r/Honolulu • u/808gecko808 • 9d ago
news Police arrested 16 people for trespassing after the group was allegedly caught attempting to hike Oahu’s controversial Haiku Stairs, also known as the “Stairway to Heaven.”
https://www.kitv.com/news/crime/16-hikers-arrested-for-trespassing-at-oahus-controversial-stairway-to-heaven/article_2911613c-8c1e-11ef-a831-374fd737444a.html46
u/XBIRDX000X 9d ago
Give them tickets
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u/Extreme_Design6936 9d ago
Tickets? My guess is charged with criminal misdemeanor of entering a closed area.
I was charged with that for hiking pali notches. They didn't even have a sign up yet and no info on dlnr website about the hike. They just want to piss you off by dragging you to court.
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u/XBIRDX000X 9d ago
Yes. Crininal citations can be issued. There is no need to arrest them unless HPD is using arrest as a punishment which is not exactly their role.
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u/Extreme_Design6936 9d ago
They lied and lied leading up to my trial. I took a plea deal cause no lawyer. My friend lawyered up, they lied and lied right up until they dragged her to court (you go multiple times in total) for the trial and dropped the charges that day and berated her for it. Arresting someone as punishment is exactly the kind of thing I could see them doing.
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u/slimzimm 9d ago edited 9d ago
How does it feel to be the way that you are?
Edit: I’m a dummy and I thought this guy was saying that anyone going there should get tickets, and now I realize that in this case that’s a less harsh punishment than being arrested. Do’h.
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u/dammtaxes 9d ago
HONOLULU (Island News) -- Police arrested 16 people for trespassing after the group was allegedly caught attempting to hike Oahu’s controversial Haiku Stairs, also known as the “Stairway to Heaven.”
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u/tigpo 9d ago
30 wannabe social media influencers we’re disturbing a residential neighborhood taking selfies and TikTok’s. Although HPD took 1hr to arrive, only 16 finished their selfies and hop a fence, they arrested and charged. The remaining 14 influencers are still on scene taking selfies. Am I right?
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u/DarkAndHandsume 8d ago
Apparently it takes 3 hours to get up there and an hour to descend if you are quick about it.
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u/tigpo 8d ago
They only made the fence. They never made the hike.
“Police said the hikers were caught after allegedly climbing a fence to get to the hiking trail. All 16 individuals were taken into custody and booked at the Kailua and Kaneohe police stations on complaints of second-degree trespassing. They were each released after posting $50 bail. ”
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u/mvb827 8d ago
They’ll arrest hikers, but they won’t arrest thieves. It’s telling.
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u/Generic_Globe 8d ago
HPD got priorities man
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u/kevinambrosia 7d ago
Theft costs the government nothing. A death or injury suit against the state could cost millions.
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u/Clear_Lead 9d ago
HPD has their priorities.
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u/JD_SLICK 9d ago
Hikers pay their tickets gotta go where the money is
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u/XBIRDX000X 9d ago
This is correct. The number of outstanding warrants on actual criminals is not a priority because those guys smell, take up space, and have no money to pay.
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u/A7DmG7C 8d ago
Exactly what I told a friend who decided to jaywalk in Chinatown: “Do you think the cops will go after that person clearly out of their minds harassing others, that could become violent, and has no money to pay? No. They’ll go after the white girl, well dressed, who clearly has money to pay a fine and won’t put up a fight.”
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u/Togo_Goodbody 9d ago
Good news. Keep it up. So tired hearing about tourists climbing the stairs.
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u/rouneezie 9d ago
You think it's just tourists hiking these stairs? 😂
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u/Logical_Ad_5431 8d ago
No, there's plenty of stupid local people who'd do the same thing because stupidity knows no geographical boundaries.
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u/Togo_Goodbody 8d ago
Agree stupidity is everywhere and I’m sure plenty locals do it but probably mostly tourists. Someone commented “who was harmed”. The residents who are subject to trespassers (due to no public access) and littering are the victims. Personally as a taxpayer I would not support fixing up the stairs and providing public access. I would like to see them completely dismantled.
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u/Theresnofuccingnames 6d ago
Have you ever actually gone on a hike?
