Hey guys!
Wow, am I really double posting here? I think this is the first time I've ever done this, so I hope you guys enjoy it. This post is going to be another one of my "tourist" posts, but this time about a hike.
Known for its "steep 1048 steps", Koko Head is what many locals have told me is an "extremely difficult" trail. In fact, I've even heard that this trail, at least compared to Diamond Head, is something you need to train for. Here's a picture of what the trail looks like from the bottom.
(Not my picture)
Here's where I wanted to share something personal with you all. Friday night, hours after the Sunset on the Beach, I told my friends that I would be hiking Koko Head the following morning to see the sunrise. While they were all surprised, their reaction is what shocked me. I won't say who, but in the chorus of "Aislinn you can't hike that!" and "Aislinn don't go!" I proceeded to ask them, "Why? Why can't I? I've wanted to do this hike for weeks and it seems that every weekend there's a new excuse." Now I distinctly remember one of them looking at the ground and responding with, "You're just not fit enough."
So let me put this into perspective, without any stats or numbers involved. I have wanted to do this hike since finding out about it. I've even told people I can do it in 30 minutes or less. Here I am on the bus, with the friends I've had since welcome week, being told by them that I can't do something (or shouldn't, as I'm sure they'll argue)
Now obviously this pissed me off. Hiking is one of my favorite things to do, so when I was told I shouldn't because I'm not fit enough, this really hit a nerve. I'm not upset at all, but this made me want to hike even more. So I, after telling them that my fitness has nothing to do with my ability to successfully reach the top, became even more determined to climb these steps.
Skipping the activities prior to leaving, I met up with a friend at 4:00 and we were off. As unbelievable as it sounds, my friends still didn't think I was going to hike! Needless to say I was a little disappointed in their lack of faith in me.
My friend and I arrived at the base of Koko Head around 6:15. Knowing that my friends would question my time, and also because I had a bet with one of my other friends, I knew that I had to record my starting time.
Minutes following the picture I began my climb. The hike starts out pretty simple, none of the steps are far apart and it feels like you're still on level ground. Turn around, however, and you'll soon realize how high up you are! At 15 minutes I was halfway done- pretty good time considering how many people thought I couldn't do this. A little bit past the halfway point my friend and I decided to take a break. There's nowhere to really rest when you first start, but coincidentally there are plenty of places to pull over when you get higher up.
After our brief rest we started walking once again. I'm not sure if it's because I'm from Colorado, and have the lungs for it, but this is not a hike that will make it harder to breathe. This kind of hike will challenge you, but only in the sense that it will get harder to walk the higher you go. It's the same as any other hike! At no point did I catch myself wheezing or even struggling to breathe. The only "issue" was that I found it harder to walk up the steps towards the top. This is not because I'm "not fit enough" to hike, but because the steps at one point literally go straight up and require you to lift your leg a little higher than you've been doing.
My friend and I made it to the top in an impressive 35 minutes. I can't complain, the hike was 100% worth it and I'm so glad I was able to finally do it. My only suggestion is that if you're planning to hike this please try for a morning hike. The evening is good, too, but plans of seeing the sunset fell through when the sun dipped and we were only halfway up. On the plus side of hiking in the morning you're walking down with the sun still out, whereas at night you're in the dark.
Here's a picture of the hike from a little under halfway. I won't include the one of my friend and I out of respect to her and her privacy.
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