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I didn't manage to get the flash to work correctly here, but then that might be just as well. It really is that dark, even thought the slope isn't that bad. Now, you see where the other hiker is starting up some stairs? Hope that you are REALLY rested, because here is where I ran into a wall.

What comes next is a set of 99 steep stairs. And they are narrow enough that when you meet people coming down, you brush against them, and for some who have a subtle fear of heights, it can be ... troubling. But, you finally make it to the top, and what do you find but more darkness. A short concrete hallway leads in and joins a shaft off to the right that is completely filled by an old iron circular stairway.

I had to stop at the foot of the circular staircase because I was so badly out of breath. I wasn't alone, but it was still a bit humiliating. A VERY good work-out, though, and I was glad I came, if only for the exercise.

After catching my breath, we ascended the staircase (42 steps) up two floors to the main bunker. Inside are almost always some people trying to sell you stuff like cold drinks and T-shirts, and usually there are some park rangers trying to arrest them. There is a three-foot high "Window" (maybe twenty feet wide), and a small section where you can climb up a short ladder to get through the thick concrete wall and thus...

Out of the Bunker

Aloha from Michael !