At the end of June 2009, the conservation and community development organisation Trekforce completed an epic trek from the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary to the summit of Victoria Peak, and back.
Trekforce is already well known throughout Belize for their adventurous environmental conservation projects in the jungle and their community and teaching work in rural primary schools over the last twenty years. As their name suggests, they also enjoy a challenging trek. David Osborne, a Trekforce volunteer and trainee expedition leader, provides an insight into the life of volunteer on such a trek:
We began our trek on Sunday 14th June 2009 at Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary - the beautiful and famous Jaguar reserve, after camping in our basha systems (a hammock, mosquito net and tarpaulin sheet) the previous night. It was a clear and sunny morning as the team of eleven set out with all of our kit, rations and climbing equipment packed on our backs. The group was led by the highly experienced Victoria Peak trek guide and member of the Belizean National Disaster Accident Response team Marcus Cucul and Trekforce Belize’s Expedition leader Al Davies. The remaining group was comprised of a Dr Catherine Phoenix, four Trekforce trainee expedition leaders (Rob Kenning, Henry Howes and Emma Maxwell), two staff assistants (Lucy Hellier and David Osborne), and three Trekforce volunteers (Luke Bantock, Caroline Varley and Tom Kirtley).
The group had spent the previous two months completing three major environmental conservation projects in the Belizean jungle. These projects included cutting a 6km boundary and fire-break around Xunantunich protected Mayan site, cutting and mapping a 21km boundary along the northern border of Elijio Panti National Park and finally digging a 50 foot ditch at the Wildtracks National Manatee Rehabilitation centre in Sarteneja. We thought that the projects had prepared us physically for the demanding trek ahead, but did not know then just what Victoria Peak - and the weather - held in store for us.
The Belize Forestry Department had kindly granted us permission to undertake the trek (known as ‘the hardest trek in Belize, up the highest mountain in Belize’) even though it is the wet season and therefore park is officially closed. This was due to the presence of our guide Marcus, the high proportion of expedition leaders in the group and because of the close working relationship Trekforce and the Forestry Department has developed through collaborative conservation projects.
Rapid progress was made on the first day and we quickly covered the relatively flat ground from the Wildlife Sanctuary to base camp 12 kilometers up the trail. We were glad to be able to use the trial and camp built by previous Trekforce expeditions to attract eco-tourism to the area. The first evening was spent cooking in the large camp palapa with spirits high due to the ground covered, good weather and pleasant camp surroundings. Later that evening a massive thunderstorm caused many of team’s bashas to collapse and forced them back into the palapa for the night.
Day 2 began early, and with rain still pounding the camp we set off for ‘Deadman’s Camp’ at the 19km mark (also built by a previous Trekforce group) before attempting to reach the ‘last creek’ before the summit at the 24km before dark. This was to allow us as much time as possible to safely ascend and descend the precarious summit the next day. Heavy rain lashed us from the outset and the poor weather continued throughout the day making the ground underfoot extremely muddy and energy-sapping. The terrain also rapidly increased in difficulty by developing into a continuous series of steep cliffs and valleys which often required the use of our hands to grip tree roots and heave ourselves and our packs onwards and upwards. The team was determined to follow Marcus’ plan, and so hearty singing and grim determination saw us cover the brutal undulating ground to the last creek by night fall. The last ascent, known as ‘Heartbreak Hill’ was particularly steep, but the team all made it safely and we set up our basha’s in thick wet jungle on a steep bank by the creek for the night.
Day 3 was a day that no one in the group will forget. We rose before light and prepared lighter day sacks (containing only our survival equipment, climbing kit, rations and water) for our summit attempt. We set off early up the steep ascent into the mountain’s highest flanks. After only an hour of climbing the near-vertical muddy slopes, we reached the slick granite cliffs and waterfalls that mark the final ascent to the summit. We donned climbing helmets and harnesses and used ropes (skillfully set up by Marcus) to climb up the cliffs and gullies to the base of the summit. The top level of Victoria Peak is covering in 100 meter thick layer of cloud forest which had a strange and wonderful other-worldly look and feel. We quickly clambered up through the mossy damp forest to reach…the summit!
