Seven Waterfalls

Last Friday was a pretty busy day for me... because I went on a hike! It'll probably end up being my last hike on the island, and what a hike it was. It was incredible, and probably is one of my favorite hikes yet.

Seven Waterfalls is a five hour long hike (yup, crazy 5 month pregnant lady decides to do a 5 hour hike) and I'd call it pretty challenging. It wasn't as hard as Boiling Lake, but it did require a fair bit of agility, endurance, and strength. Seven Waterfalls is named for (big surprise) the seven waterfalls you will see while hiking along a river.

The first hour of the hike was fairly brutal. We hiked up and over a VERY steep ridge, and I was hot and feeling pretty miserable as we approached the river. When we took a break at the river, all I could think was "Did I make a mistake thinking I could do this?!"

Once I reached the river, I was alright. There were still lots of boulders to clamber over and ledges to climb, but in between we'd be wading up a river that ranged from waist deep to above my head. The guides (Espry and Vivian- who was a guy) kept offering to carry my pack, but I told them I could hike through cool water all day long. It was like a dream- I'd get hot and get to wade through cold mountain water. AMAZING. I'm pretty sure I'd be happier walking to and from campus if I could cross a river like that!

The guides were great at helping me when I needed it (and sometimes when I didn't!) as well. Espry saw I was nervous in the initial descent to the river on the steep (like steeper than a set of stairs steep) and long descent to the river, so he cut me a hiking stick, which probably saved my butt several times. They also laughed at my short legs (thanks Dad for that genetic trait!) and would grab my hands to give me a boost onto the larger boulders.

The waterfalls were amazing! There was such a range in size from short to tall to narrow to wide. Many of them we could swim in- and as you'll see in the photos we didn't bother to take our soaked clothes off before swimming! We were already drenched, no point in stripping down to our bathing suits! It was an incredible hike, and I really loved it.

When it we got near the end, we left the river and hiked up another ridge on the opposite side of the river. We paused partway up for the last two falls, and then continued on our way. I was thinking I was doing pretty well, although I was a bit tired, when Espry pointed ahead and said "There is your last challenge!" It was a cliff! Oh goodness! I hadn't thought I was signing up for cliff climbing, I'd thought it was a fairly level hike. But since it's a new trail I didn't really know anyone who'd done the last portion, so the cliff climbing was a bit of a surprise. I did just fine and clambered up the roots and vines. It reminded me a lot of Aba Wavine Cyrique, a hike I did twice on the island. I was very happy to see the van when we got to the top of the ridge- I was tired and ready for a ride home!

Ryan and I went to bed early that night- about 8pm, and I slept until about 7am. I was sore for a few days (my arms and quads, ow!) but had no ill effects. I really enjoyed it, and really recommend it to my friends who are still on the island. Enjoy the photos!