Blue Mountain Peak: An Adventure I will never forget
“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.”
Hiking to the Blue Mountain Peak is an adventure I couldn’t wait to experience. I called a few tour companies but they all lack customer service. During my research for reputable companies that provide tour services which included hiking to Blue Mountain Peak, I found The Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park.
They provided exceptional customer service. I remembered the crazy idea I had to explore Blue Mountain Peak without preparing. I wasn't going to make that mistake again. I planned the hike four days before going.
The Peak
My brother Andrew and I decided we would do the hike together. The round trip cost from Mavis Bank Police Station to Hagley Gap was JMD 7,000.00 person and the trail fee was JMD 300.00 per person.
On November 24, 2019, at 9:15 p.m. we ventured to Papine via a taxi costing $100 per person.
We decided to take a Minibus located in Papine Square heading to Mavis bank costing $150 per person. Time was running again us. We had to be at Mavis Bank police Station at 10:30 pm. The minibus had only four passengers. Hence the bus will take forever to be filled with passengers.
We heard a taxi operator shouted, "Mavis Bank, two an move".
My brother Andrew and I
We came out of the minibus and enter the taxi indicating to the driver we wanted a stop at Mavis Bank Police Station. The journey was less than an hour costing JMD 200.00 per person.
There were seven persons in the taxi including the driver. Hence, the space very tight. You can guess how uncomfortable I was but the breeze blowing through the window made everything seemed right.
The spot where all the hikers wanted to be while the sun rise
I was so prepared for this trip. I made sure I confirmed the date of the hike with the representative, had copies of my receipts indicating proof of payment for transportation to and from Hagley Gap, the name of our driver and a description of how looked.
I also asked my co-worker Terrika about her experience hiking to Blue Mountain Peak so I could prepare myself. She told me a list of things I needed for the hike that wasn't on my list. I had a thermos with milo tea, flashlight, water/juice, medication, snacks, hiking shoe, raincoat, scarf, tam, gloves, socks and suitable clothing.
We arrived at the police station 10:45 PM. A guy approach us and introduced himself as our driver to Hagley Gap. I knew he was telling the truth based on the information I got from my representative. We introduced ourselves as well. We got dressed in the additional pieces of garments which were socks, shirts, pants, tams and gloves because the air was cold.
We left the police station at 10:40 PM. We drove for about 45minutes in the dark. I still remember the driver saying, " wi ah leave St.Andrew an ah enta St.Thomas".
We left the police station at 10:40 PM. We drove for about 45minutes in the dark. I still remember the driver saying, " we ah leave St.Andrew an ah enta St.Thomas".
Our journey to Blue Mountain Peak started around 11:30 PM from Hagley Gap. Our driver said we should call him in the morning when were are at Portland Gap. Just the two of us in the dark walking to Portland Gap.
Bro Bro
We talked about so many things and laughed so hard on memories we revisited. I wouldn't trade that moment for anything. When we got to Portland Gap, we thought we only had a couple of minutes before we got to the peak because the journey from Hagley Gap to Portland Gap took hours. But the journey had just begun.
We continued into the dark, reading the signs we saw. Some parts of the journey were very steep, I had to stop on multiple occasions to rest.
My brother got frustrated because each time we stopped, we felt the cold air biting at us. He just wanted to keep moving. Also, he didn't want to miss the sun rising. Our conversations became less until non-existent as we climbed. We stopped once to drink tea.
I started to wonder if I would ever reach. I started to picture myself at the peak but my body finally gave up. I told my brother to keep moving because I had to rest. I kept shouting, "yuh reach." and he kept saying no. I had lost my mind at this point.
I fell asleep in the middle of the trail and it was the voices and flashlights in the distance that woke me up. I forced myself up the hill calling my brother's name until he answered: "yeah, mi reach". He came back for me and pulled me to the top of the mountain. That's how damaged I was.
We were at the Peak of Blue Mountain 5:05 AM. We sat closely with the other hikers to keep warm while we drank the rest of the milo tea.
It was a spectacular sight to see the sun rising. We heard and saw other hikers making loud sounds and moving around to stop the cold from biting. Hiking to Blue Mountain Peak was another great experience.
Everyone wanted to capture the sun rising at a specific spot which was not possible for all of us at once. So my brother and I decided to capture the sun rising at other spots.
After the other hikers were finished with that specific spot, we went to capture what was left of the rising sun.
The journey back was easier. We saw native plants, different species of birds and the famous Blue Mountain Coffee.
We called our driver at Portland Gap. When we got the Hagley Gap, we sat and admired the greenery around us while we waited for our drive. Continuing scrolling to see the rest of the journey at the top of the peak and our journey back to Hagley Gap.
Have you done the hike to Blue Mountain Peak? What was the experience like? Do tell!
Admiring the greenery we were surrounded by and reminiscing on the hike to Blue Mountain.
Our mode of transportation to and from Hagley Gap