Sun-Mon, July 12 & 13

A Couple of Hikes

L' Esperance and Reef Bay Trail filled the past two days. There was another cookout and more delicious food to be enjoyed.

Sunday:

I woke up fairly early and got my day started by paying a few bills (first time since getting here that I had to sort out paying the bills waiting for me back home). I had the job of bringing some soda to the cookout, an all-girls affair scheduled for Saturday night. I hiked up the steep driveway, went to the general store at the Maho Bay campground area and carried the 2 gallons of water, 2 liters of soda, and 1 pint of Gatorade back down the street and down the steep driveway. It was a good bit of exercise to transport my small batch of groceries from the store to home. Thank goodness they gave me a small box to make the trip a little easier.

I packed up my hiking pack and filled up my water bottles and snack bags. We set off to meet with Lauran, Meika, and Susanna somewhere off Centerline Rd. After parking at Lauran's, we had a short walk and we were on the L'Esperance trailhead. The roads here don't have sidewalks and most of the time there is no shoulder, only a cliff on one side and a wall of dirt on the other. There's not much room for pedestrians. Walking to the trailhead was not fraught with any mishaps for us, but I'd like to point out I wouldn't necessarily recommend getting to the trailhead by walking.

We wound our way down the trail at what I consider a fairly zippy pace. Our hike included the L'Esperance ruins, Sieben ruins, Reef Bay Great House, Reef Bay Factory, Genti beach (saw a few sharks and pelicans), the Petroglyphs, a beach scramble, seeing Lauran surf in Parrot bay, and a steep hike up to Gift Hill Rd, with the assistance of static nylon ropes tied around trees. Without the ropes, the steep hike up the terrain would have meant a likely fall or tumble down the slope. We were picked up from the end of our trail in Fish Bay and headed back to where we'd parked the car. There was a quick trip home to freshen-up and then we all reunited for a cookout of awesomeness! The all-girls-night cookout brought burgers and chili dogs to our starving bellies. I normally don't like potato chips or super junky food. After the hike on Saturday, I happily munched through quite a few handfuls of the savory Ruffles Cheddar Sour Cream and Onion chips. All of the food was fantastic, thanks mostly to Lauran and Susanna.

For food, it has been a good weekend.

The inevitable food coma and deep sleep after a day full of hiking made Monday come quickly.

Monday:

More hiking. The Reef Bay Trail is a self-guided hike from Centerline Rd. down to Reef Bay, on the southern side of the island. I joined the ranger-led hike offered through the Visitor's Center, as part of my assessment on safety here in the park. The hike is more on the strenuous side and proper footwear, a snack, and adequate water are all very important things to keep the hike more comfortable. We used taxis to get to the trail head. The trail was amazing and we were cooled off by a deluge of rainfall for about 10 minutes. I think I was just barely dry again by the time we hopped on the boat in Genti Bay. Sadie Sea navigated the irregular and large swells between Genti Bay and the Visitor's Center in Cruz Bay. Back on land, I finished up my work day and before going home, explored more of Mongoose Junction. There wasn't much more to see, except for an awesome surf-type shop with upscale beachwear and some neat St. John tourist shirts. I saw a few that I liked.