Holiday Hikes

View from the parking lot

With the recent time I have taken off from running barefoot I started to hike more often. Its a win win win in my book. I get to go barefoot, see some sights, and not sit on the couch all day feeling sorry for myself.

We kicked off our adventure two days before Christmas. The first hike we decided to do is called Koko Head Crater. As you guessed, it is a volcanic crater. This is not much of a trail or a hike, but more of a climb. You walk on old railway tracks all the way up the side of the crater to the top. It is like a stair master built right into the side of it, but with better views then being stuck in the gym.

As you stare up the path, it just keeps going up. It is a relatively short hike, about a mile to the top, but it gradually keeps getting steeper and steeper until you finally reach the summit after having walked somewhere around 1100 steps.

At the first step

My wife and I meet up with some of our friends to do the hike. My wife and our friend Charley were wearing Vibrams, and I of course was barefoot. Our other friend, Frank decided to wear shoes today although he frequently hikes in his Vibrams.

We got a late start so the sun was out and blazing the whole time. We stopped and enjoyed the view every once and awhile, and also to catch our breath.

The stairs are mostly in good shape for the amount of foot traffic they get. Of course there are those ones that are beginning to rot and it tends to make people weary of stepping on them. I stepped on every one and none of them flexed or felt like it was going to give out.

I had read somewhere that a few people did not recommend going barefoot on this path because it was too rough or in bad conditions. It could not be further from the truth. I had absolutely no problem at all going barefoot. The rocks there are minimal and you have no problem avoiding the bigger ones.

There is this one part of the path that seems to frighten alot of people. There is a bridge crossing that you have to walk across. The bridge crossing is just like the rest of the trail, there are railroad ties and supports, but the part that freaks everyone out is that the ground is 15-20 feet below the tracks. The bridge is designed so that you can see right threw where you are stepping to the ground below you. I find it very cool to walk across it. Others fear falling threw because they don't trust themselves so they either try and walk around it, which means walking on an even sketchier path, or they sit on their butt and inch across it.

When you hit the top of the "stairs" you find some old abandoned military bunkers built about 60 years ago that are in the side of the crater. The tracks were used to haul ammunition and supplies up the crater to the weapons and personnel on top. I am not sure exactly what kind of weapons they had up there, but it was probably machine guns as the artillery pieces were placed at Diamond Head Crater which is not to far away. Keep reading on below to see the Diamond Head hike.

I am not sure how many people actually turn around at this point, but if they do, they miss out on some more amazing views. From the end of the tracks, its only maybe 40 feet further to another viewing site.

Jessi and I at the top

 The first time I hiked this crater with a few of my other friends we actually went all the way around the crater. From the top, if you go down the right side of the crater, its actually a nice little walk.

From there you can turn around or voyage on down, making your own path through waist high grass to the bottom of the crater. From here on out its going to be very sketchy as there is no trail and you basically have to find your way back up the other side of the crater around and back to the top.

This is definitely not for the weak of heart or those scared of heights or not confident in themselves. You walk along the ridge, most of the way is no wider then 3 feet before a tremendous fall to your death. It gets very narrow and technical as you try and maneuver yourself back to the top. To top it off there is a 40 foot rock face you have to climb to make it back to where you first started. I thought it was a blast, one of my friends feared for his life the entire time clenching to the top of the rocks as we climbed over them.

View from the top of Koko Head overlooking Hawaii Kai and Hanauma Bay (on the left)

On Christmas Eve, the bunch of us decided to do a hike called Mt. Olympus. This trail is about 8 miles round trip. This is probably one of my favorite trails I have done so far on this island. Its relatively short, but yet long enough that you can still get a workout.

View from the first lookout stop

We had a late start, around 10am. I wanted to get out there around 8 or 9am because I knew it was going to get hot as we walked along the ridge line of the Koolau Ridge. The hike starts in the Waahila Ridge State Park. There is plenty of parking, restrooms and picnic tables in the park.