It was an incredible moment for everyone and the views of Cockscomb Basin stretching out beneath us were amazing. We celebrated with roars of jubilation, cigars, biscuits and a lot of photos of the happy group and the clouds racing across the basin below us.
As the weather continued to deteriorate, we were forced to quickly place our Trekforce t-shirt beside other memorabilia left on the summit and begin our descent back to camp at the last creek. Any ideas we may have had about the return ‘downhill’ journey being easier were smashed in the first hour as we made painfully slow progress abseiling down the precarious cliffs and waterfalls using ropes to safely maneuver each team member down. Once we reached more solid ground, we set off at a rapid pace in order to reach camp before night fall. Upon reaching camp at dusk and despite almost overwhelming fatigue and a lack of any dry fire wood whatsoever, Al and the trainee leaders managed to get a fire going for dinner. The tired group treated various injuries and forced as much warm food and drink down them as possible before quickly retiring to their hammocks for some much needed sleep.
The rain lashed the mountains and our basha’s for the duration of the night and it was a bedraggled group that rose, packed up their equipment and set off on Day 4 of the trek (Wednesday 17th June). This was one of the hardest days of the trek due to the sheer distance involved, the terrain (a precarious concertina of steep and muddy slopes), the weather (rain continued to lash us to the bone, drench our kit and added a great deal of weight to already heavy rucksacks) and the cumulative exhaustion and sleep-deprivation of the group. Morale remained high however with singing, banter and jokes from the moment we awoke to the jubilant moment we arrived back at base camp that afternoon.
There were bellows of relief and delight at the camp, and the moment was marked by a group of five scarlet macaws flying directly overhead. The team immediately set about trying to dry their kit under the palapa and treated various wounds ranging from foot rot, open skin sores and infected insect bites. The entire team were now physically exhausted, but remained cheerful due continuous group support, singing and joking, and the knowledge that we had completed the four hardest days of trek and only had one relatively straight forward day left.
Once again, we had under-estimated the fury of Chac (the Mayan Rain God) and the effects of the weather on the basin area. That night there was an apocalyptic lightning storm of such intensity that those whose bashas didn’t immediately collapse under the hammering rain were completely drenched as howling winds swept rain into our hammocks from all directions. Entire rucksacks were swept away in 10 inch torrents of overland flow and the whole team spent the entire night gawping in wonder at the sheet lightning and ground-vibrating thunder that lit and shook the camp approximately every five seconds.
Early on Day 5, our guide Marcus checked the level of the river between the camp and the trail back to the Wildlife Sanctuary and found that due to the torrential rain over the last few days, the water level had risen from a gentle 0.3 meters to 5 meters of raging, muddy torrent. It initially seemed that we would be stranded at base camp for at least a day until the water level subsided, but we retrieved and packed up our hopelessly water-logged kit and waited for a possible crossing window just in case.
The water level eventually dropped to around 2 meters deep and Al Davies expertly set up a diagonal river crossing line to help the group cross the river safely. Once we has been guided safely across the river, we reassembled and set off in high spirits for the final 12km sprint.
We made rapid time until we reached the final 1km where - to our amazement - the trail we had trekked up only four days prior had turned into a 2 meter deep jungle lake. We were forced to
take off our packs, set up hand-lines and swim for around 500m through this lake pushing our packs in front of us. When a 1.5 meter Fer-De-Lance snake swam in front of the group, silence was immediately ordered and it felt as if trek had finally turned into a Vietnam war movie.
We eventually reached dry land, hauled our bags and ourselves out of the water and completed the final 200 meters to the Wildlife Sanctuary. There was a mixture of euphoria and relief when finally taking off our rucksacks and knowing that we had completed the hardest trek in Belize in some of the worst weather conditions ever attempted.
