amstony
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So, as part of turning 50 and getting younger 
, ChanelGirl took me to St. Lucia in the Carribean to celebrate this kind of milestone Birthday. While I was there I had a couple of chances to hike and kayak around this beautiful island. So, while everyone froze last week, I was basking in the sun, running around in shorts and t-shirt, sweating, and and on occasion using the AC!!
Pidgeon Island National Landmark:
The first hike I took was on January 21st on my birthday with ChanelGirl. We decided on Pidgeon island since it was close to the resort and we could easily walk to it without having to hire a guide. Pidgeon Island is a famous piece of St. Lucias history having been fought over between the Brits and the French numerous times and as late as World war 2 was used as a listening post to track German U-Boats and for communications.
So, we set out at 9:00 AM for Pidgeon island. After a short walk we came to the entrance. The St. Lucia Forestry Department charges an admission of $5.00 (U.S.) per person which goes towards maintenance of the park.
When you enter the park there is a large signboard map with all the trails you can take. We chose to go to Rodney Point and then Signal Hill, and then come down and go through the trails at the lower elevations and then visit the museum.
As we hiked through the park the first thing you notice was the huge trees, much of the vegetation has not been touched in very many years, so many the trees are huge. The trail itself, on the first portion of the hike was nice and flat, then and as you gained elevation on Rodney Point trail you began to see great views in all directions. There is a lookout point below the peak where e stopped and took some pics, and then you continued up to the summit of Rodney Point. We took some pics there, drank some water, took a break from the heat, and then headed back down the trail so we could then continue up to Signal Hill, the highest point on the island.
The walk over from Rodney Point to Signal Hill was interesting. You passed through several nice areas as you gained elevation. The nature of the trail changed as you came closer to Signal Hill summit. The tail turned slippery with lots of loss rock and poor traction. The last 50 feet towards the summit was almost like hiking the Whites, rocky, slippery and a surprise if you weren't wearing the right shoes. It also became hotter and more humid.
After taking some more pics, I helped ChanelGirl down the summit and we backtracked towards the main trail. We decided the skip the Cannon trail, this trail was literally at a 45 degree angle and was used by the British to haul cannons up from the bay. We thought about using it until we saw another couple literally falling and hitting a tree as they tried to maintian their footing. So we decided not to use it!
Once we came down to the main trail, we continued through the landmark, following the trails and stopping at the small Museum, which is dedicated to the many battles that were fought over this location.
After that we hiked out of Pidgeon Island back to the resort, where ChanelGirl headed to the pool and I hit the Kayaks for awhile!
I'll post on my second hike into the rainforest shortly.
, ChanelGirl took me to St. Lucia in the Carribean to celebrate this kind of milestone Birthday. While I was there I had a couple of chances to hike and kayak around this beautiful island. So, while everyone froze last week, I was basking in the sun, running around in shorts and t-shirt, sweating, and and on occasion using the AC!! Pidgeon Island National Landmark:
The first hike I took was on January 21st on my birthday with ChanelGirl. We decided on Pidgeon island since it was close to the resort and we could easily walk to it without having to hire a guide. Pidgeon Island is a famous piece of St. Lucias history having been fought over between the Brits and the French numerous times and as late as World war 2 was used as a listening post to track German U-Boats and for communications.
So, we set out at 9:00 AM for Pidgeon island. After a short walk we came to the entrance. The St. Lucia Forestry Department charges an admission of $5.00 (U.S.) per person which goes towards maintenance of the park.
When you enter the park there is a large signboard map with all the trails you can take. We chose to go to Rodney Point and then Signal Hill, and then come down and go through the trails at the lower elevations and then visit the museum.
As we hiked through the park the first thing you notice was the huge trees, much of the vegetation has not been touched in very many years, so many the trees are huge. The trail itself, on the first portion of the hike was nice and flat, then and as you gained elevation on Rodney Point trail you began to see great views in all directions. There is a lookout point below the peak where e stopped and took some pics, and then you continued up to the summit of Rodney Point. We took some pics there, drank some water, took a break from the heat, and then headed back down the trail so we could then continue up to Signal Hill, the highest point on the island.
The walk over from Rodney Point to Signal Hill was interesting. You passed through several nice areas as you gained elevation. The nature of the trail changed as you came closer to Signal Hill summit. The tail turned slippery with lots of loss rock and poor traction. The last 50 feet towards the summit was almost like hiking the Whites, rocky, slippery and a surprise if you weren't wearing the right shoes. It also became hotter and more humid.
After taking some more pics, I helped ChanelGirl down the summit and we backtracked towards the main trail. We decided the skip the Cannon trail, this trail was literally at a 45 degree angle and was used by the British to haul cannons up from the bay. We thought about using it until we saw another couple literally falling and hitting a tree as they tried to maintian their footing. So we decided not to use it!
Once we came down to the main trail, we continued through the landmark, following the trails and stopping at the small Museum, which is dedicated to the many battles that were fought over this location.
After that we hiked out of Pidgeon Island back to the resort, where ChanelGirl headed to the pool and I hit the Kayaks for awhile!
I'll post on my second hike into the rainforest shortly.
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