Bristol Buzz: Morne Aux Diables (Devil's Peak)

So we met up with our new found friend AJ on Thursday September 24th. Earlier in the week we decided AJ would take us up Morne Aux Diables (Devil's Peak). AJ mentioned to be sure we wore sneakers and long pants since the brush is a bit longer than other trails. So Anna, Sam and myself met AJ about 7:30am to start our hike. We had about a 5 minute drive after picking AJ up to where we would begin the hike. He had us stop at a little shack on the side of the road that his friend owned. When we went in, the offered us a drink in a small cup saying it was "good for the body." I politely declined along with Anna and Sam. Turns out is was rum soaked in Marijuana leaves- you just have to love Dominica! We moved on an to the hike and parked below the farms (they farm on the side of the mountains here). We spoke to a few of the farmers and they gave us oranges, avocados and starfruit to take home with us. We toured the farms on teh way up the hill, saw pineapple, passonfruit, oranges, yams, potatoes, dasheen, watermelon and a bunch of other stuff. When we started to see fewer farms the incline of the hill started to get pretty intense. Before I was realizing what was happening, AJ pulls out his machete and starts hacking away at the brush... I stopped Anna and said "is this even a path??" After following AJ for 10mins just climbing over brush that he hacked away we decided to ask him, is there a path here??? He tells us, oh, there used to be but it has probably been about 6 or 7 years since we have taken people up here. Holy Crap! It was NUTS!!! We were on a ridge back about 16inches wide with nothing but brush and some serious air on either side of us. The brush was taller than me for most of the hike, you couldn't really see where you were stepping and all of us fell multiple times holding onto roots to stabilize ourselves. It was not the smartest thing by far I have ever done but I can honestly say not many people have ever done it. The spores and dirt from all the plants were covering us, literally I looked like I was turning into a reddish brown color. We hiked up this ridiculous incline for about 2.5 hours before AJ cleared the brush on either side of us to reveal sights that made it all worth it. We could see the east and the west side of the island as well as Guadeloupe and Marie Gallante. Looking around me and taking it all in, with no sounds but the wind and a few birds it was a one of those moments in life that humble you. Those moments can not be duplicated or even completely described. The treacherous hike was worth it. There were moments in the hike I did think to myself what if one of us loses our footing, how are we even going to get someone down. When we stopped at the top of the mountain, we asked AJ why he brought us up with no path, he said "there's always a path, sometimes you just have to create it." On the way down, I sat on my feet most of the time and just let myself slide, it was easier when your butt is closer to the ground, hurts less when you fall :) . It only took us about an hour and half to get back down since we were sliding. When we got to the bottom of the hill, we ate some fruit and some of the sugar cane that AJ cut for us on the "path". During our hike AJ told us he used to have to carry the fire wood to cook with down off this mountain as a child. He explained they named this Devil's Peak because only the Devil would make you climb this. In the car on the way back, AJ said you guys are good hikers and mentioned he brought rope and a large sheet in case we had to carry anybody from falling.... lesson officially learned..... you never hike with Dominicans unless you know exactly what your getting into!!!! It was crazy but a wonderful experience. I am happy to say we all had some scratches up our arms but other than that we came out of this hike just fine!

The only part of the hike I could actually see around me a little bit... notice how tall the brush is..all taller than me!