Mount Liamuiga or is it Mount Misery

[bedfordmom]

I did the Mount Liamuiga hike last week and it was miserable. To give you perspective, we are fit 50 somethings with two teenagers. We typically hike one mountain a year often times much higher than this volcano and I work out 5X a week.

 

Well it rained the entire hike making muddy paths into ankle deep swells. We had the choice of stepping ankle deep or across slippery rocks or vines. The two hour hike up was nonstop as we had to go very slow. I was surprised that only two out of the 30 turned back. Luckily we were provided with walking sticks. We make it up to the top to find the views obscured with clouds. We were only there about five minutes when we had to make the trek down. By this time, there were small rivers going down the mountain. Everyone slipped numerous times, my husband almost fell off of a ravine but a tree broke his fall. Being the last one, the guide in the back took us through straight brush because the trail at this point was impassable. This was very dangerous and we were covered with welts and bruises in the end.

 

I would caution against this hike in the rain but was surprised that the cruiseline ran it. We came back totally covered in mud with about an hour to spare. We couldn't go into the stores because of the mud. Our sneakers (I know we should have worn boots) were ruined; plus my ipod broke. Lucklily the cameras were in ziplocks so they were spared. We threw away socks and underwear and washed the clothes and sneakers in the shower. Our poor cabin steward had to clean our shower of mud. He was so sweet that he washed my kids sneakers for them. He said it happens every hike. This was the worst and most dangerous excursion I have ever taken in six cruises and would caution those who would take it as you don't know about the weather.

[Jborosara]

I did the Mount Liamuiga hike last week and it was miserable. To give you perspective, we are fit 50 somethings with two teenagers. We typically hike one mountain a year often times much higher than this volcano and I work out 5X a week.

 

Well it rained the entire hike making muddy paths into ankle deep swells. We had the choice of stepping ankle deep or across slippery rocks or vines. The two hour hike up was nonstop as we had to go very slow. I was surprised that only two out of the 30 turned back. Luckily we were provided with walking sticks. We make it up to the top to find the views obscured with clouds. We were only there about five minutes when we had to make the trek down. By this time, there were small rivers going down the mountain. Everyone slipped numerous times, my husband almost fell off of a ravine but a tree broke his fall. Being the last one, the guide in the back took us through straight brush because the trail at this point was impassable. This was very dangerous and we were covered with welts and bruises in the end.

 

I would caution against this hike in the rain but was surprised that the cruiseline ran it. We came back totally covered in mud with about an hour to spare. We couldn't go into the stores because of the mud. Our sneakers (I know we should have worn boots) were ruined; plus my ipod broke. Lucklily the cameras were in ziplocks so they were spared. We threw away socks and underwear and washed the clothes and sneakers in the shower. Our poor cabin steward had to clean our shower of mud. He was so sweet that he washed my kids sneakers for them. He said it happens every hike. This was the worst and most dangerous excursion I have ever taken in six cruises and would caution those who would take it as you don't know about the weather.

 

We did this excursion - too!!! Sounds like our weather was significantly better than your - didn't rain until the afternoon, but we did end up slogging through ankle deep mud.

 

My issue was not with the difficulty (though it was difficult) but with the tempo we had to keep in order to get back to town by 3pm or so (all aboard time wasn't until 430)... I think it would have been a blast if the pace were a bit slower...

 

We had fabulous views from the summit - but understand that sometime they do not...

[bedfordmom]

We made it back despite the miserable conditions at 3:30; so we had one hour to shop which we passed given we were covered head to toe in mud. We had minutes on the top; no one complained as clouds covered the view, it was pouring and everyone was anxious to get down.

[Jborosara]

I'd do it again though...:-)

 

Guessing that's why X has this excursion... For thrill seekers like me.

 

Fwiw, we had five people turned around. It was obvious before we started they would never make it. X does need to be more.ear about the difficulty of this hike.

 

We are gluttons for punishment, I guess...next stop.... Gros Piton!