At the Wildlife Sanctuary, we discovered that due to the severity of the weather conditions, British Army Helicopters had been on standby to rescue us if we had taken another day and that the main bridges out of the Mountain Pine Ridge has been destroyed by flooding. As such, we spent a happy night at the Maya Centre celebrating in warm clothes with a hot meal and some celebratory drinks, before returning to Trekforce Fieldbase in San Ignacio the following morning tired, but very happy.
Trekforce are very interested to hear from volunteers that would be interested in working for Trekforce, and from conservation organisations, NGOs, schools and charities that may have projects which Trekforce could help with. They can be contacted through Jonathan Boocock (Expedition Leader), Trekforce Worldwide, PO Box 266, San Ignacio, Cayo District, Belize, Tel: 824 2211, Email: trekforcebelize@trekforce.org.uk, or on their international website: http://www.trekforce.org.uk/
Rapid progress was made on the first day and we quickly covered the relatively flat ground from the Wildlife Sanctuary to base camp 12 kilometers up the trail. We were glad to be able to use the trial and camp built by previous Trekforce expeditions to attract eco-tourism to the area. The first evening was spent cooking in the large camp palapa with spirits high due to the ground covered, good weather and pleasant camp surroundings. Later that evening a massive thunderstorm caused many of team’s bashas to collapse and forced them back into the palapa for the night.
Day 2 began early, and with rain still pounding the camp we set off for ‘Deadman’s Camp’ at the 19km mark (also built by a previous Trekforce group) before attempting to reach the ‘last creek’ before the summit at the 24km before dark. This was to allow us as much time as possible to safely ascend and descend the precarious summit the next day. Heavy rain lashed us from the outset and the poor weather continued throughout the day making the ground underfoot extremely muddy and energy-sapping. The terrain also rapidly increased in difficulty by developing into a continuous series of steep cliffs and valleys which often required the use of our hands to grip tree roots and heave ourselves and our packs onwards and upwards. The team was determined to follow Marcus’ plan, and so hearty singing and grim determination saw us cover the brutal undulating ground to the last creek by night fall. The last ascent, known as ‘Heartbreak Hill’ was particularly steep, but the team all made it safely and we set up our basha’s in thick wet jungle on a steep bank by the creek for the night.
Day 3 was a day that no one in the group will forget. We rose before light and prepared lighter day sacks (containing only our survival equipment, climbing kit, rations and water) for our summit attempt. We set off early up the steep ascent into the mountain’s highest flanks. After only an hour of climbing the near-vertical muddy slopes, we reached the slick granite cliffs and waterfalls that mark the final ascent to the summit. We donned climbing helmets and harnesses and used ropes (skillfully set up by Marcus) to climb up the cliffs and gullies to the base of the summit. The top level of Victoria Peak is covering in 100 meter thick layer of cloud forest which had a strange and wonderful other-worldly look and feel. We quickly clambered up through the mossy damp forest to reach…the summit!
It was an incredible moment for everyone and the views of Cockscomb Basin stretching out beneath us were amazing. We celebrated with roars of jubilation, cigars, biscuits and a lot of photos of the happy group and the clouds racing across the basin below us.
As the weather continued to deteriorate, we were forced to quickly place our Trekforce t-shirt beside other memorabilia left on the summit and begin our descent back to camp at the last creek. Any ideas we may have had about the return ‘downhill’ journey being easier were smashed in the first hour as we made painfully slow progress abseiling down the precarious cliffs and waterfalls using ropes to safely maneuver each team member down. Once we reached more solid ground, we set off at a rapid pace in order to reach camp before night fall. Upon reaching camp at dusk and despite almost overwhelming fatigue and a lack of any dry fire wood whatsoever, Al and the trainee leaders managed to get a fire going for dinner. The tired group treated various injuries and forced as much warm food and drink down them as possible before quickly retiring to their hammocks for some much needed sleep.
