2010 Waipahu Cane Haul Run
On August 22, 2010, my daughters and I did the 2010 Waipahu Cane Haul Run. It was a 5K run starting and finishing at the Waipahu Plantation Village. It was the first organized run for both of my daughters, so I didn’t know what to expect of them. My younger daughter (7) started out earnestly, but had to slow to a walk around a quarter of the way through. My older daughter (11) continued to run while I walked with my younger daughter. We walked/ran the rest of the way. We caught up to my older daughter about the 3/4 mark (she waited for us).
Overall, it was definitely a “fun” run for all of us. Plus it was a good experience for my daughters. Maybe we’ll do it again next year!
Makapuu Lighthouse Hike
Yesterday, my daughters and I hiked the Makapuu Lighthouse trail. This was the third time we hiked this trail. It is an easy, paved trail which winds up the mountain and ends up on the top of Makapuu Point. It took us about 1/2 hour to reach the top, and about 20 minutes to hike back down.
Once you reach the top, there’s a beautiful panoramic view of Makapuu Beach all the way to Kaneohe. The Koolau mountains are just an awesome sight from this viewpoint. There’s also a nice view of Rabbit Island.
If that wasn’t enough, the upper portion of the trail overlooks a humpback whale sanctuary. And just our luck, there were whales to be seen yesterday. It looked like a pod of about 3 or 4 whales swimming around.
If you’re looking for a good beginner’s hike in Hawaii, I would highly recommend this trail.
Koko Crater Trail Hike
Yesterday, my daughters and I hiked the Koko Crater Trail. For those not familiar with the trail, the trail is an old train track that runs straight up the face of Koko Crater. I believe the train was used by the military since there are bunkers at the top of the trail. The trail is quite steep at the top since we’re hiking straight up the face.
I would rank this as an intermediate hike mostly because of the steepness of the trail. The first half of the hike is not that bad, but the second half is pretty steep. My 6 year old daughter had a tough time after the midway point.
There’s a little over 1,000 steps to reach the top. Once you’re there, you have a panoramic view of the surrounding areas. You can look into the crater and the Allen Davis/Kalama Valley area. You can see Hanauma Bay and all of Hawaii Kai.
This is a popular trail. It looks like a lot of people hike it to stay in shape. A few ran up and then ran back down. It took my daughters about an hour to reach the 900 step level. I had them turn around at that point, although my 6 year old was still game to go for the top. However, we were running short on daylight. We had a bonus of watching the sun set as we descended down the trail.
