A Harrowing Hike

I came home muddy, bruised, and with enough gusto to take on the world!

I cleaned myself up, vacuumed the house, ran to get some Benadryl cream for the bug bites and when I picked up the laundry hamper, it hit. The adrenaline rush was gone and I hit the bed with a thud.

Looking back on the morning’s events, I am surprised I didn’t pass out sooner.

We started at the base of Concord falls, the jungle stretching before us and an hour long car ride behind us. We had all heard about Grenada’s beautiful jungles and bright eyed and bushy tailed, were ready to see the majesty for ourselves.

What you see behind us is Concord Falls. We would be hiking to Fontainebleu Falls or Aux Coin Falls – depending on which fork in the road we took.  The hike itself was supposed to take about 30 minutes and
cross a little river about 5 or 6 times.

It was unlike anything I had ever done. We slugged through mud and muck and overgrowth and for once I envied the machetes  the locals carry around.

After trudging through our last 100 yards of what seemed like uncharted territory, we found it. A waterfall!

We weren’t sure if this was the waterfall the girls had been to before, but it was beautiful anyway. We jumped in and swam in the ice cold pool beneath the falls, perfecting the art of the log-jump belly flop and having a grand old time.

Then, it started to rain.

Now rain in Grenada is something peculiar. At our little apartment homes near the city, the heavens pour down havoc on you for five or ten minutes, then in the next instant the skies are clear again.

But we were in the rainforest and this rain was different.

It poured down buckets for a solid 15 minutes while we watched the water level in the little pool rise.  By that time, we were getting worried. After a few more flops, we packed up our soaked things and headed back down the trail.

The little puddles of mud we had splashed through before became streams and the streams we had passed through became rushing rivers. This is where the photographic evidence disappears. We were a little preoccupied with getting back, and besides everything was soaked to the core.

We managed to cross the river twice successfully but it was obvious the water had risen and we had at least three more crossings ahead of us. The third crossing was when we started to pray. Hard.

With water up to our waists and the rapids coursing off rocks that were once our stepping stones, we got a few people across, myself included. Two girls stood braced against opposite sides of the banks to hopefully “hand off” the crossing girl. When one of our friends tried to go, she lost her footing and the rapids swept her feet out from under her.

A hand whipped out and grabbed the floating girl by her book bag, eventually  grasping her left hand. Another girl braced against the bank and caught her right hand. For a moment we formed a human chain, one person grabbing the arm of another while the rapids yanked at one of our friends. She was stretched face up with arms overhead and feet being pulled down stream. With everyone helping, we pulled her safely back into shore.

That’s when we went for help.

After hiking back for about 10 minutes, I met three local trail guides who had come looking for us. They were an answer to prayer. The men braced themselves in the rapids and handed us across safely.

Then began our jungle trek back.

Rather than cross the river again via the marked path, we took the back way home – through the overgrown jungle. We climbed onto the vertical face of the mountain next to the river. Hanging from vines and clinging to undergrowth, we slowly made our way back to the clearing, ankles straining against the incline.

When we arrived safely back at the parking lot we were muddy, exhilarated and wet with our only casualty being a ripped book bag. I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father that the damage wasn’t worse.

While this was by far the craziest and most amazing adventure I have been on since coming to Grenada, I want Cat to know how thankful we are that she is alright. You should get to know this amazing girl by visiting her website www.budgetblonde.com. I look forward to getting to know her better and enjoying many more adventures in Grenada!

However, next time, we are taking a guide.

Now, I am taking a nap.

*Thanks to those who let me steal their pictures off Facebook for this blog!