LearnServe Jamaica 2016, Day 4: The Treacherous Hike

 June 27, 2016 – Today is the day I’ve been waiting for! The day we march up the beast, The Blue Mountain Peak. The beginning of the day started off relaxing because we were getting psychologically and emotionally prepared so we went to go to the river pool to take a dip. I went through the day with no worries until it started to get late and I remembered that our hike began at 12 AM. We had to meet at The Square in order to be bused to the point of departure on the mountain, and that’s when it really hit me that we were about to take the hike. Before we even started, I did not want to take the hike anymore, the trip leaders and guides talked about the different sections of the mountain and what was the most difficult parts and I really felt unprepared and anxious; however, since there was not much of a choice, I got in the van and we headed to our starting point.

The first obstacle of our six-hour walk was called Jacob’s Ladder. This was the portion that was described as the most difficult. The hills were really steep and rocky. I needed to take several breaks up the hill and fell towards the rear of the group. All I could think about was how I just wanted it to be over. The slower I went the more I want to turn back around. At the first check point I made the decision to join the first group, which was faster moving group comprised of all boys. I thought that joining their group would keep me motivated. When the ground was flat the process was easier, but once the hillier sections came, the reality of taking a six hour hike up the mountains finally really hit me. There were various struggles: running out of breath and becoming extremely sore. I had to take breaks, but I would not stop for long because I knew that the boys were waiting for me because we could not leave any team members behind. It was relieving to know that they would not leave me and also encouraging to keep me moving forward, so that I would not let them down.

We were walking pretty fast so we got to the second check point early, which was the midway mark, Portland’s Gap. We were able to sit at this point for a while, in order to give the other groups time to meet us there. It had gotten pretty cold at this point because we had reached a higher altitude. Most of the group made it to the check point soon after we reached, but we all had moved at the fast pace, so we stayed at the second check point a little longer. I was relieved that we had made it to this point and received such a long break, but I really wanted to keep moving and complete the hike. But, we did not want to reach the peak of the mountain significantly earlier than the sun rise due to the cold temperatures are the top. After approximately an hour total, we finally departed, splitting back into our groups and continued hiking. I remained in the faster moving group.

Honestly, this was the hardest part of the climb because there was hill after hill. At this point I did not care if people were waiting for me, I needed multiple breaks. The third check point had a beautiful view. Looking into the sky and seeing an enormous amount shining stars was just remarkable, I’ve never seen anything quite like it in the city. Continuing up the mountain the tour guides kept yelling “30 more minutes” … That’s the greatest thing I hear the whole trip. The higher we got the flatter the ground got and that was a relief. Next thing I knew we were climbing at another incline. At this point, I was just extremely tried so I started to lag back fall back into the middle group that was not far behind us. I needed a break, what felt like, every two minutes. Suddenly, I could hear someone screaming. So I knew the first group had made it.

When I get to the top of the mountain, it is 5 o’clock, on the dot. I was just ready to lay down and relax. I did not even care about the sun rise anymore so I took my book-bag, found a stop on the ground (not caring if there were bugs anymore) and laid on it and quickly fell asleep. I woke up shivering and the sun was out. I had missed the sunrise. Even though I missed the sunrise, I awoke to one of my team members laying on my legs and look around to see that we all had been laying on each other to sleep.

Team work is what got us up the mountain today. It’s was too cold to sit in one spot, so I got up with the others to look at the view. It was beautiful! We were able to look out around us and see all the other mountains around us, with the sun resting on their peaks. Finally, everyone else arrived at the peak, but at that point I had seen all of the beauty and was anxious to hike back down. As soon as I received the conformation that we could start walking down I literally sped walked down the mountain. I almost twisted my ankle a dozen times, I was moving so quickly. Now that hike is done, and our next stop is Kingston!

Takiyah W., E L Haynes Public Charter School