Test of Dominica’s Trails: Are You ‘Moderate’ or ‘Easy’?

The view from atop gorgeous Scotts Head looking back towards the mainland in the south of Dominica

The rain has been giving us fits when it comes to making plans here in Dominica. Today, we wanted to try a “Moderate” hike, according to the All Trails app we’ve been using. However, it was supposed to be raining till about noon. With all the unseasonable rain they’ve had over the last couple weeks (according to locals we’ve talked with), the trails are muddy and slippery enough. Throwing in fresh rain on top of its substantial “base” seemed like a foolish idea. So, instead we started the day off with a drive to the southern tip of the island. It is a point called Scotts Head joined to the main part of the island by a thin causeway. There is an easy hike to a colonial gun battery platform overlooking Soufrière Bay that we could climb. Plus, it is supposed to be a beautiful area.

The remnants of the British cannon battery atop Scotts Head is an easy and panoramas hike

The drive down was its usual Dominica pain in the you-know-what, with at least two wrong turns we can blame on our thoroughly confused Apple Maps app. It thinks hairpin bends in the road are left or right turns, then completely forgets to tell us which way to go when the road forks. I complain, but I can’t imagine trying to drive here without some kind of GPS. it is not always obvious what is a continuation of the main road and what is a side street or even a drive way! Still, we made it to Scotts Head where it was actually a beautiful, sunny day. We immediately set out for one of the easiest hikes we’d do on the island. The way is paved with concrete and stone - not for the convenience of hikers, I imagine. Rather it is for trucks servicing the cellphone tower on the steep green hill at the end of the causeway. I took some photos on the way up, but the best ones were from the stone platform and cannon still in place at the battery’s location. There was a gorgeous, amazing view of Soufrière Bay. You can see all the way to Roseau, which you can tell not by its greater collection of houses. Instead, you know it is the capital by the colossal bulk of not one, but TWO cruise ships in port today. They really are huge!

Cloaked in greenery and surmounted by a cell phone tower, Scotts Head is a lovely southern tip of the island

We enjoyed the view and brisk breeze atop Scotts Head for awhile, taking photos at our leisure. Just as we were about to pack up, we heard the crunch of tires on gravel. Not one, but two minibuses full of cruise ship passengers were disgorged. We surrendered the position, just like the British did when the French retook the island from them during the Seven Years War in the 1750s. We took our time walking back downhill, enjoying the view and deciding what else to do. First, we walked a few steps to one side of the causeway to take pictures of the waves crashing on the rocks. That side was the Atlantic Ocean. Walk a dozen steps or so, and you’re staring down at the calmer sheltered bay, which is part of the Caribbean Sea. We saw a pathway leading along the shore of Scotts Head towards the point, so followed it. We saw three snorkelers enjoying the calm water and peaceful solitude. As you walked further, the rocky and pebbly shore actually turned into a small sandy beach. It did indeed seem like a perfect secluded spot to snorkel. Except, I don’t like seclusion when I snorkel. I much prefer more targets in the water for the sharks, er I mean the companionship of other snorkelers…haha! Those who know me understand that I am so scared of sharks that I refuse to go in the water by myself. Give me a splashing boisterous crowd of snorkelers to scare off the sharks. Or give me at least ONE other person, so I have a 50/50 shot of it chomping the other person instead of me!

A sheltered and isolated cove frequented by snorkelers in the shadow of Scotts Head

Walking back towards tiny, idyllic Soufrière, we stop to chat with a young man who had a table full of souvenirs set up in the shade. He asked us if we were going to snorkel and we explained we hadn’t brought our gear. He said he could rent it to us, and waved us over to show us his cell phone photos of the octopi and eagle rays he’d photographed in that tiny cove. He was nice, polite, but very enthusiastic. He said we’d regret not snorkeling there as it is the best place in Dominica for it. I took his WhatsApp number and told him we’d contact him if we decided to return. We said goodbye and continued our walk along the rocky shore towards Soufrière. Colorful fishing boats were in the bay, making a nice contrast with the blue water. Across the bay, the town’s equally bright and colorful houses stood out brightly against the green-clad hills rising sharply above the town. This is also the start of the Waitukubuli Hiking Trail which runs from the southern tip of Dominica to its northern point, near where we hiked at Fort Shirley. If you wanted to hike the whole trail, which runs the length of the island, it would only take you two weeks!

