CaribSeek Kaleidoscope | Caribbean Hiking by M. Timothy O'Keefe

CaribSeek | CaribSeek Kaleidoscope | Caribbean Hiking

Caribbean Hiking (Including a List of the Top 10)

By M. Timothy O'Keefe

Old West Indian Proverb: "Crab walks too much, he loses his claw. He does not walk, he does not get fat."

Translation: "While it may be risky to go adventuring, it is also unproductive and unrewarding to be too cautious and stay at home."

Caribbean Hiking

You haven't really experienced the Caribbean until you know what an island tastes like, what it sounds like, what it smells like and how it feels--including its mud and thorns.

A beach offers the briefest glimpse of any of this, and beachside is where most tourists spend their time. As lovely as Caribbean beaches are, they usually are the least interesting and most uncomfortable parts of an island. Consider where the wealthy sugar planters of centuries ago built their Great Houses. With their vast fortunes, they could have claimed any spot of land, including prime beach frontage.

Instead, they chose the higher, cooler elevations where the plant life and wild life are at their most diverse. They realized it was the interior of the islands, in the hills and valleys, that you find the best of the Caribbean.

And the best way to experience it is by walking and hiking.

Spend just half a day away from the beach exploring the interior of an island and I'll wager your vacation will be doubly rewarding.You may find yourself returning to the Caribbean more often and choosing where to go based on an island's walking and hiking opportunities, not just its beaches.

Although locals have been doing it for centuries, hiking and walking in the Caribbean are still in their infancy as far as tourism goes. But this is changing thanks to new emphasis everywhere on ecotourism. Caribbean governments are recognizing that walking and hiking paths--on the beaches, through the rain forests and across the high mountain peaks--are among the West Indies' greatest natural attractions. Walkers and hikers are becoming an important force in the conservation of the Caribbean's natural resources, since trees, plants and animals in their native habitat are precisely what visitors want to see.

Islands are discovering that good hikes provide a real boost to the economy. For instance, during the first four years the Des Cartiers trail was open on St. Lucia, that single trail alone was credited with bringing US$750,000 into the local economy.

Clothes to Wear and Tear
Unlike hiking in a lot of exotic places that require special clothing of almost an expeditionary nature, Caribbean wear is relatively simple and inexpensive.

Shoes: These are your single most important item. While many people will simply wear an old pair of sneakers, if you're going to do some serious hiking, you need to be serious about your footwear. A lot of trails are rocky and unstable; high-top hiking boots offer more ankle support. Boots should be comfortable when wet, because your feet could be muddy and soaked most of the time. Most importantly, your foot wear should have non-skid soles. You will encounter lots of mud, but the real problems are the rain-slicked and moss-covered rocks, which are ice-slick. Flip-flops are a disaster in the making. Some local guides can hike the rain forest in bare feet, but that doesn't mean you should try. Not only have they been walking on this slippery and tricky terrain since their very first steps, their feet have calluses as thick as horse hooves. Try to go native in the foot department and you may have to be carried out. Use one pair of shoes for everyday walking, another specifically for hiking. The hiking pair will be too dirty and damp to wear for anything else.

Slacks/Shorts: Loose, quick-drying running shorts are all you need on some islands. On others, because of razor grass or high altitude temperatures, you need full-length slacks. Take both and consult your guide before setting out; each trail is different. An ideal compromise are the "Kenya convertibles" sold by Cabelas and other outfitters. These cotton pants are essentially shorts that have legs you can zip on and off, according to conditions.

Socks: Always wear them. They help prevent scratches and insect bites. They also should make walking a lot more comfortable. Caribbean mud is almost possible to get out of white socks. Prepare to sacrifice those that you wear to the spirits of the Arawaks and Caribs.

Shirts: Those with collars offer more protection against the sun. Long sleeves help prevent sunburn and can always be rolled up (or down) according to temperature

Hat: Baseball caps help protect your nose but little else. Wide-brimmed hats protect your ears (which can burn surprisingly easily) and your neck against sun. They also keep the rain off your face.

Windbreaker: Buy lightweight nylon that can be easily stuffed in a pack. You will need it for protection against rain and chilly winds.

Umbrella: The small, collapsible kind that will fit in a day sack is best. When walking through open exposed areas in direct sunlight for mile after mile, nothing offers better protection or keeps you cooler than an umbrella (just don't get heat-absorbing black). Nothing works better at keeping the rain off your face or out of your contact lenses.

Plastic Garbage Bags: For wrapping clothes and cameras on rainy days. Also for transporting your damp and filthy hiking shoes home in your suitcase. Makes a great instant poncho, too.

Sunglasses: Vital for the bright sunlight. The best are polarized and provide complete protection against UV rays, which have the potential to cause permanent eye damage.

Clothing Care: Plan on washing them in a sink at the end of every afternoon and letting them dry the next day. This way, you can get by with only three changes of hiking wear, regardless of how long you stay. Shampoo works almost as well as liquid soap.

