Pillboxes Ain’t Just for Old Folks

Dan Zelikman — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:30:35 +0000

I’ll be honest. Before finishing this hike I had no idea why anyone would call it Pillboxes. My initial impression was that it was a dumb name. So many of the hikes I’ve done on Oahu had beautiful sounding Hawaiian names and this one was called Pillboxes. I had my doubts… but they were quickly denied.
Both the outside and inside views had something to offer, and you got to see them quick. The hike was a steep initial climb, so the views progressed greatly with every step you took.
The terrain changed as well. From a rocky dry path to a country like tall grass filled area, the hike had a lot of variety to offer. There are several points that actually become thick enough that you have to navigate through it a bit. Kim wasn’t all to happy with the tall grass shards that kept poking her but I thought it was kind of funny.
As you come over the main ridge, Lanikai reveals itself to you with colors in the water you cannot describe. Since you are standing on the ridge you are completely surrounded by ocean and valley, so it’s difficult to pace yourself with the photos.
They each got to pick an island. And by the way, we figured out the whole name of the hike thing. Pillboxes: Small, low fortification that houses machine guns or antitank weapons; usually made of concrete, steel, or sandbags. So we checked them out, with our machine guns blazing.
After playing around in the boxes a bit, we had some lunch and posed in some ridiculous pictures that none of us are all too proud of. All this with some amazing backdrops to stare at. Pillboxes left us stoked for sure, good fun.

[dan ze'l-ik-man] » hike

Pillboxes Ain’t Just for Old Folks