We start the hike, I was in my Vibrams as was Frank and Charley. Jessi wore shoes today because she thought that it would be easier on her feet. That is what she thought.

Near the beginning of the trail you encounter a downhill slope that is covered in vines. There is absolutely no place where you can even see dirt. The rain made the vines extra slippery. The 3 of us wearing Vibrams were doing ok, but Jessi was having a ruff time trying to get down with her shoes on. Finally she said enough and took off her shoes. Then she started flying down the trail passing me and my Vibrams. Once we hit the bottom I took my shoes off also, not to be out down. I would have never heard the end of it if she finished the hike barefoot and I didn't go barefoot.

You head along a marked path over varied terrain. Everything from hills covered in slippery roots to exposed rock for hundreds of meters. This trail has all the different types of terrain you can ask for. We passed an older couple who was coming down the trail and saw that we were barefoot. They said something along the lines of you guys are tough and without missing a beat Jessi said back "I think it is easier barefoot."

Eventually you are going to come to a fork in the trail with a warning sign saying not to continue on up the ridge. If you go left down into the valley along a state maintained trail. If you go up the trail past the sign you enter the unmaintained trail that leads to the summit, Mt Olympus. 

Now, let me say the trail is maintained. Well kind of. The state does not maintain the trail any longer but there is a group of hiking enthusiasts who maintain the trails that the state longer does. While they maintain the trail, its not perfect, but still very hike-able.

There are also sections of the trail where people have places ropes to help others climb safely along the more sketchy parts. We hiked after a week of rain storms so the trail was very muddy and wet. Along with all that mud it also made for a interesting time trying to make our way to the top. Some areas of the trail were completely altered by the rain and there were many areas of the trail in which a rope should have been placed to aid in the climb. 

One of the slippery mud walls we had to navigate

The last time I hiked this trail it was in better shape and many of the areas we had trouble in that day were easily navigated the first time. This was problematic for Frank who has a fear of heights and literally crawling our way up the side of this slippery mud wall.

I decided that I am going to carry climbing rope with me from now on to tie up and help others. I have no problem at all with navigating hairy trails, in fact the sketchier, hairier, and life threatening the trail is, the more fun I have. Realizing that others may have problems, it just makes sense to carry some extra rope to leave behind for the others to utilize.  

Unfortunately, one of the problems hiking in the mountains of Oahu is the unpredictable weather. At the same time, it can be pouring rain one one side of the island, sunny on another. It also means that the mountains are going to affect the weather. On the trail today the entire way up the ridge it was sunny, as we reached the top, the clouds were formed and stationary on the other side of the ridge. That means that the view that we hiked for couldn't be seen. Good thing I still have the pic from the last time we hiked this trail.

View of Kaneohe from the top of Mt. Olympus, when the clouds are not in the way

The last hike we did during our holidays we Diamond Head Crater on New Years Day. Instead of hiking with Frank and Charley, we hiked with a different group of friends that I work with. A word to those who are thinking about hiking here, watch out. This is a very popular hike because of its location to Waikiki, amazing views, and military history, but they have a very limited amount of parking. We ran into this problem and had to park outside of the crater meaning we would have about a 5 min walk. It was not a big deal to us but to some people might care.

The switch back that makes its way around to the top

The hike starts out on a cement path that leads to the trail portion of the hike. Its a mix of paved paths, dirt switchback trail and the last part is cement steps that lead to the bunker at the summit. Its just under a mile to the top.

After you get off the cement path you hit the narrow trail. Its covered in decent sized rocks. The trail is just barely wide enough to fit 2 people side by side. It also has hand rails all the way up because of the fact it is a tourist attraction it caters to all types of visitors.

We walked for about 10 mins and finally myself and the other two guys I was hiking with decided to run up to the top. I was having to pick my way around the slow people and I could tell that my feet were going to take a beating if I ran up barefoot. So I stopped and put on my Vibrams I had in my bag and began to tear up the trail.

