Haiku Stairs

Yesterday got up early to go hike the Haiku Stairs (aka Stairway to Heaven) with Jon, Wonderboy and a few others. Hit the trail at 5am, led by Wonderboy who was hauling ass to the start of the stairs. By the time this shot was taken a few stairs up the climb, I was already drenched in sweat.

This is a shot of the descent, slightly above this point, we entered the clouds and couldn't see anything.

View from the top...perfect for someone afraid of heights.  We were in the clouds.  The descent started off rainy, with my favorite kind of rain...sideways rain that went straight for the earlobes.  It also made the steps slippery...awesome.

I think it was military appreciation day on this slightly illegal hike.  Must've seen 100+ folks on the trail, mainly buzzcuts wearing t-shirts advertising their military affiliation.

Obligatory Garmin graph.  The 405 showed that I burned 132 calories...highly accurate.  We had an average speed of just below 1mph.  Highest gradient I saw on the graph was 43%, however at times the stairs were more of a ladder and the climb was vertical.

Checked off another "must-do" for Hawaii in the last summer here. The post-hike McGriddle sure tasted good.