I was awoken by my alarm at 3am this morning to get ready for a hike to the Blue Mountain Peak. After convoying up past a tiny community called Mavis Bank (where some of the island’s fastest runners come from), we all loaded into 4×4 vehicles and headed to Whitehall, a farmhouse used to accommodate hikers. We departed at 7:04 am.

Blue Mountain Peak is an elevation of 7,402 feet and lies about two hours north-east of Kingston. It is the second highest elevation in the Caribbean, and on a clear day, you can see Cuba. Most hikers depart around 2am in order to catch the sunrise, but our group did not as it can be treacherous. The first part of the hike is the most challenging in terms of how steep it is, and is called Jacob’s Ladder. Judging from what I’ve heard about Jacob’s Ladder, I was pleasantly surprised that while it was not easy, it was not as difficult as I thought it would be.

We hiked up for about 2.5 hours, through a wide range of vegetation, temperatures and terrain. At times, the soil was bright orange, at times it was grey shale rocks and sometimes brown and dusty. The trees and plants all grow ferociously and parts of the forest appear magical, what with the hanging moss and massive palm and fern trees. The sounds are amazing as well: tree frogs, birds, the wind shaking the trees. And the views. Whenever we came upon an opening in the woods onto the mountains, it took my breath away. It is like an ocean of green, rolling, gigantic mountains. Sometimes the mist whistles through, pushed by bursts of wind. It had to be about 15 degrees cooler up there.

The peak yields stunning views of an eastern community called St. Thomas to the south and Cuba to the north. We lounged at the peak for awhile and then headed back down. This was harder due to trying to stay upright, but I managed to fall only once. We saw several other groups of hikers, everyone looking exhilarated.

Upon returning to Whitehall, we were served a delicious meal of jerk chicken and fish, yams, boiled bananas, salad and vegetables. The meal was made by Miss Lynette and her sons. Miss Lynette told us she has 12 children (three have passed away). She makes a living cooking and working at Whitehall. While we ate, her grandsons played with a red toy truck, and goats, chickens and cats frolicked around us.

On the way down, I could not help but feel emotional. This was the first hike of such a scale I have ever done. To climb up such an imposing feature of nature, to conquer it, then climb back down, in one piece, is an amazing feeling of accomplishment. I would do it again in a second. Maybe not tomorrow though, as my legs are a bit wobbly.