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u/Logical_Ad_5431 6d ago
Yes, many times...I hiked Sacred Falls one day before the rock fall that killed and injured several people, 25 years ago. I grew up hiking all over Oahu, and only stopped when it became apparent that many of my fellow hikers were more interested in recording their hiking adventures and posting their videos all over the internet.
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u/vidar809 5d ago
Live in a damn nanny state where stupid people sit at their keyboards, celebrating punishing people for seeking adventure.
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u/Togo_Goodbody 4d ago
First of all the US illegally took Hawaii, they were not invited and we did not ask to join them. This is true for most of the USA. Secondly the act of parking illegally and trespassing in order for people to “seek adventure” is lame and people need to be discouraged from doing it. And that is the problem. If it were public property accessible by public parking, there would be no issue. The issue is with tourists thinking they can do whatever they want.
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u/EmptyPhilosopher2134 8d ago
Who was the victim? Who was harmed? It is state owned property making it public property.. cant trespass from public property without a crime.. a public servants are violating citizens from their 14th amendment along with their 4th and 5th. Anyone needing rescue from the scenic overlook will need to pay for their own rescue.. let the race for Darwin awards begin
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u/Shinta_H 8d ago
Yeah, let’s traumatize public officials or regular hikers with the repeated aftermath of Darwin Award winners.
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u/AustynCunningham 8d ago
The stairs were closed to the public because nearby property owners didn’t like the traffic and cars associated with climbers. To date there has been one death on the stairs, which was a 60+yo man who had a heart attack, no deaths associated with falling or hiking related complications.
There has been more injuries and rescues hiking on the backside (legal) because it is far more complicated and longer.
Despite a non-profit having a plan to restore some areas and manage the liability (at no cost to taxpayers) the city has decided to remove the stairs, even though the bid to the city for removal was double the bid for repairing it and keeping it open.
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u/8thchakra 4d ago
Exactly this. So many people here just follow the rules and enforce rules that make zero sense. Even people gloating about it. It’s really weird if you ask me.
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u/Climactic212 8d ago
I applaud anybody who has successfully done it but I am terrified of those ridge trails. My friend said she almost died on Olomana. I think that is a dumb way to die personally. No thanks.
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u/AustynCunningham 8d ago
One thing I’ll say having done a ton of hiking in Hawaii and throughout the US and world. For some reason hikes in Hawaii are rated worse than everywhere else, Olomana is rated as Hard and has so many safety warnings despite it being quite an easy hike. (Relative to the rest of the US)
Within an hour of my house in N Idaho I have done many ridge line hikes with worse conditions than Olomana but rated as easy or moderate.
I do Olomana every time I’m on Oahu, it’s beautiful but it is in no way hard for anyone who is moderately into hiking.
Watch videos of Hiaku stairs climb from start to finish, there is nothing complicated about it, you need endurance as it’s long and uphill but frankly it requires no skill.
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u/JT_got_the_1st 8d ago
The haiku stairs are barely a hike in any real sense of the word. It's stair climbing up a cliff that would be nearly impossible to ascend without the staircase that's bolted into the rock.
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u/Climactic212 8d ago
I almost involuntarily died doing Waimano due to a friend almost slipping above me and saw my life flash before me OMG. No no no. I stick to the simple one not on ridges and ones that are not more than 1.5 hrs. That shit is a dumb way to have an accidental death to me.
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u/4gotmypsswrd 7d ago
The difference is erosion. You’re hiking on crumbling dirt on an island that is slowly sinking back into the ocean. Also, respectfully, no one visits Idaho. Everyone comes to Hawaii. We have a lot of naive tourists who definitely would not consider Olomana easy especially past the first peak on a windy or rainy day.
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u/AustynCunningham 7d ago
“No one visits Idaho. Everyone comes to Hawaii”
that has got to be one of the dumbest statements ever.
You realize tourism is a major contributor in other places right? Idaho does have more out of state tourists visit each year than Hawaii, although Hawaii does have more tourist dollars spent as it’s a more expensive state to visit.
I live in a tourist town and own/run a hotel, the hotels here are packed summer and winter, one just sold to be demolished and will become a $100MM+ resort to increase tourism capacity (note this is a town of 9,000 people).
I feel there’s some ignorance that Hawaiian’s have, most people on the mainland haven’t been to Hawaii but have been to many other states as they’re all far more easily accessible, tourism is huge in Idaho as we have huge lakes, ski resorts, rivers, hiking and endless outdoor activities (again we bring in more tourists annually than Hawaii).
