On top of a big one...Pico Duarte Trip R eport

“I flew to Santo Domingo (the capital city of Dominican Republic) on a little puddle jumper plane, which was fun (only four people on board). My Dominican friend, Rubén, picked me up at the airport and then off we went. It was a crazy drive through Santo Domingo, running a few errands and dropping off some of my things at his apartment.

Finally, we were zipping through the countryside ? me, with my face pressed against the glass. The road, which was in considerably good shape, relatively speaking, took us winding through valleys and over small mountains. It was a gorgeous 3 hour drive, with the mountains getting progressively larger as we went. The environment here was so much different from Punta Cana, where I lived. The large mountains are much more green and lush, consisting mainly of sub-humid and ?cloud forest.? I was loving it!

Once we got to Jarabacóa, we picked up the other two in our group ? a very nice, young couple from England, who were honeymooning here. Rubén has a part-time gig as a guide on Pico Duárte, so these two were paying to tag along, essentially. Off we went on the ?road? to the ranger station. Most of the way was single lane, unpaved path, which crumbled threateningly against the sheer cliff walls we skirted up the mountains. At one point we had to cross a log bridge that I swear I would have thought twice about WALKING across, but fearless Rubén and his big, bad Trooper wobbled across it without event. (ohmagawd, was THAT skeery! ? see pics)

Finally we arrived at the Ranger station and set up camp (hammocks) nearby. Rubén and I then walked into ?town? nearby and hired a guy with a mule.

The guy would serve as our cook and the mule was to carry all of the food and was a required part of the trip, since many people end up needing rescue up there. I thought this was a very funny way of providing preventative SAR (search and rescue) assistance, but as it turned out, we needed it! Simon(the Brit husband) ended up riding the mule for the entire return trip ? seems he underestimated his abilities. (poor mule)

The hike was tough as hell! There was no resting...it was either up-up-up or down-down down, but the transitional terrain was incredible. Watching the trees open up to reveal the next spectacular view made the painfully, slow-going climb worthwhile. We traveled through bamboo forest, evergreens, hardwoods ? what a diversity. It was like traveling through different countries, there was such stark contrast in some areas.

We hiked 18km to basecamp at Compartición at 8000 feet the second night. The last 45 minutes or so caught us in a major storm, with thunder and lightning, heavy rain and finally, wouldn?t you know it, hail! =:0

Having supplies packed in with us, we feasted! What a difference it makes to have a substantial dinner at night. Not that I don?t just loooove those dehydrated backpacker dishes, but...hmmm
It was freezing cold that night and we all huddled together in our sleeping bags, sipping rum, and with the two stray dogs that followed us up the mountain keeping our toes warm.

Next morning, we arose before dawn and hiked the final stretch (6km) to Pico Duarte by light of the full moon. THAT was awesome! We hung out at the top (10,128 feet) for only a short time (about half an hour) because it was verrrry cold and windy. I got my obligatory ?highest peak in the Caribbean shot? and then we were outta there!

That was that and after chowing down on some breakfast, back at basecamp, we headed back down. A long, lonnnng downhill clambor left us all bleeding, aching, and missing a few toenails, but still in good spirits. A few stops towards the end at some watering holes lead to some great mud fights and fun, which kept the spirits up, even though our bodies were weary.

Finally, after a small eternity, we reached the lower basecamp where we had started. Taking barely enough time to drop our packs, we walked right into the river there fully clothed. Ahhhhh
I think my blistered feet sizzled when they hit the water!
Goooood times!

http://community.webshots.com/album/20916645QhJdaxdqgK>Duarte Pics

Santo Domingo”

“Ya gotta love a good double entendre....anybody seen one lately?”

“Very nice trip report AmyG. Just curious - how much for the guide/cook/mule?”

“Pics don't work for me!”

“hmmm...well that didn't work!

The real links:

Duarte Pics

”

“Buddha, the mule was 200 pesos (about 12 US dollars) for the three day trek. The handler/cook was included with the mule. I don't know how much the guides cost, because Rubén was a friend of mine, so I didn't have to pay to play. ;o)

I know that the National Park permit was 300 pesos though!!! (about 18 bucks US...cha-ching!)”

“Wow, those Duarte Pics are just amazing! What great views.”

“shaZAM... er... SPLENDID, Miz G.

A Most Excellent adventure. I noticed you weren't IN the truck when it went over that bridge, LOL. I can hear it now, "Wait a second! Let me hop out so I can get a picture!"

HAHAAHAHA!”

“Way to go, Aim!

I would luuuuv to see the pix, but Bess (our new school filter) won't let me go there.

How are ya?”

“Nice pics AmyG. I love that Caribbean countryside.”

“Great trip report and pictures there AmyG Sweetie!

Thanks!”

“Descride the pictures, somebody.”

“aimeegee is nekkid!”

“Ah hell -
I got plenty of those...”

“(LOL)”

“Well then, don't bogart them all Gojo.”

“Someone needs to tell you about it that can do better than me, but I`ll give it a go and tell you what I can see. There`s a flag at the top and there must be a bit of a breeze. AmyG is setting behind this hair thining guy and his blond haired wife. AmyG is leaning over and looking around the dude and her shirt is open some and her long hair is tucked around in front of her and flows tight up against her left side to her shoulder and neck down to her arm that is resting on her leg. The sun is bright and they all seem to be having a good time and the clouds seem to almost be close enough to touch. AmyG has on her blue tinted glasses and has a great smile going on. There seems to be another girl in the shot, but she has her back to the camera and she is looking at something off the other side of the mountain.

I guess I forgot how cute AmyG was,...Wow!”

“No bears in the background?”

“Nope!”

“Whew!”

“Having a close encounter with a bear stays with you for a bit, I don`t give a rat`s ass how fast you can run, doesn`t it Gojo?LOL”

“No bear encounter.
I'm just funnin'.”

“Oh!LOL”

“I thought this was a working trip for you. Nice you got to see some new things. I love the color of the water.”

“Nice report and pics. Thanks!”

“Yay!!! Finally some Duarte Pics.

Gojo, in the best picture Amy is kissing this guy who is obviously just about hard as a rock... she's got her arms around him and you can see his pole standing straight up... absolutely straight. It looks like his eyes are closed, but I can't be sure. There is no picture showing what happened next.”

“BTW: That is a wonderfully written report AmyGdala.”

“ped -
Was the guy in the pic Tarpy?”

“LOL Gojo! Nope, his name is Juan.”