[bedfordmom]

Although we have hiked some nice sized mountains, Mt Washington; Masada, etc. I would not do it again as its success and enjoyment is dependent upon the weather. The guides said that in a rainforest it rains quite often, and it is not unusual to have obstructed cloudy viewsl hence the name rain forest. I would; however do another mountain in another port.

[houlacruiser]

We did this hike last month and it was the highlight of our cruise! Sorry you had such horrible weather. :( We had rain on the way back and it did make it slippery and muddy.

[cort43202]

We booked this tour through Thenford Grey, we were debating between Thenford and Ponciana and I don't think it really matters who you chose because there are only about 5 guides that go up the mountain and they work for both tours. Our guide picked us up in a vehicle that had a Ponciana sticker on the window. Thenford did meet us at the pier and was very nice, we were on a cruise ship but booked our excursion directly with Thenford.

 

Our guide was Al, who was very knowledgeable about the island and explained a great deal about the island as we traveled to the trail. Al has high expectations for his group and he really hustled us up the volcano. I consider myself to be in pretty good shape and have hiked before but Al definitely challenged me. Our group only had me, my wife and another couple in it and about 3/4 of the way up we caught up with a larger group from the same cruise we were on. The views from the top are incredible but you are high enough up that if it gets cloudy, you won't be able to see down into the crater.

 

The trail is very primitive and the hike down is physically easier but much more dangerous. I wore running shoes and really wish I would have brought my hiking shoes. I wound up slipping on a rock and cutting my knee. Others in the larger group fell as well and one lady broke her leg. A group of us carried her down since there is no other way to get down. Thenford did call our guide to check on us when we weren't back at the normal time. I would also say our guide could have lead us down without helping but really showed his character by helping and doing most of the work. I think we spent 2 hours working our way down.

 

Even with carrying the injured lady down, we were back on the ship by 3:00pm. After thinking about the possibility of getting injured, if I would do this again, I would book the excursion through the cruise line so we would be guaranteed that we would get back on board. We saved about $30 each booking it direct.

[vacationer and wife]

My wife & I also recently did the Mt. Liamuiga hike. David from Poinciana tours picked us up at the dock. It was just us a a younger couple from Sweden. It was the highlight of the cruise, 2 hours up and a slightly more dangerous 1 and one half hours down. David was absolutly fantastic. He brought home made pastries his wife made, and ginger beer. We were back in plenty of time. We would highly recommend if you dont mind a great workout. David knows the mountain like the back of his hand. Louis & Tracy Valencourt

[AntiHamstr]

Although we have hiked some nice sized mountains, Mt Washington; Masada, etc. I would not do it again as its success and enjoyment is dependent upon the weather. The guides said that in a rainforest it rains quite often, and it is not unusual to have obstructed cloudy viewsl hence the name rain forest. I would; however do another mountain in another port.

 

Sorry you had such an unpleasant time. Hiking through a rain forest (or for that matter, hiking ANYWHERE) needs to be enjoyed for the hike up and NOT for what you do or don't see at the top. I've been on plenty of hikes where it was sunny at the bottom but the clouds rolled in just as we made it to the top. That's life. Since it's a rain forest, there is a good chance it will rain on you at some point, but they usually can't predict when and how long it will last. FWIW, the same thing applies to most other hikes in the Caribbean too.

 

 

BTW, there is only one “good” solution to being covered in mud: find the closest stream, or in this case ocean, and jump in. You area already soaking wet, so why not be soaking wet and at least somewhat mud free.

 

 

Cort43202,

 

 

What did you wind up doing with the injured lady? Take her back to the ship or to a hospital? Ohhh. It sounded like she was with the cruise ship excursion so you might not know.

 

 

Dennis

[cort43202]

Dennis,

 

When we got to the bottom, we placed her in the back of an SUV and they were going to take her to a hospital but I heard she refused because she was worried about not making it back on board but I also heard that the ship couldn't treat her injuries so she either got treatment in St Kitts or flew home to the states. She was on a ship sponsored excursion. Unfortunate end to a cruise on only our second day.

