going to the top of the caribbean!

happy new year!

veronica and i have decided to start the new year off with a big adventure! we have signed up for a hiking trip that will take us to the top of the highest mountain in the caribbean - pico duarte! this is no small mountain - pico duarte is at 10,230 feet!

our buddy rich weber is leading the trip. he's the one who owns the trips, tours, treks, and travel company - http://www.4tdomrep.com . he has done this hike many times, and i am sure will be very informative and FUN, as he always is! he organized this particular hiking trip for some volunteers of the Dream Project, which is a non-profit here in the DR that helps to improve schooling of dominican children. the trip was open for other people to join, so we decided to go for it.

we leave on tuesday. it is a 3 day hike, covering 31 miles, with much, much elevation gain. we first travel to jarabacoa and then on to la cienaga as our launching point for the hike. at that point, we are nestled within the Cordilla Central mountain range. we then embark on a short hike, 2.5 miles, to our camp for the night. day 2 is a hefty day of climbing where we will hike for 11 miles and gain almost 4000 feet. day 3 we summit the peak and return to where we started. the summit will be the reward for the long day that encompasses 17.5 miles of hiking.

i think there is going to be about 8 or 9 of us in total, but we shall see. both veronica and i are looking forward to meeting the other hikers. along with all of us, there will be mules to carry the backpacks, as well as a few extra mules in case someone needs a break from the hiking etc.

so we are now busy checking the packing list and getting prepared by taking long walks down the beach. after being in flip flops for 7 months, i expected hiking boots to be a bit uncomfortable, so we are starting to wear them around (even in the heat here!) neither v or i are in great shape these days, so we're expecting to be quite sore during this all, but it should be worth it to look out from the peak and to say that we've been to the top of the caribbean!

check out rich's web site that outlines the trip -- http://www.4tdomrep.com/dreampicoduarte2006.html

we will be sure to blog away after the trek with pics and stories!