“We are loading the bus and leaving at 5 a.m.”, my cousin shares with the rest of the group that has gathered to hear what the plans are. I’m thinking, 5 a.m. can’t be that bad–if the goal of the hike is to chase the sunrise, I better prepare everything the night before so I’m not rushing last minute to pack everything. Little to my knowledge, as much as I prepared everything the night before, the ONE thing I forgot to check was my batteries on my headlight (palm to face moment).
As you see, none of us in the group did not realize how pitch dark it was during the hike. When I say pitch dark, I’m emphasizing DARK because we resorted to our phone light. I have never hiked in the dark, nevertheless hike when the sun was down– surprise surprise the real adventure began. Thankfully there was a decent amount of us, so it did not feel too lonely.
During this trip I promised myself to bring my heavy camera (and tripod – which I ended up NEVER using). Thank GOD I did bring my camera because the photos were worth the extra weight.
This hiked required several stops. True goal of this trail was about pace. Parts of the hike required you to truly catch your breath because parts of the path were very steep. But once you hit each steep hike, the reward was truly beautiful!
The last half of the hike is a straight shot up with steep and big steps. If you are scared of heights, don’t look back or down ( made that mistake ). The goal is to get in line before it gets crazy busy because it can get crazy busy on the devil’s bridge. When I tell you though the wait is worth it, its soooooo worth it.
A few things I would recommend of any beginner hiker is,
1) Don’t take a tripod (it was heavy).
2) Ditch a bottle and invest in a hydro bag!
3) Bring a light weight backpack that has an insert for a hydrobag
4) Hiking boots (best investment)
5) Layers of clothes, easy to peel when it starts getting warmer in the day.
6) Bring snacks, nothing that is fussy and will leave a mess.
Which brings us to our next adventure, “Safari Jeep Tour”. I had a friend book this tour for the group, wanting to experience a whole different part of the mountain WITHOUT having to deal with hiking. I highly recommend it. If you do experience extreme motion sickness, brace yourself or sit up front.
For more information: Check them out! https://www.safarijeeptours.com
Let’s be honest, you want to see the final cut of the trip in less than 5 minutes. So here it is! Thanks for reading and subscribe to be updated with all the latest and greatest! Enjoy!
