Hiking to the Blue Mountains

(This is the 2nd in the series entitled "Enjoying the Simple Life" being published in Caribbean Today.)

You know a number of persons overseas like to talk about Jamaica being a one season country…….perpetual summer all year round, they say. However, I am here to tell you that we also have some very serious winters. I am not about to say this is islandwide but I remember having to turn on the heater in my car in Saldings, Manchester one night. As to the Blue Mountains, since we started gathering data on the temperature in the 40’s, the records show that twice there was frost present there.

Frost or not, it can get extremely cold up there. I remember once hiking to the peak to watch the sun rise and nearly freezing to death in the rush! We had set off from Whitfield Hall at midnight and reached the 7,400 foot peak at around 4am. Well, I am here to tell you that during the approximately two hour wait till sunrise, the blood literally froze up in my fingers... in fact, I can’t remember feeling any movement in them until we had descended to Portland Gap a couple hours later.

Despite that experience, hiking to the peak is an enjoyable adventure. Our normal routine is to drive up to Whitfield Hall, spend the night and start the approximately four hour trek at about 5 am, just before daybreak.

It is not at all as exhausting as some people seem to think, that is, once you are not totally out of shape. However, according to the records kept by the Blue and John Crow Mountain park rangers, only a few hundred Jamaicans make that pleasant, invigorating trip each year. I am told that among the avid hikers is a Jamaican octogenarian who hiked up to the peak for her eighty first birthday!

The path is well defined, although I suggest that first timers should get a guide. And naturally, it gets easier each time you go. I can recall, the first time I did the trip, some thirty odd years ago, I had to hold on to the tail of the mule that we had hired to carry our gear, to ascend some sections. That was when I was young and unfit! Now the only section I find challenging is Jacob’s ladder and in fact I find it worse coming down than going up as it has a lot of loose gravel and one can slide easily and sprain ankles etc.

Regardless of the challenges, hiking up to the Blue Mountains gives one the opportunity to really enjoy unique Jamaican flora and birds that you never see elsewhere. The path is covered with a variety of lilies and ferns of all colours and shapes. The tree fern which is extinct in most places in the world, is profuse and raspberries and blueberries are all along the path. Then there is there marvel of the Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee being grown on the most precarious slopes. I never stop wondering how people actually keep their foothold on the treacherous slopes on the side of the mountain to plant, tend and reap this world renowned gourmet beverage. But thankfully, they do without getting hurt.

The Blue Mountain range spans St. Andrew, St, Thomas and Portland and the view from every angle during the trek up or down, is just awesome. There is a special lookout just above Portland Gap where you can view the entire north eastern section of Jamaica and the deep, lush forest that makes up the John Crow Mountains. Looking at the vast expanse of hills and mountains covered in every colour of green, reconfirms every time that Jamaica is by far one of the most beautiful spots in the world and after each trip, it seems the beauty has increased. At Portland Gap too, there are facilities that can be rented to hikers who want to overnight or spend the weekends in the coolest, crispest and most invigorating part of Jamaica for just a few dollars.

Yup, hiking to the great blue is definitely one way to enjoy the simple life, but for me the trip can only be taken in the summer!

JOAN WILLIAMS IS A LICENSED REAL ESTATE DEALER BASED IN JAMAICA AND THE AUTHOR OF 'THE ORIGINAL DANCEHALL DICTIONARY AND TOUR JAMAICA.