The colorful boats and homes simply add to the beauty of Soufrière Bay

Speaking of hiking, the beautiful sunshine and lack of rain encouraged us to head back and try our first real difficult (sorry, “Moderate”) hike on the island. It was one of the major reasons we had chosen to come to Dominica. So, it was about time to get some boots on the muddy trails and see how we measured up! Middleham Falls is only about 20 minutes from our hotel. It is another “there and back” linear trail, just under 2 miles long. According to All Trails, you gain 626 feet in your climbing up and down the slopes, which should take about an hour to an hour and a half. The first snag was finding the trailhead. Apparently, that has recently been moved, but those doing so neglected to inform our Maps app. We passed a supposed turnoff and it politely kept asking us to turn around and “Proceed to the route.” There was a LOT of construction going on, and we quickly figured out they are building a resort at the trailhead. A resort for Hobbits, apparently. I’m serious! The rounded buildings for tourists are covered in vegetation, except for the doors and windows, looking for all the world like unfinished Hobbit holes. When we saw some workers and asked where Middleham Falls was, they waved us on - keep going. Our GPS continued to plead for us to “Proceed to the route!” We shut it off, and eventually found what was obviously the trailhead, with a shelter and very hiker-looking people changing footwear.

Local fishermen chat on the concrete pier and enjoy the sunny day

I questioned some of them and they said they had made it to the Falls at the end, but said the trail was very muddy and slippery. They cautioned there was some scrambling over wet boulders at the end. One couple had a guide, but the other said they had not. They said the trail was very easy to follow. So, we set off, hiking poles in hand and daypacks shouldered. We had also heard you had to ford a stream or two, which we encountered immediately upon setting out. It was only ankle deep, and we were wearing hiking sandals, so no problem! Once across the stream, we began climbing. For most of the trail’s length, timbers with crosshatched grooves had been planted in the ground, especially along the steeper portions. Sometimes there were actual stairs, other times tree roots substituted for the wood planks. The trail was indeed easy to follow. The hiking poles were a godsend. Otherwise, I am sure my feet would have slipped out from under me at some point - like on the hike near Fort Shirley.

“…In a hole in the ground in Dominica, there lived a Hobbit…” Strange new resort under construction at the falls’ trailhead

We stopped for a few breaks to catch our breath, but proceeded steadily onward. It was when we were nearing the end of — when we could actually hear the rushing water of the falls themselves — that we ran into trouble. We encountered a pool surrounded and submerged with boulders. We couldn’t see where the trail continued once we crossed the pool. Had we made a wrong turn? There was a set of stairs maybe 20 yards behind us that we had just descended. I retraced our steps and saw no missed turn. I pulled out my All Trails app, which supposedly tracks your location to keep you on the path. It showed that we had veered off. I crossed the pool to the other side and rechecked. I still wasn’t on the trail anymore according to its electronic eye. Looking around, all I saw was more boulders to scramble over. It would be a guess, at best, which way to go.

A view of a section of the trail to Middleham Falls - note the cross-hatched logs

Filling the pool was a little waterfall dropping down from about 20-30 feet above us. The app showed us so close! In the end, we decided to call it quits and hike back. We had seen “Littleham Falls,” I quipped. We were both disappointed in ourselves that we failed to make it to the end. We had navigated the slippery trails and slopes successfully. So, we should take heart in that. It was the uncertainty and the lack of clear direction that ultimately caused us to lose confidence in our way. This also happened to us with All Trails in Colombia. We had downloaded the maps so that we didn’t need a cell signal to follow the map. Yet we had still been steered wrong both that time and this time. Perhaps we need to break down and hire guides on anything other than simple trails? We would talk about it that night and decide to give ourselves one more chance on a loop trail that circled a large fresh water lake. If that hike failed, maybe it was time to drop down from Moderate hikes to only Easy ones?

A small set of falls before Middleham that I dubbed “Littleham”

The omens were not good the next morning at breakfast. We were waited on immediately after we sat down, but a half hour later still did not have our food or juice. Eventually, we had to remind them. Slow service is par for the course in Dominica - you are on “island time.” After finally getting our breakfast and eating, we drove to the Freshwater Lake trailhead. The last couple miles were on an incredibly narrow road - the smallest we had encountered so far. We honestly had no idea what we would do if we met a car coming the other direction. About half the time, there is a tire swallowing ditch at the edge of the road. Pull too far over and you have wrecked your rental car! It was raining the entire way there, too. When we pulled into the visitors center, there was only one other car in the lot. It was another rental car, so very likely other hikers. We parked and listened to the rain beat down on the windows. Did we really want to hike a steep, muddy trail in pouring down rain? We decided to wait awhile. After about 10-15 minutes, the rain slowed to a light drizzle.

