Koko Head - Waimea Falls - Diamond Head (Tourist hikes)

So, not that I'm not a tourist half the time when it comes to knowing culture and ways of life in Hawaii, but I guess I am not due to the fact that I live and work here, granted in many ways I most definitely am a tourist in my naive ways of culture and nature, although I am learning! Just out of boredom of not blogging about hikes in so long, again due to work, rain, and my parents visiting for two weeks, hiking again has been hard to come by, I am blogging these tourist hikes.

Koko Head - Located on the southeastern side of Oahu, in Hawaii Kai, this is definitely a lung buster/leg killer/brutal workout! I think it's worth it, most people would probably beg to differ, just because it is so strenuous, and that it is, it definitely takes it out of you going up, and takes a large amount of patients going down, these are old railroad track ties, the "steps" are actually part of an abandoned railroad track that was once used by the military to transport supplies to a lookout shelter at the top, So there are most definitely not any handrails, which would be nice if there were! I believe there are about 1500 steps on this fantastic hike, which are marked on the railroad tracks going up. It's so awesome that the steps are so uneven and the holes dug in the dirt, everything is SO uneven, if you are afraid of heights, this is not for you, not to mention the awesome bridge you have to cross, that always seems to be SWARMING with bees, I literally almost started sprinting down the bridge which would of ended very terribly for me, and maybe a couple other people! Anyway to rap this up, the hike is pretty hard, the views from the top are gorgeous, it is usually a pretty busy place, speaking of when we were there this guy went up like 5 times!! It gets better, on the way down he'd run down it backwards!

Diamond Head Crater - By far the most popular tourist hike on the island, diamond head was built as a part of the oahu coast defense system, after being formed by various eruptions of the ko'olau volacano, and   according to wikipedia (aka my bff),  Diamond Head is estimated to be about 150,000 years old and the volcano being extinct for just aslong. At 1.5 miles round trip, the common person would take about 1 1/2 hours about, I don't know the first time I did this hike, the first hike we did when we got to the island, I was struggling, wow I was so out of shape, this time when I did it with my parents who were bound and determined to do this hike, which I did have doubts about, since we managed to go right when the noon sun was at it's hottest! This last time I was running it, my mom on the other hand, was about to throw herself over the edge I believe, LOL, and my step dad, well he managed to hold his own for the most part! All in all iw as super proud of them, anyway, a bit about the hike, there are about 200 stairs, and a lot of unpaved, uneven, rocky switch backs going up to the top, easily room to bust an ankle if you aren't paying attention! At the top you reach an old coastal artillery observation platform built in the 1900's, and above that is more viewing areas of Waikiki, Honolulu, and of course the Pacific Ocean. A fun family hike i'd say.

Waimea Falls - So we visited here, when my parents were visiting also, mom wanted to see a waterfall, and I wanted to show her one that wasn't going to kill her getting to! This tourist attraction is nice, minus the amount you have to pay to get in! $8 for us military each, and my parents had to pay $13 dollars to get it, kind of steep, but at least the parking was free. So, we stopped here before we were going to the Polynesian Culture Center Luau, and it was raining, gladly it stopped, this area also has a botanical garden which was pretty neat, never been to one yet since getting on the island. Although, I'm not a big flower person, but whatever. The paved trail is about 1.5 miles round trip, PAVED trail, it's excellent when this happens, I hate getting dirty. Nothing to really blog about this hike, it's easy, family oriented, pretty falls at the end, where they offer a lifeguard and life jackets if you aren't a good swimmer.