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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.

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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.

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