[AntiHamstr]

That's too bad. I wonder what the cruise line would have done for her if she did go to the hospital and missed the boat. I would hope they would fly her to the next island, but the cynic in me thinks they would say it isn't their fault she got injured and she is on her own.

 

 

I guess we will never know.

 

 

Dennis

[bedfordmom]

That's too bad. I wonder what the cruise line would have done for her if she did go to the hospital and missed the boat. I would hope they would fly her to the next island, but the cynic in me thinks they would say it isn't their fault she got injured and she is on her own.

 

 

I guess we will never know.

 

 

Dennis

 

I remember signing waivers prior to leaving for the excursion saying that you do the tour at your own risk. So other than the assurance that the cruise doesn't leave without you (sadly not for the injured lady), there isn't much other advantages of using the cruiseline rather than some of the recommended tour guides. Reflecting on my experience and now hearing of the injured lady, I wonder if the Volcano hike is really all that safe and worth the risk.

[snowmom]

We did this a couple weeks ago with Ponciana. It was a large group, 26! Our weather was ok, no rain. The view from the top was nice into the volcano but we couldn't see out to neighboring islands due to clouds. The hike itself was more of a muddy slog. For me, the pace was too fast to really enjoy it. We got back to the ship by 3pm. I think they recently changed the route so now the hike is longer with more elevation gain. Dave said the change in route adds about an hour to the hike! That means they really have to push to make it on time. Dave was a good guide, and I'm glad I did this once. But my family all agreed we didn't need to do it again!

[bedfordmom]

Snowmom-you are right, I remember hearing that they changed the route (we did it third week in February); something about construction near the original route (I could be wrong). The couple on our tour that had done it the year before said that route was different and less enjoyable for them the second time around-probably due to the torrential rain. I wonder if the guides get in trouble if they don't deliver the passengers by a certain time.

[AntiHamstr]

bedfordmom,

 

 

It's really a judgment call whether it's worth the “risk”. It's really not THAT dangerous as long as the people signing up know their own limitations. If the group is going too fast you need to tell the guide so that he know either to slow down, or take you back early if time is an issue.

 

 

BTW, on the steeper sections you NEED to be going slower going down than on the way up. It seems counter intuitive, but if you slip going up you will catch yourself on your hands and most likely be fine. If you slip going down there is no good way to catch yourself and you can be in for a world of hurt.

 

 

A lot of the excursions people do (e.g. jetskis, ATVs, scooters, even snorkeling) can be a LOT more risky, and the risk isn't always under your control. IMHO, the most risky part of any excursion is the van ride to the event.

 

 

One thing I agree on is that all the cruise lines need to do a much better job explaining how strenuous this hike really is.

 

 

snowmom,

 

 

26 people? Yikes. One of the reasons I would recommend going with an independent is so that you would have a smaller group. Larger groups tend to go slower because of the slinky effect, with the fast people having to always wait for the slowest people. What's worse is that the slowest could feel pressure to go faster than they are comfortable with.

 

 

It's been well over a year since I last did the hike so I probably did the “old” route. To get to the start of the trail did you drive through some farmland /future resort that had signs indicating where things like the future golf course, swimming pools, etc, were going to be located?

 

 

Dennis

[cort43202]

We did this hike the first week of March this year and did the old route. We drove through the construction site of the resort/condos and started there. About 5 minutes into the hike our tour guide showed us where the new trail meets up and he said it added about 30 minutes to the hike. We booked independently with Thenford Grey and our tour guide was Al who also worked for Ponciana.

 

I would do this again, and like someone else said, going down is harder but if you take your time you can do it safely. I would also suggest hiking shoes, I wore running shoes and I wished I would have brought my hiking shoes.

[snowmom]

It's been well over a year since I last did the hike so I probably did the “old” route. To get to the start of the trail did you drive through some farmland /future resort that had signs indicating where things like the future golf course, swimming pools, etc, were going to be located?

We did still drive through farmland, but no signs about a future resort. We hiked for about a half hour when we got to the beginning of the old trail coming in on the left. At that point, there was a lot of construction noise. So the new trail is about a half hour extra each way, at least for our group!