Gros Piton: (The Ascent of Rum Doodle.)
Stream
Darrell Jackson and Sarah Barnes
Wed 7 May 2014 16:18
13:49.51N 61:03.87W
Five o'clock is not the normal time that the crew of Stream wake up, but today was different. Illias was due to pick us up on the beach at 06.00 and a hearty breakfast was called for to fuel us for our ascent of Gros Piton in the cooler hours of early morning. At 05.45 we heard Illias calling from the beach and by 6 we were in his car starting the ascent of "the steepest road in the world" according to our sailing guide. The concrete road certainly was steep, probably at least 1:3, and we were glad not to have to walk up it. Apparently some of the local cars cannot manage the steepest top part and are left half way up by their owners, to be collected back on their way down! Once over the top, the road suddenly went from smooth concrete to a very rough track with large rocks embedded in it and big potholes, even worse than many of the roads back in Northumberland. The five occupants of the old car tested the suspension to its limits and there were a number of ominous bangs and scrapes, but we arrived at the trail head with nothing being torn off and only a slightly louder exhaust note than when we started.
The small, well maintained village of Fond Gens Libre was well awake when we got out and the paths were being brushed by the obviously proud residents. The trail is broadly divided into 4 sections with the first two easier going than the last two and the initial gradient was gentle and smooth, but soon passed over and around large volcanic rocks, which set the pattern for the rest of the walk.
Despite the welcome shade from the rain forest which covers the mountain slopes, the temperature was already climbing by the time we reached the quarter way rest point, and we were all glad that we had made the effort to get up early. This point gave great views to the south over land we had seen the day before from Tet Paul and it was not long before we arrived at the half way point, now giving views over Petite Piton and the anchorage where Stream lay. The rest points all have rustic benches and some sort of shade and we met the gentleman who built these a short while later when we were climbing the steep third section, which has rustic steps formed from small logs cut from the local trees, and in many areas a "bannister" rail to help haul yourself up the very steep, boulder covered slope. Charles was guiding another party when we met him and it was then that the reason for the clear, well maintained path became obvious. Charles not only builds the steps and maintains them he also brushes leaves and debris off the path every day, before the first walkers go up!
By the time we reached the final, steepest section, legs were beginning to ache and and the pace was slowing, mainly due to the care needed in negotiating the rocky path, and stops to "admire the view" through the montane rain forest were becoming more frequent. The "guide book time" for the round trip is 4 hours and we finally crested the summit at 786 metres at 08.10, less than two hours after starting. The summit is boulder covered, but there are few trees and so the view to the south, west and east towards Mount Gimie the highest peak on St Lucia, is excellent. After a little food and plenty of water we descended slightly and went along another woodland path to get a great view to the north and Petit Piton. Well worth the effort.
The descent was just as hard as the ascent as the steps are irregular and the large boulders required constant concentration in their negotiation, but all managed to get down safely and arrive back in the village for a well deserved drink soon after 11.00. The family that farm the area have built a restaurant, bar, showers, toilets and small huts to stay in within a delightful and incredible well maintained garden. They are very welcoming and all the guides are from the local community, thus ensuring that the money it makes goes into the local economy and it is sustainable. Every year the local youths have competitions to see who can get up and down in the quickest times. This involves barefoot running along the trails, which Illias demonstrated for us, showing amazing control, balance and light footedness. His best time was 68 minutes for the round trip, with the descent taking him only 25 minutes, but he was beaten by a girl who completed it in 56 minutes! Although our times were slow in comparison we had had a great hike and were thoroughly proud of ourselves that we had achieved it without any problems.
Illias lives in the area and had arranged for us to have lunch at his cousin's roadside restaurant. The menu was simple, One Pot or One Pot. This is what it says on the tin and usually consists of cheap cuts of meat, pigs trotters, snouts, or in this case chicken wings along with lentils/pulses, whatever veg is in season and cheap and potato dumplings. It's basically a stew and eaten all over the Caribbean and very tasty it is. For the veggie amongst us, fresh tomatoes in a fried cassava bread, somewhat similar to Foccacia was the option of choice, all washed down with fresh Tamarind juice. Followed by homemade cherry ice cream.
The rest of the day was spent chilling and swimming in the bay, under the imposing backdrop of both the Pitons. All feeling slightly smug that we had climbed the big one, but with some trepidation about how our legs would feel the next morning!