点评:I want to add my 2¢ on the physical challenges of Boiling Lake bec. I really relied on others' comments. But first, a GUIDE REC, because ours was wonderful: Call Mio! He's at WhatsApp, +1 767-295-3565, or email miandolewis58@gmail.com. You can also request him through Khatts Tours.
Our party of 5 - two U.S. couples and a solo traveler from Saint Lucia - were randomly assigned to one another and to Mio, and happy for it! Mio knows the trail like an old friend and has a lovely manner and sense of humor. He's a font of info on plant and animal life, history + geography, but more important, He Can Tell You Where to Step. Sounds dumb, I know ( I was skeptical when others said it), but this trail is slippery, rock-strewn, alternately dry scree or mud that will suck your shoe off. You likely WILL slip and maybe land on your butt (so don't wear clothes you care about). We did other Dominica hikes sans guide, but for this challenging trail, being shown the best way down, up or around the tricky parts made all the difference. Mio had a good sense of who needed advice or a hand to grab and when, yet let our more capable hikers do their own thing. He kept us together and smiling. [And Dominica guides like him are *licensed,* trained in First Aid, etc., and quizzed on their knowledge of the area.]
The hike is gorgeous: mountain views + wildly mixed terrain -- rain forest, cloud forest, rivers, streams, waterfalls, sulfur springs in the "Valley of Desolation" and then up again to a clifftop view of the mind-blowing cauldron. It covers dirt paths, mud tracks, log steps, stone "steps," rock scrambles and actual bouldering, plus stream-crossings. That's ~3+ hours. Then you picnic and ... do it all in reverse. It's a supposedly 13.65 mi. round-trip w/total vertical ascent around 2,000+ feet.
So how hard is it? As a 60yo woman who works out, does weights, and routinely jogs 3-4 miles, I can say that it is damn hard. On the return trip I "bonked," possibly from dehydration, panting and nauseated w/heart racing. Could manage maybe 20 steps at a time. This is when Mio really proved his mettle, encouraging me and offering a hand up until we reached the last descent and, w/water and raisins and chocolate, I recovered enough to hike normally again, if slowly. Our group's other female hiker, also fit and a few years younger, slowed down as well. We spent 8 hours total; the men would have taken about 7. Then we revived ourselves in Titou Gorge.
I am so happy I did it, with zero regrets. But maybe not twice!
翻译:我想为沸腾湖的体能挑战添加 2 美分。我真的很依赖别人的评论。但首先,我们有一个 GUIDE REC,因为我们的很棒:打电话给 Mio!他使用 WhatsApp,+1 767-295-3565,或发送电子邮件至 miandolewis58@gmail.com。您也可以通过 Khats Tours 向他请求。
我们一行 5 人——两对美国夫妇和一位来自圣卢西亚的独行旅行者——被随机分配到彼此和 Mio,对此感到高兴! Mio 像老朋友一样熟悉这条路线,举止可爱,幽默感十足。他提供了有关动植物生命、历史+地理的信息,但更重要的是,他可以告诉你该往哪里走。我知道,这听起来很愚蠢(当别人这么说时,我很怀疑),但这条小路很滑,布满岩石,时而干燥的碎石,时而泥土,会把你的鞋子吸掉。您可能会滑倒,甚至可能会屁股着地(所以不要穿您关心的衣服)。我们在没有导游的情况下进行了其他多米尼加徒步旅行,但对于这条具有挑战性的步道,被指示向下、向上或绕过棘手部分的最佳路线使一切变得不同。 Mio 很清楚谁需要建议或需要帮助,什么时候需要帮助,但让我们更有能力的徒步旅行者做自己的事情。他让我们在一起并微笑着。 [像他这样的多米尼加导游都获得了*许可,*接受过急救等培训,并询问了他们对该地区的了解。]
徒步旅行的景色很美:山景+狂野的混合地形——雨林、云林、河流、溪流、瀑布、“荒凉谷”的硫磺泉,然后再次登上悬崖顶,欣赏令人惊叹的大锅。它涵盖了土路、泥路、圆木台阶、石头“台阶”、攀岩和真正的抱石,以及溪流穿越。那是~3个多小时。然后你去野餐……然后反过来做。据说是 13.65 英里。往返总垂直上升高度约 2,000 多英尺。
那么到底有多难呢?作为一名 60 岁的女性,她经常锻炼、举重、慢跑 3-4 英里,我可以说这太难了。在回程中,我“崩溃”了,可能是因为脱水、气喘吁吁、恶心和心跳加速。一次可以管理大约 20 个步骤。这时,Mio 真正证明了他的勇气,鼓励我并伸出援手,直到我们到达最后一个下坡路,有了水、葡萄干和巧克力,我恢复了足够的能力,可以再次正常徒步旅行,尽管速度很慢。我们小组的另一位女性徒步旅行者也很健康,而且年轻几岁,也放慢了速度。我们总共花了8个小时;男人们大概会带走7个人。然后我们在Titou峡谷恢复活力。
我很高兴我做到了,零后悔。但也许不会两次!