Koko Crater trail is falling apart due to ‘benign neglect’

With hurricane season in full swing, Drew Murphy fears a heavy storm is all it would take to wipe out the eroded tramway on the popular Koko Crater trail.

Murphy, a member of the Kokonut Koalition, believes a few days’ torrential downpour may be enough to wash out what remains of the 1,048 steep steps to the summit in Hawaii Kai.

“We’ve seen just a massive acceleration of erosion here,” said Murphy. “If a hurricane sits and stalls off the coast and dumps rain, this is gone.”

For years the trail accessible at Koko Head Regional Park has been deteriorating, according to the group, whose members said many of the cross-ties of the former tramway are missing or in disrepair due to wood rot and erosion. At the same time, the trail’s popularity has grown, spurred by social media posts of the grueling climb and panoramic view from the top, at an elevation of 1,200 feet.

On a busy day, Murphy estimates, at least 1,000 hikers — residents and visitors from around the world — go up and down the steep steps formed by the cross-ties of the former military tram track. On Instagram a search for #kokocrater results in more than 12,500 posts.

He estimated some 130 cross-ties are hollowed out, rotted or need to be replaced.

Many of the cross-ties, which get dangerously slippery when wet, are no longer attached to the rail, according to Murphy. In addition, the areas along the side, with loose dirt and gravel, are easy to slip on when climbers try to go around a missing step.

The Kokonut Koalition, formed just a few years ago by a group of hard-core hikers who ascend the trail, sometimes three times a day, several times a week, is advocating for a comprehensive plan to repair and maintain the trail.

“It’s very easy to make the case about just how valuable this asset is to everyone,” said Murphy, “and it’s treated with what I call benign neglect.”

The most hazardous part of the trail is halfway up to the summit, where a trestle crosses a gully. If not for a recent handmade sign, most novice hikers would be unaware of a bypass.

In the past two years, the Honolulu Fire Department has made more than 30 rescues from Koko Crater at an estimated cost of $1,500 per hour with a helicopter. It was No. 3 on a list of most frequent hikes that firefighters responded to last year.

LONG ROAD AHEAD

For years various volunteers, including some who are not members of the coalition, have stepped in and fixed the trail, remnants of an abandoned tramway installed by the U.S. military during World War II, by putting in concrete steps or replacing rotted ties.

One of these recent efforts, however, resulted in a clash with the city.

Jane Howard, vice president of the Kokonut Koalition, said she and a friend thought the trail was getting so bad they decided to install concrete blocks, clustered in threes, along the bottom half.

They recruited volunteers, who put down several truckloads of the blocks along the trail one morning, only to have parks staff tell them to stop.

Two days later, she said, it appeared that staff had removed all of the cement blocks volunteers had put down.

Before any improvements are made to park properties, coordination with the park staff is required, according to city Department of Parks and Recreation spokesman Nathan Serota.

“We absolutely encourage park users to be involved in helping to maintain our parks, with coordination from park staff,” said Serota in an email. “It is everyone’s kuleana to care for our public areas. However, unimproved areas that need significant maintenance require a much larger effort to ensure public safety. We do not want users of the tramway to have a false sense of security because of improvements made by the public without the supervision or input from DPR.”

The last time work was done on the tramway area was for the removal of a beehive in late 2014, he said. The city has no current budget for maintenance of the tramway.

But Murphy and Howard said volunteers stepped forward out of desperation, after trying to get a response from the city regarding the trail.

With help from City Councilman Trevor Ozawa, who represents East Honolulu, the coalition met with the Parks and Recreation Department to discuss the Koko Crater trail.

It was a start, according to Murphy, but also indicative of a long road ahead, particularly with no funding.

DPR Director Michele Nekota said the city welcomes collaboration through public-private partnerships for the improvement of its public areas.

“Our meeting with community groups Friday concerning the Koko Head tramway was productive in beginning the dialogue for ways to address the tramway’s erosion,” she said.

AVOIDING A SHUTDOWN

The coalition does not want the city to shut down the trail, as was almost the case in 2008, when a “Danger, Trail Closed” sign suddenly went up at the trailhead due to concerns over its increasing popularity and proximity to the Koko Head shooting range. The sign was removed later that day following public outcry from the community.

Currently, a warning sign covered with graffiti and stickers is posted at the trailhead cautioning visitors that the tram line is steep, and that those who proceed could trip, fall, be seriously injured or killed. Below it, another warns that climbing the tramway is physically challenging and that hikers should be prepared with water, shoes and sun protection and step with caution. The words “shooting range” are barely visible at bottom.

Murphy said the coalition wants the trail to remain open because it is clearly an attraction for tourists as well as military groups, which train on the trail a few times a week.

“We want to see this thing refurbished,” he said. “We see this as an asset to the entire community and the state.”

He points to other examples of where this has been done, including the Manitou Incline in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Serota said keeping natural areas open and accessible to the public has always been a priority of Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s administration but that public safety is a top concern.

“We recognize that these volunteer groups aim to improve safety,” he said, “but we also recognize that much, much more will likely need to be done to bring the tramway to the level where it can be declared a trail.”