Crater Hike

Monday was St Kitts/Nevis Independence Day, and the only holiday that Ross University recognizes enough to give us a day off for. St Kitts has some beautiful scenery, so i decided to take advantage of the extra day and attempt one of the more difficult hikes on the island, the Crater Hike.

 

Mt Liamuiga is an inactive volcano that spans the entire middle of the island. The last time it erupted was about 1,800 years ago, so needless to say there isn't much concern about hiking or living around it. The peak of the mountain has since collapesed a bit, forming a crater with a small lake in the middle. 

There were 7 of us in all (and one dog) and at 6:30am we piled into two jeeps for the 30 minute drive to the other end of the island. The start of the hike was off the road a bit, in a dirt road through the cane fields. The jeeps had some difficulty getting up the hill, which should have given us some warning as to what was in store for us, but alas, we pressed on. 

Most of the island is made up of abandoned cane fields, and although they aren't worth harvesting anymore, they add beauty and character to the island. Because the island does not produce anything for themselves (dependent entirely on import), most of their income is based on tourism. As a result, a lot of the cane fields are getting leveled to make room for tourist resorts.

 Eventually the terrain became more than the jeeps could handle, so we all piled out and continued on by foot. The cane fields eventually thinned out as we approached the base of the mountain, and the vertical ascent began.

Kitts urging us on

The further we went, the more the landscape turned to rainforest. Lots of vines, moss, and palm leaves

 

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The vines are so strong that you can swing out over the cliff on them like Tarzan

Eventually the canopy began to clear, and we knew we were reaching the summit

After four hours of hiking, we could finally see the Atlantic.

Below, on the other side of the cliff we could see the crater, and the small lake that has accumulated from rain during hurricane season. The next hike i plan to do will hike up the mountain and then go down to visit the lake in the center of the crater.

Well, the worst was still upon us. The descent was about twice as bad as the trip up. The path was mostly covered by plants which you could push away as you went up, but which disguised the slippery spots on the way down! It truly made my appreciate wearing my Keen sandals, because by the end we were all totally covered in mud!

On our way back to the main road, we were surprised to find a herd of goats and Egrets (white herons) had taken over the path! There were quite a few babies in the herd (one with the umbilicus still attached!). It was a great way to end the adventure!

One male overseeing the whole herd of females/babies