Day Four-Diamond Head Hike

Hiking Diamond Head Crater

The line moved very slowly

These spiral stairs were filthy and seemed ready to fall apart

Had to go through this one-way passage to get to and from summit

The view made the hike worth it

After that breakfast of champions, we decided to hike Diamond Head crater. (To read more on Diamond Head: http://www.hawaiiweb.com/html/hiking/diamond_head_trail.html ). The hike itself was nothing too strenuous. However, I had to face some fears. First, being stuck in a dimly lit tunnel behind a long, barely moving line of people. Remember that high school band from Wisconsin? We arrived the same time as their tour bus, so we were in line with the kids.

They were pretty hyper. One of the girls asked me if they were getting on our nerves, and I told them no, they were keeping me entertained. Listening to them talk reminded me what life was like as a teen. After the tunnel, I thought the worst of it was over, but I was wrong. The line continued up a very steep set of stairs. Then, back again in another enclosed area, we had to go up a spiral staircase. It reminded me of walking up the Statue of Liberty. The spiral staircase was very dusty/dirty. After that, the line went back outside and the path became one-way. So, we had to wait until people who had been to the top came back through. Finding a break in the steady stream of people, we cut in and climbed some more steps, bending to go through a small opening....Finally, we had reached the summit.

The views were beautiful and worth the hike.