Oahu’s Haiku Stairs have quickly ascended to the top of my Bucket List…
The Haiku Stairs, aka “The Stairway To Heaven”, is one of the most extreme and beautiful hikes in the world. It also happens to be illegal (and has been for the past 29 years) which means you should never, under any circumstances, do this. Ever. 😳. The 4000-step steel ladder/stairway was built in 1943 during World War II to provide access to transmission buildings at the top of Pu’u Keahi a Kahoe on the island of Oahu.
The ladder scales nearly 2,500 vertical feet from Haiku Valley, so high that there are points in the hike where you’re above the clouds.
This was a popular hiking trail in the 1980s, operated by the Coast Guard as it provided an advantageous vantage point for catching glimpses of the sea and air, until 1987 when it was deemed too dangerous for the public. Although the hike is illegal, dozens of tourists (and some locals) attempt to scale the Stairway To Heaven every single day.
The Honolulu Board of Water Supply, Business Insider reports, “has jurisdiction over the hike and requires that anyone who goes up it sign waivers and present a $1 million liability insurance policy.”
Ok, so please be careful friends.
Take a look at the shots these Freedom Hackers snapped…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPYYNTOgRcQ/
Featured Image by Danielle Vitarbo Photography
Holy moly. Buns of steel, here I come!
The Freedom Team
