Honolulu’s city council has voted unanimously “to remove the Haiku Stairs or ‘Stairway to Heaven’ and set aside $1 million to get the job done. The next step is for Mayor Rick Blangardi to approve the city budget and finalize the move to destroy the site,” the Daily Mail reported on Sunday, September 12, 2021 (read story here).
Reason? The city says “to stop trespassing, reduce disturbances to local neighborhoods, increase public safety, remove potential liability to the City, and protect the environment.” Real reason? The neighbors don’t like the crowds it attracts. Yes, the trail is an adrenaline-pumper (see photo below), but only one person has died on it — of a heart attack.
It was never intended to be a tourist attraction. The U.S. Navy built the stairs in 1940 to access a hilltop radio station. Now 80 years old and unmaintained, they’re getting rickety. The Coast Guard closed the stairs in 1987, and it’s illegal to climb them, but people still do.
This isn’t the only hiking trail dubbed “Stairway to Heaven.” It’s an obvious and popular name for hair-raising hikes — for example, see photo at right (go here for details, more photos, and route diagram). Does the term need to be explained? Do you have a death wish? Do you climb radio towers or jump off cliffs in a wingsuit for fun? Is your philosophy “it’s a short life, and a merry one,” with emphasis on short? To each his own.