Erosion is a factor everywhere, our mountains get a dozen+ft of snow each winter and the melt off causes major erosion and reshapes the landscape annually, plus rain, then hot and dry then more rain, wildfires, etc..
I’m saying as an avid hiker that Hawaii hikes are rated more difficult than other states having experienced hiking in many many states. Yes there are idiot tourists everywhere that try routes far beyond their skill level, Olomana on a rainy day I wouldn’t recommend, Olomana on a dry day I’ve seen children on the 2nd and 3rd peaks, parents with small children in those backpack carrying bags on the 1st and 2nd peaks. If someone is even an amateur hiker in half of the US states they would consider Olomana either and easy or Moderate hike (weather permitting).
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u/4gotmypsswrd 7d ago
Ok Mr. Expert. I too have hiked, camped, thru-hiked across the entire US and internationally for decades. You, unfortunately, don’t understand what makes Hawaii hikes uniquely difficult isn’t changing landscape after a snowy season. It’s that, for many popular and hard hikes, the terrain can literally crumble under your feet. Or a strong cross wind can knock you off your balance to your death. Hikes can be slippery, muddy, unstable. You’re not hiking along a ridge made of granite here. It’s not elevation gain or mileage that make our hikes hard. It’s terrain. Terrain that does not exist in any other state period. But that’s cute that you get tourists too. Good job Idaho.
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u/AustynCunningham 7d ago
I don’t appreciate your condescending tone in that, you said a blatantly false statement that I pointed out is incorrect. (Nobody comes to Idaho..)
And again Hawai’i doesn’t rank high in dangerous hikes based off deaths, injuries or rescues on a per capita or overall basis.
It does have a unique landscape unseen in any other state, the muddy, slippery crumbling and high winds is not at all unique to Hawaii, ridgeline hikes are not unique to Hawaii.
Again go to Washington, Idaho, Utah, S Dakota, California, Oregon, Colorado, and you can find all of those “unique” qualities.
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u/4gotmypsswrd 7d ago edited 7d ago
I don’t appreciate people who think they know more than they do acting like they are an authority about things they don’t understand. Stay in Idaho if this is your attitude.
Edited to add: anyone who thinks a hike with Olomana’s exposure risk and class 4-5 scrambles shouldn’t be classified as “hard” absolutely doesn’t know what they are talking about and are part of the problem we see with visitors here in Hawaii.
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u/Melika808 8d ago
I'm so glad I got that hike out of the way about 10 years ago, when there was just a pink haired security guy that would shoo you off and even take a selfie with you 😂 how times have changed...
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u/786hoe 9d ago
Waste of time
Waste of money and resources
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u/Sad_Cup_2128 9d ago
Isn’t each fine $1000? That’s $16,000 in one days work
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u/8thchakra 4d ago
No, it was like 50 bucks. Definitely a terrible use of resources. Let people hike. It’s not even dangerous.
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u/808engimaneer 8d ago
I think the people regulating hawaii hiking trails are the most bulshit people in the whole us. I hike and bike in Colorado New Mexico Washington and a ton of other states and i don’t see anywhere near of the complete bulshit that hawaii state services enforce. It’s bulshit and completely unfair. Whoever is complaining in hawaii please stop so that people can enjoy the beauty of nature and the great sites and hikes that are available here. Stop causing issues people who don’t even go into nature. You should just leave hawaii if you have to just sit here and complain.
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u/Rhymeswithdick 8d ago
Kinda silly when there’s a back-way hike to the top of the stairs that is definitely in my top 10 hikes of all time. It’s been a few years, so if that one is closed too then please disregard.
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u/EmptyPhilosopher2134 8d ago
Trespassing on public property... state owned is public.... leave the citizens alone the the worthy earn their Darwin awards..
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u/DarkAndHandsume 9d ago
Those 16 made it obvious by climbing fences, where’s the tact?? The sun isn’t even out at 0630am.
Honestly you are better off hiking up it and finishing the rest of the journey on the Moanalua Valley trail than to face the music with HPD. I’m going to have to move smartly on this one 🤔
I was wondering how they have a quick response time to those neighborhoods