Chronicles of Hawaii: The Great Hike up Koko Head

Heads up for a pretty photo-heavy post; I'm pretty sure I won't be going up there ever again so my dad and I made sure to take as many photos of each other. Haha!

I would say that I'm a pretty fit person. I was an athlete in high school, being varsity of my school swimming team and even captain of my local club team. When I went to college I went on a 2-year hiatus from exercising because I got so burned out with all the requirements for swimming. It was no joke! But early this year I started going to the gym almost every day, and since Christmas I have lost about 13 pounds. Only 5 more pounds away from my thinnest weight EVER since I was 13!

But in Hawaii, at first I was dieting, not eating so much. Now I eat like a baby dinosaur! HAHA. I figured I should just worry when I get back to Manila. But in the mean time, my dad and I have found a new way to try to keep off those extra pounds, and it's through hiking! Click on the jump to read more about this. :)



We went up Diamond Head the last week (will post about that soon as well) and it was relatively easy, nothing super strenuous. The other day my family and I were going the way of Koko Head for one thing or another, and I was able to catch a glimpse of the steps. I told my dad I wanted to hike up Koko head. I did my research, and the very next morning we were up and ready to do the hike!

From our area, It should have been a 40-minute car ride to Koko head but it took us nearly an hour and a half because we got lost. And since the area was near Pearl Harbor, all of the pedestrians there were Japanese residents who didn't even know their way around! Boo. But since Hawaii is small, we eventually found it!

I made sure to wear something flimsy and comfortable pants, so I put SPF 70+ even under my sheer top. At the foot of Koko Head!

Going up was TERRIBLE. I had such a hard time! They actually call this Nature's Stairmaster because there are 1028 steps up to the head, plus an additional hike! The first time my dad and I sat down to rest I started seeing stars and got so dizzy. It felt like an intense version of Bikram Yoga out there! But I eventually stood up.

At one point there's even a BRIDGE! It was wild. Imagine steps with no railing and no reinforcement under, like a ladder but with almost no slope! It was terrible. No Photos of this but I crawled through it. I bet I looked so funny! HAHA. And thank God we brought water. I was telling my dad I wouldn't need it but he insisted we bring one bottle each of 500 mL. I finished mine way before he did! Haha but it was enough for the whole hike.

WOOHOO FINALLY AT THE TOP! I read online that if you're not satisfied with this view there's a natural trail (no more steps!) that will lead you to the very top. So of course we did that!

Going up the trail...

HELLO WORLD! There were some other hikers with us who were nice enough to take our photos. over here there was a spectacular view of the island, from the beaches on one side to the cities on the other!

This is a panoramic photo that I took with my iPhone. Isn't it gorgous?! You might want to zoom in for the bigger resolution, click on the photo. :)

After about 20-30 minutes of viewing, we made our way back down.It was much faster and happier because wow, those views just took my breath away.

At the bridge area there was a natural trail which was definitely safer, so we opted to cross through there. My dad said it was longer but I didn't notice.

AND WE'RE DONE! What an experience! I was so happy to be able to let my hair down. Haha!

We were so hot after the whole hike that we went for Waiola shaved ice! It's the best in my city, about 5 minutes away from where we stay. The ice is like powder and the syrup really tastes like fruit! :D

Yum! Thanks for reading!