Cameras: By all means, carry one, though it will be a lot of trouble if you don't prepare. On some of the more strenuous ascents you need both hands free to scramble up a hill or hug the side of a mountain trail. Be able to put the camera well out the way, in your knapsack or a special padded hip holster designed for just this purpose. If you're crossing difficult terrain and the camera is dangling around your neck, it could divert you, throw you off balance or crash against something. Be prepared to waterproof it instantly in case of rain. You will also need a flash because of the low light in the rain and cloud forests, unless you are using incredibly fast film. Also, you will want to use a flash to bring out the color and details on many of the colorful plants.

Basic Hiking Check List:

Day pack
Hip camera holster or waterproof plastic bags to protect camera
Spare batteries for camera and flash
Wide-brimmed hat
Loose cotton clothing
Non-skid hiking boots
Fanny pack with two water bottles
Windbreaker
Sweater
Small collapsible umbrella
Flashlight with spare batteries
Snacks
Gray duct tape (always good for something on every trip).

A Good Guide Makes the Hike
Use a local guide whenever you visit an island. Tropical forests are so diverse and every island so different local knowledge is mandatory to appreciate fully everything you're seeing. As complete as this guide has tried to be, it can't begin to provide the history, folklore and botanical knowledge that a personal guide can.
Besides, a personal guide will know precisely where to take you to see rare St. Lucia parrots or something else you would never find on your own. Prices for guides are for the most part very reasonable, from $30-$75 per person per day depending on food and transport provided. Hotels and tourist boards can supply the names of guides.

Weather and General Hiking Conditions
Many people imagine walking/hiking in the Caribbean as a stroll through a hothouse or steam room, with every stitch of clothing sticking to them. How enjoyable can that be? Actually, the Caribbean has a tremendous range of temperatures. At sea level and in the lowland jungle, the middle of the day is just as blistering and miserable as you can possibly imagine. You really do have to be a mad dog or an Englishman to go out in the noonday sun without a hat and plenty of water.

Fortunately, the Caribbean's best hiking is in the mountains or cool rain forests. Much Caribbean hiking is above the 1,000-foot mark, more often at the 2,000- to 3,000-foot level, sometimes going as high as 10,000 feet. The temperatures are much lower at those levels, regardless of what the thermometer reads at the seashore. Factor in the constant tradewinds and you may have more trouble staying warm than keeping cool if you go underdressed.

For instance, in Puerto Rico's Caribbean National Forest (El Yunque) they have worked out the following temperature chart:

Sea level: 80 degrees
500-1,800 feet: 75 degrees
1,800-2,400 feet: 70 degrees
2,400-3,000 feet: 65 degrees
3,000-3,500 feet: 60 degrees

And so on. It drops about 5 degrees for each 500-600 feet, according to these statistics.

However, in Jamaica's Blue Mountains, they estimate a 3-degree drop for every 1,000 feet of altitude, quite a different reckoning. Whose figures are correct? And why such disparity? Both temperature estimates may indeed be right. Then again, since hiking in the Caribbean is still in the formative stage, this may be one of many instances of contradictory and conflicting information.

Who is precisely correct is not important. The essential point is this: it can get downright chilly in the Caribbean. A windbreaker is a good idea anywhere above 2,000 feet, particularly in winter months. It can also get cold at even relatively low altitudes if it rains, which it often does, especially between June and October. Climb Pico Duarte in January and you may wake up with frost on the ground.

Besides cold temperatures, in exposed places you will encounter tradewinds that can reach 20-22 mph. So the problem often isn't the heat, it's figuring out how to stay warm.

How The Rainy Season Impacts Hiking
The rainy period varies from island to island, but generally the rainy season begins in May and lasts until December. If you're not interested in photography, cloudy weather provides what is actually the most comfortable hiking. Don't avoid the Caribbean just because it's the rainy season. Elderly islanders have stopped trying to predict accurately what the weather will be at a particular time of year. They say the patterns are changing too much. So it may rain during the sunny season, and vice-versa. You have no guarantees.

Hurricanes
Storm damage can totally change the face of an island, often permanently. Trails once popular become impassable. Furthermore, clearing trails will be the last item on the agenda for a society struggling to restore electrical power, re-open roads and restore life to normalcy. It sometimes takes 12-21 days for a letter to travel the short distance from the U.S. mainland to many islands. With mail service that slow, you get an idea how rapidly island governments will be able to respond to a crisis. The plain fact is that many islands are too poor to be able to take efficient and prompt action. I would advise waiting 6-12 months before visiting any island severely damaged by a hurricane or tropical storm if hiking and walking are your main objectives.

The Caribbean's Top Ten Hiking Destinations

Caribbean Hiking

Until the first edition of my book, Caribbean Afoot!, was published in the early 1990s, it was difficult to obtain precise information about the walking and hiking opportunities in the West Indies. My guide was the first attempt to bring together the best city walks and mountain hikes on the most popular islands in a clear and comprehensive way. Now Caribbean Afoot! is back, so completely updated and expanded that it carries the new name Caribbean Hiking. The guide contains walking maps of all the major port cities as well as detailed descriptions of rain forest and mountain hikes--almost 400 hikes in all.

