stairs not reopening. The only way to get onto the trail is to sneak in illegally. tr...