Hiker making illegal trek up 4,000-step staircase gets stranded, Hawaii officials say
A hiker injured while climbing stairs on an illegal Hawaii trail was rescued, officials said.
The man was hiking the Stairway to Heaven Trail in Kaneohe with two others when he got injured and could not go down the trail, the Honolulu Fire Department said in a March 6 news release.
The trail, a nearly 4,000-step staircase known as the Haiku Stairs, was closed to the public in 1987 and is considered “extremely dangerous,” according to the travel website Only in Your State.
A rescue crew arrived by air and was lowered to the hiker, the fire department said.
Rescuers assessed the man’s condition before airlifting him out of the area to a nearby landing zone, according to the fire department. The other hikers were also taken to the landing zone.
Though the stairs are illegal to climb, it hasn’t stopped people from climbing them, Travel + Leisure reported. As a result of “soaring security costs,” the Honolulu City Council voted to remove the stairs in September 2021.
“We recognize the interest the stairs have to certain community groups, however issues such as trespassing, personal injuries, invasive species and overall safety of the public cannot be ignored,” Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi told KHON2. “Fundamentally, it is inappropriate to have a high-use tourist attraction entering through this residential neighborhood, which lacks in the capacity to provide appropriate facilities or parking.”
While hiking the staircase is illegal, there is a longer hiking route that takes visitors to the top of the mountain and stairs, according to the travel website Denny and Nikki.
“The trail is long and strenuous but offers amazing views of the Moanalua valley,” the website said.
Kaneohe is about 10 miles northeast of Honolulu.
This story was originally published March 7, 2023 at 11:55 AM with the headline "Hiker making illegal trek up 4,000-step staircase gets stranded, Hawaii officials say."