On a rainy morning, mist shrouds the edges of Freshwater Lake

A deep mist hung over the lake and the surrounding bowl of hills. Apparently, the lake is a caldera of an old volcano. Trees and vegetation clung to every inch of the slopes. The wet wind whipped us relentlessly as we changed into our hiking shoes, put on our rain coats and got ready. I started up the All Trails app and crossed my fingers. Luckily, the loop we were taking started and ended on a road for a very short distance. Once we reached the dead end of Freshwater Lake Road, we crossed a bridge and immediately began climbing. The trail had the same cross-hatched logs laid out for about three quarters of its length. In some places, they had rotted away to mush. In others, they were firm. Periodically, they would disappear entirely into a muddy brown soup. We knew our hiking boots would get muddy, but you don’t want the liability of an inch thick coating of muck around them to make it even more slippery! Every 10 minutes or so, I would double check the app. It showed our path that we were taking was straight down the middle of the route indicated on its map. So far, so good!

Log sections serve as steps on an ascent in the early portion of the trail

The path ascended in stages as it began to circle the lake, which was shaped like an “h”. We got few glimpses of the mist-shrouded water in the early stages of the hike. That was just as well, as the clouds hung close all around us and covered the slopes between us and the water in great irregular bands of light gray. When we had ascended about halfway, approximately 500 feet, we caught our first real glimpse of the lake. The clouds were beginning to clear a little. From time to time, it was like a gray curtain was drawn aside and we would hurriedly take photos. Going up was tiring, but by finding a firm place to plant the hiking pole and pushing off with it, I could take the steps no matter how high and made for ogres or giants they seemed. I was covered in sweat as we neared the top of our climb and the wind began to whip at us fiercely. Finally, at just over a half a mile into the hike, we had reached the top. From this point, we would begin to descend.

A”moderate” (at best) hiker, aka me, begins to descend a portion of the Freshwater Lake Trail

if going up was tiring, coming down was extremely challenging. The mud of the trail was thick and slippery. Often, you could see not a secure log to place your foot or plant your pole. Rocks were even more slick and treacherous. Luckily, in many places, there were ropes strung between thick wooden posts for you to grab onto. When I came to the “ogre steps” going down, though, sometimes my legs simply weren’t long enough. More than once, I wrapped both hands around the rope and slid down as slowly as I could till my feet could touch the ground. If the way up had seemed steep, the path down seemed at times to be almost vertical! A slip could easily result in a broken bone. Oh, and neither of our phones showed any cell service. This is FUN, right?? I persevered, though, taking my time to carefully consider where I planted each foot or my pole. A lot was riding on this hike. Not only could a fall be dangerous, even more importantly, this would determine if I was “Moderate” or “Easy!”

On a sunny day, this would be a stunning view - mist shrouding the distant hilltops and valleys as we hike along the caldera rim

As we were sweating our way through the hike, the clouds cleared up a little. The drizzle had stopped long ago, and more and more often, the view would clear enough to take photographs. Sometimes, we peered into the mist cloaking the hills rising in the distance, along with the deep, green valleys, and declare this hike would be absolutely gorgeous on a sunny day! The last third of the roughly two mile hike was relatively flat. Once again, we pondered how to cross pools of mud and water without losing our boots to the sucking mud. The real exertion was done, though. As we rounded the top of the “h”, we were able to take more and more pictures. Pretty soon, we were walking on solid asphalt road. We had made it! No asterisks! With this success I felt officially Moderate…haha! Honestly, thinking back on yesterday’s failure, we handled everything that Middleham threw at us until the boulder and pool scrambling. Perhaps that part that defeated us was actually “Hard” (All Trails most difficult classification)?

The view cleared up considerably towards the end of the hike - we could see all of the lake!

Either way, I was glad we did this hike in Dominica. It gave me my confidence back. There’s no denying it, I am getting older. To many people, 62 is old — plain and simple. Sure, there are probably 70 and 80-year-old mountain goats of hikers out there who make me look like a jelly doughnut. I am okay with that. As long as I remain in better than average or even good shape for men my age, I am happy. I will be satisfied knowing that I can do a Moderate hike and not come home in a cast. As we drove back to the hotel, muddy and happy, the sun actually came out, By the time we were close to our hotel, the skies were sunny and blue. It had turned out to be a moderately nice day in Dominica.

A scenic view along our drive back to our hotel - Dominica in sunlight (a not so common occurrence)