It was slow going, we had to slow and walk behind people waiting for a space to pass. We continued up the trail passing through a 200 foot tunnel, up sets of stairs with the last set being rather steep.

Right before you hit the bunker you have to go up an extremely narrow spiral staircase, be prepared to get stuck on the stairs for a small amount of time. Right after you get out of the stairs you enter the bunker and that is where the real hold up is. You can get out of the bunker by using a small 4 step ladder and walk around on top of the bunker, where the views are. This is by far the biggest holdup on the trail.

The bunker is actually an old observation deck used by the military. Inside the crater was an array of artillery and cannons who purpose was to protect the harbor. The cannons would be on the crater floor making it very hard to be hit by enemy fire and the observation deck would be used to find targets. 

One of the sets of stairs you climb, this is the steepest one

Once you get on top of the bunker you can enjoy the views. You can see into the crater from where you started, down towards Koko Head Crater and on the other side you can oversee Waikiki and on a clear day you can see all the way down to Ewa, a good 35 minute drive by car.

The views are awesome and the reason why you hike Diamond Head, but its also the reason everyone else hikes there also. Its very packed on top of the bunker so it will take some time to find a spot along the rail to take pictures. For the cost to benefit ratio, you cant beat this hike. Its extremely short, and has awesome views.

View from the top of Waikiki and Honolulu

View from the top of Hawaii Kai and Koko Head Crater

Hopefully after I get back from this class I have to attend, I should be running barefoot again. It will be over a month taken off from barefoot running and even running in general so I hope to get back into it soon.

Honolulu Marathon, On a Whim

At the finish line with a time of 5hrs 17mins

Last week I ran and finished the Honolulu Marathon, something that I decided to do pretty much making up my mind a week before the race. It was my first marathon and also it would be the longest time I have ran barefoot, but seeing as how this would be my only time to run this marathon, I decided what the heck.

I was thinking about running in the marathon on and off for about 3 months with no real effort put forth to attend it. The furthest I have ever run before was just over 9 miles and that was in shoes. The longest I have ever ran barefoot was for maybe 50 minutes. Like I said earlier, it was going to be the only time I could run this marathon, and I thought to myself, I am going to do it and why not do it the right way, barefoot.

Once I finally decided I was going to run the marathon, I had one week to prep. There was no way I was going to be able to train in any manner that would help me. The only thing I could think of to do was go for a couple barefoot runs around 3 miles to help keep my feet in shape as best I could. For the last 3 days before the race, I did no running for fear of hurting myself and not being able to run.

I showed up nice and early, around 2am, to get a parking spot right next to the finish. I sit around and watch as the field of just under 21,000 slowly fill the street in front of the Ala Moana Mall over the next 3 hours.

Around 20 minutes before the start I spot an unusually tall man walking through the crowd of people with an average height of around 5'7" around in a purple shirt and purple kilt. It was a fellow barefoot runner I had found and contacted through his blog named Christian Peterson. He flew out from Minnesota to run the Honolulu Marathon and raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through their Team In Training program in honor of his father.

We talk and start the race together. The start line is packed with people from serious runners to people, mostly Japanese, in an assortment of strange get ups from random Japanese cartoon characters, to wedding dresses, to a group of 40 people running with 80's theme attire.

A barefoot Santa throwing up the Shaka, my kind of guy

The race stays fairly crowded making for a hard time for us to navigate through the crowd and get around the slower runners, little did I know that this would be a downfall later on in the race for me. We run down to the Aloha Tower and start the loop back towards the start line running by the Honolulu City Lights.

We hit our first aid station. Christian stops to fill up his water bottles and I grab a cup and try and find a dry spot to stand so my feet dont get soaked. It didnt make a difference. There was no dry place to stand and it would be the same for every aid station. Crowded, hectic, extremely wet and not very good for my bare feet.