The walks and hikes are so diverse it was difficult to choose a Top 10. I picked the following because they are unusual and interesting, not necessarily because they're tough. Their level of difficulty ranges from Level 1 (anyone capable of ambulatory movement should be able to enjoy this hike) to Level 5 (a gut buster).

Whether a particular hike deserves to be a Top 10 is highly subjective. It's possible you might hate a hike that I enjoyed. Or you might like one that didn't particularly impress me. Weather sometimes has a lot to do with it. A pleasant walk I took during a dry period may be a hellish nightmare in the rainy season when hiking trails are slick and slippery. The same considerations apply to the city walks, which will be affected by the company you keep and how well you get along with the locals.

No walk is ever exactly the same twice.

Dominica
Valley of Desolation and Boiling Lake Hike. A 7-hour roundtrip marathon up and down the mountains of Dominica to what seems like a prehistoric setting from the beginning of time. Sulfur crystals color the ground, steam vents through cracks in the earth and streams run black. The Boiling Lake is one of the world's largest. Tough and memorable, there's nothing like this hike anywhere. Far and away the Caribbean's best hike, but get into condition for this one. Take a guide. At least one tourist has died on the trail. Level 5 difficulty.
Guadeloupe
La Soufriere Volcano Hike. Much less effort required to climb to the summit of an active volcano whose last major eruption was in 1976. Vegetation was destroyed but it's now coming back. A stunning display of all the colors of green. A naturalist guide is essential to appreciate this hike. Level 3-4 difficulty to reach the summit.
Dominican Republic
Pico Duarte Ascent. At 10,700 feet, this is the Caribbean's highest peak. Because of the extreme distance between the main campsites, the hike requires a blistering pace more akin to a run than a walk. For this reason, some people make part of the ascent on foot and part on the back of a mule. The mountain scenery is striking and well worth the effort. The real lure is to stand on the region's tallest mountain. Level 5 difficulty.
Jamaica
Blue Mountain Peak Climb. Leave your bed at 2 a.m. and walk 7 miles and 3,500 up to the peak of Blue Mountain (7,402 feet high) in time to catch the sunrise (assuming it's not raining or cloudy). The entire experience, especially climbing Jacob's Ladder and stumbling around in the dark, is an unforgettable challenge. Anyone in good health can make this climb. Level 3-4 difficulty.
Tobago
Little Tobago. A pleasant, easy walk on the small cay of Little Tobago, a sea bird sanctuary. The dramatic, sheer ocean cliffs where sea birds nest are reminiscent of the nesting colonies in the Galapagos Islands off Ecuador. Beautiful scenery and a chance to view close-up species of sea birds on their nests in spring. The dramatic views are a pleasant shock. Easy Level 1 walking except for the initial 10-minute ascent, which is somewhat steep.
Trinidad
Asa Wright Nature Center. Pleasant pathways cut through this huge, open-sky aviary. More hummingbirds at close range than you ever thought possible. Also the opportunity to see rare oil birds. Very easy Level 1 walking for the most part.
U.S. Virgin Islands
St. John. The entire island. Two-thirds of it is a national park criss-crossed with 20 different hiking trails, most quite short. The Reef Bay Trail with the detour to the Petroglyph Pool and the Ram Head hike are my favorites. Level 3 difficulty for both.
Puerto Rico
Hike to El Yunque Peak. For sheer spectacle, variety and accessibility, the Caribbean National Forest is difficult to top. The hike to El Yunque Peak offers an overview of all the main tropical forest types on a single walk. Compared to many mountain walks, it's not that tough. Hikes vary from Level 1 to Level 5.
Grenada
Mt. Qua Qua Hike. A walk through tropical rain forest with excellent panoramic views on one of the Caribbean's lushest and friendliest islands. This is a moderate-difficulty climb often slick in spots. A knowledgeable guide enhances the climb tremendously. Level 3-4 difficulty depending on slipperiness.
St. Kitts
Bloody River Stream Walk. A brief walk to a canyon containing about 100 petroglyph rubbings made by the Caribs before a thousand of the Indians were massacred in this narrow passageway in 1626 by combined British and French forces. The sense of history while standing amidst these ancient drawings is stunning. Some tricky rock walking and river crossing give this a difficulty of Level 2-3.

Honorable mention: Virgin Gorda: The Baths. As much a Caribbean tourist attraction as Walt Disney World but understandably so. The astonishing pile of giant boulders on the beach creates a maze of passageways and pools fun to explore, almost in the shadow of the real Treasure Island.

This brief list of 10 hikes should give you an idea of the tremendous variety waiting in the Caribbean. Experiences that would fill more than one lifetime are awaiting. One piece of advice before you strike out on your own:

Old West Indian Proverb: "Long pass draw sweat, short pass draw blood."

Translation: "Short cuts usually get you into trouble."

M. Timothy O'Keefe is a regular contributor to Caribbean Travel & Life Magazine. Outside Magazine calls his book, Caribbean Hiking, "the definitive guide for hot-weather adventurers interested in more than sunshine and beaches."