Holtgrewe Happenings: Stairway to Heaven

Wow... where do I even begin with this EPIC hike?!?!? Two months ago Nathan and Travis decided to hike Stairway to Heaven. I was a nervous wreck while they were gone because I am TERRIFIED of heights and was scared they were going to die! (Side note... no one has ever died hiking Stairway!) When Nathan got home and told me about it I started thinking that it might be something I would like to do.... MAYBE.

The more I thought about it the more I realized that I couldn't not do it. I really felt like I would regret it if we left Hawaii and I never went. Since I am such a scaredy cat, waiting to do it was not an option. We needed to do it as soon as possible before I chickened out! My birthday was the perfect day to do it!

We woke up at 145AM and started driving to the other side of the island around 230. We arrived at our parking location at 300AM. Now, one thing you should know about this hike is that it isn't exactly open. The city closed the stairs about 10 years ago and there are a million reasons why they remain closed. Safety is not one of them. The stairs have been fully renovated and out of the 3,922 stairs, I don't think I felt a single loose one. They estimate that 100-150 people still climb the stairs each week and it is definitely a VERY popular hike! Anyway, that is the reason we had to leave so early... you have to beat the security guard to the stairs. He is really cool and chats everyone up when you finish but if you get there after he does he won't let you start.

Once we parked the car we had to climb a fence and walk through the forest to get to the stairs. I'd say we got to the bottom of the stairs around 330am. We had our headlamps on and started the journey up the stairs.

The first 1/3 of the hike is the toughest. It is pretty steep and seems to take FOREVER to get to the first landing. Luckily it was dark so I was able to just focus on my shoes and not on the fact that I was up so high. When we reached the first landing there were two other girls there so we sat for 5-10 minutes to allow them to get ahead of us a bit. Right after the first landing there was a sketchy part of the stairs. It was a little vertical and it was the first time I really noticed the drop offs on either side of me. I had a miniature panic attack and started crying. I really didn't want to go on. Nathan was AWESOME and talked me through it and I continued on. I am SO glad I did!

The rest of the hike went well and before I knew it we were at the top! It was a little after 5 and we wanted to stay until the sun came up. It was the perfect time to eat a snack and change clothes (we were SOAKED from the rain... oh yeah, I forgot to mention we were rained on! hahaha). Nathan had made sure I packed a beanie and sweater the night before and I'm glad I did. It was so cold at the top!

The fog didn't clear once the sun came up (when we do it again we'll spend more time at the top to let it all clear) so we took a few pics and started our journey down. It was easier than coming up but I definitely was scared at a few parts. When we were still in the fog it felt like I was staring into the abyss. Once the fog started clearing it was a little scary to see just how high I was and to really see the knife edge we were walking on.

We made it back down, the security guard waved at us, and we headed back to the car. I still cannot believe I did this hike! My legs were shaking for most of it and I was terrified for a lot of it but I faced my fear and am so glad I did. To share this experience with my best friend on my birthday was AMAZING!!!!

Enjoy the million pics and they are probably a little out of order but here they are! Oh, and all of them are from going back down/at the top since it was pitch black when we were coming up! :)