We make the loop passing the start line and head towards Diamond Head running through the Waikiki Strip. It was weird being able to run down the roads that I normally would be sitting in traffic on. After we run down the strip we see the finish line straight ahead but we take a slight left around the finish line for the marathon. Just after we made the left by the zoo and the finish line, we hit the finish for the 10K walk.

Just after we passed the 10K mark I see some porta-potties and I make the decision to stop. Christian asks if I wanted him to wait, I tell him to keep going and I would catch up to him.

 Getting through the crowd up Diamond Head

I start running again and head up Diamond Head. The road is jam packed with runners slowly drudging themselves up the hill. I feel great, and am passing runners left and right, trying to find my way around people. I get stuck in the crowd and am forced to slow down several times where people talk to me about running barefoot. I get the usually "look he is running barefoot" continually throughout the race. A few people actually have a conversation with me while running.

I make my way along the course, making sure to stop at every aid station and grab a water or a Gatorade because the sun is starting to come out and I know that it is going to get hot out real quick.

At mile 10 I feel a blister starting to form on the outside of my left foot. I continued on and soon realized that I was giving my self a blister from cutting back and forth trying to get around people. I continued on trying not to aggravate the blister further.

I hit the 12 mile marker and the blister is starting to become a nuisance. I stop, take a seat on the guard rail and take a look. I make the call to put on my Vibrams. I am thrilled to have made it 12 miles barefoot. The longest barefoot run I have ran before was around 4 miles. Taking into account that I have not been training to run a marathon barefoot, I was very happy to make it that far.

I strap on my Five Fingers and keep on running down to the turn around point in Hawaii Kai. Its getting very hot out and I still have not seen Christian. I keep on running enjoying the view. Then at about mile 21.5 I see him again.

I catch up and talk to him for a little. I feel great. I dont feel exhausted or tired at all. He looks like the heat and humidity have really taken a beating on him. I run with him a little bit and he tells to take off and finish, I tell him I will be there at the finish waiting for him.

 With the finish line right around the corner I continue on as the crowd of runners slowly became a crowd of walkers. I head back towards Diamond Head for the last hill before the finish line. It seems like the hill never ends. Near the top I start to get a cramp on the backside of my left knee. It hits me like running into a brick wall. I stop at the last couple aid stations and knock back a couple cups of Gatorade at each.

I hit the 25 mile marker, 1.2 miles left to go and boy was my leg hurting. I would run for about 100m and then have to walk so I decided to walk for awhile and finish on a strong note.

That little walking turned into alot of walking and I ended up running only the last .2 of the marathon.

I crossed the line and walked down the chute, grabbed some Gatorade.I finished with a time of 5hrs and 17mins. I don't care about the time. Like I said I had not even in the slightest bit been marathon training, never mind barefoot marathon training. I was plenty happy with the fact that I ran the first 12 miles barefoot and the last 14.2 in my Vibrams. My goal was just to finish it, irrelevant of the time it took.

I walked around for a little while waiting for Christian to finish. Not to far behind me he came across the line. I shook his hand had one last conversation with him and then we parted ways. Him to meet up with his team and me limping over to get my finisher's tee-shirt and medal. I crept back to my car, legs absolutely hurting.

Me at mile 24

When I got home I did nothing but sit around the rest of the day, or should I say lay around. My right foot was hurting more then everything else, and I feared the worse. The next day with my legs feeling great and my right foot killing me, I go see the doctor. Sure enough, I got a stress fracture in my foot.

This was not a one time thing. When I first started running barefoot I stepped on a rock the wrong way and injured my right foot some months ago. Its been mostly pain free aside from the occasional pain when I land on something wrong. I dont blame my injury on barefoot running, I blame it on my lack of preparation for the marathon. Given the same circumstances, would I do it again? Absolutely.

I have not ran at all in the past week and very limited walking around. I am trying to minimize the impact and help speed along the process of healing so I can get back to running again. The Great Aloha Run is in February and you can bet I will be there with no shoes.