I have never been to the summit of our highest mountain—Cerro Del Aripo. El Tucuche, the second highest, short by just a few feet, I have climbed a few times. I even spent a night on Tucuche’s summit once, a long time ago. Coldest, dampest night I have ever been through!
Recently, becoming involved in a re-forestation project at Asa Wright’s lands in the Heights of Aripo, one of the young workers, hired by the sponsors of the project, pointed up at the domed-shaped summit in the distance: “That is Mount Aripo”, he said, as if he was aware that I needed to know.
“Can I make it up there?” I asked, and he, having taken our team on recent treks in the “heights” generally, declared that I could. So I told the sponsors that we needed to go the summit, sort of blessing the thousands of forest saplings we were planting, and all agreed that we should, come the dry season.
But in the interim, just this past week, I visited, on impulse, my son and his young family in St. Kitts. Upon arrival there (I am back in Babylon already!) he asked if I was up to a hike to the summit of Mount Liamuiga - 4000 feet plus (Aripo and Tucuche are each just over 3000 feet).
Liamuiga is a long dormant volcano, which rises steeply out of the north of St. Kitts. So, in preparation for Aripo, I said sure…. we gone!
Son contacted Greg’s Safaris and organized the trek. Greg picked us up in an old Land Rover, complete with spare tyre on the bonnet, and a framed canopy over seats set on the tray. He had four other trekkers, all Belgians, of whom two spoke English. The vehicle was painted in bright floral designs, the details of which I did not notice as we climbed aboard.
Half way to the mountain, Greg pulled off the road. I thought there was something he wanted us to see. But we had broken down. As we disembarked for the repairs, I noticed the floral designs on the jeep. They were balisier flowers!
Well, look at that!
The blight of the balisier following me quite to St. Kitts? The problem was eventually identified, a screwdriver was needed, but there was none on board the vehicle. Fortuitously, I had my trusted old Swiss Army knife and its screwdriver attachment had us back on the road, skirting an ominous looking Mount Liamuiga, becoming enveloped in dark clouds.
The climb to the edge of the crater took almost three hours, and it is a climb for much of the journey, not a “walk”. You need to hang on to various roots, small trees and jutting stones to make the ascent. But there are none of the hazards we have at home—no snakes, no menacing thorn trees, and the rocks are not slippery.
The forest is different to ours too, rain forest with a fewer variety of trees, and fewer flowering plants, birds and animals. But the rain was familiar, we heard it coming as a distant, then close-up roaring sound, and knew it was upon us, but just like home, it took a while to find its way through through the canopy to soak us. …
The trail, and I am being generous here, tops out at the northern rim of the crater. The crater is almost a mile across, and several hundred feet deep, with a forested area meeting the deep green lake far below. It was necessary to skirt the rim of the crater to get the best views down into the lake and the steep higher peak at the other side.
But here I backed out! The access along the rim was too narrow, and the drop too vertical for my old head! So I sent my camera with the others, and had to rely on the photos instead of seeing it “live”. …..
The rainfall had stopped when we had reached the crater’s edge, so we were able to enjoy dry sandwiches while seated on wet rocks in the clouds. Those who had crept along the crater’s edge said they had seen small vents of steam and noticed a sulphurous smell, so it seems that old Liamuiga, who last erupted in the mid 1600’s, still lives!
The rains returned for the climb down the mountain, but other than that, it was uneventful, and we arrived at the base of the volcano soaking wet, exhausted but exhilarated. A shot of Kittitian rum and we were on our way back home!
Since I believe there is no crater, or crater rim on Aripo, I can now declare myself fit for that ascent, and finally reach our own highest summit! Thanks Greg!
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