The climb

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Island Images: Koko Crater Hike

The first time Jordan Shamir hiked the Koko Crater stairs, the incline humbled him after just a few minutes.

A kiteboarder and cyclist, Shamir had thought of it as challenging but benign — a workout with a view. He took off with purpose, unconcerned about the 1,048 steps that stretched above. By the 200th step he was struggling.

When Shamir reached the top 30 minutes later, he was seriously out of breath, and his legs were shaking. But like the hundreds of hikers who summit Koko Crater every week, he was smitten with the pain and has returned numerous times. The 30-year-old can now reach the top in less than 15 minutes and insists the reward is worth the suffering.

"Each and every time I go up it, I question why I am there because I know how hard it is," he said. "When I get to the top, there is a great feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. And I think it definitely contributes to my overall fitness. I think it contributes to my lung capacity."

Not everyone who uses it is a serious athlete. Many are there for the fresh air: Families, couples, tourists all trudge to the top of the abandoned World War II-era tramway. But the 1,208-foot-high tuff cone, which rises above Hawaii Kai, is a powerful draw for those who want to test the limits of their endurance.

Some take multiple trips to the top during the same workout. Others carry heavy sandbags. One young man regularly hauls a 5-gallon water jug.

Iovo Stefanov, a 34-year-old competitive triathlete and soccer player who summits the crater twice a week, believes it has made him a faster runner.

"If you push yourself to do it as fast as you can, it is more aerobic training for speed and strength," said Stefanov, a risk manager at First Hawaiian Bank. "Going up stairs is more challenging for your legs. Some of my friends wear weight vests, but I don’t do that because in soccer and triathlons we are more concerned about speed."

While it might sound more like a punishment than a motivational tool, Brad Krzy­kow­ski, a 30-year-old personal trainer, uses the stairs to inspire members of his fitness classes. He’ll meet clients for a Saturday morning grind up the hill so they can measure their time against previous efforts.

"It’s a nice test for them to see where their conditioning is at," he said. "It gives them a reason to train and a validation that what they are doing is paying off."

Krzykowski doesn’t recommend the hike to all of his clients, though. The trail is difficult, yes, but it’s also in poor shape.

"You are certainly taking a risk by going up there," he said. "I’ve had clients twist an ankle. But you can also do that on the sidewalk. It is particularly risky coming down. It is a bit treacherous with the loose gravel."

The aging tramway was never designed for hikers. It became so popular in the past decade that overuse helped stamp it to pieces. Railroad ties are worn and broken, the steps are twice as tall in places due to erosion and portions of a trestle that spans a ravine halfway up are loose, said Gary Cabato, director of the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation.

The city has not decided what to do with the well-used trail, but any improvements will cost millions of dollars, Cabato said.

"The issue is safety because the tramway is not safe," he said. "The question now becomes: do we repair it, reconstruct it or close it down? Those are the options we are considering."

City engineers must first evaluate what needs to be done, then put it out to bid, said Cabato, who inherited the problem when he became parks director in December 2010. But whenever he asks whether the proj­ect is moving forward, Cabato said he’s been told, "Not at this time."

"I am not dragging my feet on this," he said. "I don’t know if the city is willing to float a bond to do the trail when I have to look at dilapidated buildings and bathrooms. There are some priority issues I have to look at."

Cabato did have 800 feet of steel cable removed. The cable was so frayed in places, "it was ready to snap, and it could have taken someone’s leg off," he said.

The city received some unwanted help in April when community members began to make their own improvements. They had solicited donations of concrete blocks — there was a sign at the bottom of the stairs — and then packed them in white sandbags that volunteers placed or buried to shore up the tracks.

Cabato told them to stop, though.

"They may not be repairs that are appropriate from an engineering standpoint," he said. "People will do what they want to do. It’s unfortunate. I am just asking people to respect park property."

The condition of the stairs doesn’t really bother Terry Rollman, an avid runner who climbs Koko Crater twice a week. Accepting the challenge of an extreme hike means accepting what’s there.

"I know what I am getting myself into when I go to Koko Crater," said Rollman, a Hawaii Kai mother of two and a publisher. "Any time you go out and do something physical like that, you are taking a risk. People need to take personal responsibility and know the risk."

And the reward is out there, too.

"I would rather do anything outside than be inside a gym," she said. "That hike is a beautiful hike. It’s a good physical challenge that you can accomplish in a short amount of time."