The rain lashed the mountains and our basha’s for the duration of the night and it was a bedraggled group that rose, packed up their equipment and set off on Day 4 of the trek (Wednesday 17th June). This was one of the hardest days of the trek due to the sheer distance involved, the terrain (a precarious concertina of steep and muddy slopes), the weather (rain continued to lash us to the bone, drench our kit and added a great deal of weight to already heavy rucksacks) and the cumulative exhaustion and sleep-deprivation of the group. Morale remained high however with singing, banter and jokes from the moment we awoke to the jubilant moment we arrived back at base camp that afternoon.There were bellows of relief and delight at the camp, and the moment was marked by a group of five scarlet macaws flying directly overhead. The team immediately set about trying to dry their kit under the palapa and treated various wounds ranging from foot rot, open skin sores and infected insect bites. The entire team were now physically exhausted, but remained cheerful due continuous group support, singing and joking, and the knowledge that we had completed the four hardest days of trek and only had one relatively straight forward day left.
Once again, we had under-estimated the fury of Chac (the Mayan Rain God) and the effects of the weather on the basin area. That night there was an apocalyptic lightning storm of such intensity that those whose bashas didn’t immediately collapse under the hammering rain were completely drenched as howling winds swept rain into our hammocks from all directions. Entire rucksacks were swept away in 10 inch torrents of overland flow and the whole team spent the entire night gawping in wonder at the sheet lightning and ground-vibrating thunder that lit and shook the camp approximately every five seconds.
Early on Day 5, our guide Marcus checked the level of the river between the camp and the trail back to the Wildlife Sanctuary and found that due to the torrential rain over the last few days, the water level had risen from a gentle 0.3 meters to 5 meters of raging, muddy torrent. It initially seemed that we would be stranded at base camp for at least a day until the water level subsided, but we retrieved and packed up our hopelessly water-logged kit and waited for a possible crossing window just in case.
The water level eventually dropped to around 2 meters deep and Al Davies expertly set up a diagonal river crossing line to help the group cross the river safely. Once we has been guided safely across the river, we reassembled and set off in high spirits for the final 12km sprint.
We made rapid time until we reached the final 1km where - to our amazement - the trail we had trekked up only four days prior had turned into a 2 meter deep jungle lake. We were forced to
take off our packs, set up hand-lines and swim for around 500m through this lake pushing our packs in front of us. When a 1.5 meter Fer-De-Lance snake swam in front of the group, silence was immediately ordered and it felt as if trek had finally turned into a Vietnam war movie.We eventually reached dry land, hauled our bags and ourselves out of the water and completed the final 200 meters to the Wildlife Sanctuary. There was a mixture of euphoria and relief when finally taking off our rucksacks and knowing that we had completed the hardest trek in Belize in some of the worst weather conditions ever attempted.
At the Wildlife Sanctuary, we discovered that due to the severity of the weather conditions, British Army Helicopters had been on standby to rescue us if we had taken another day and that the main bridges out of the Mountain Pine Ridge has been destroyed by flooding. As such, we spent a happy night at the Maya Centre celebrating in warm clothes with a hot meal and some celebratory drinks, before returning to Trekforce Fieldbase in San Ignacio the following morning tired, but very happy.
Trekforce are very interested to hear from volunteers that would be interested in working for Trekforce, and from conservation organisations, NGOs, schools and charities that may have projects which Trekforce could help with. They can be contacted through Jonathan Boocock (Expedition Leader), Trekforce Worldwide, PO Box 266, San Ignacio, Cayo District, Belize, Tel: 824 2211, Email: trekforcebelize@trekforce.org.uk, or on their international website: http://www.trekforce.org.uk/
Since the last update both the TELs and Trekkers have mainly been working at the Ya'axche Conservation Trust in southern Belize - line clearing, patrolling with the rangers and building bunk beds. The TELs have now survived an entire month in the jungle relatively unscathed - but not without some near misses. Guy has had a few close encounters with the native wildlife, firstly a massive tarantula on his shoulder and then he was lucky enough to see a jaguar up close while line clearing (which more people may have seen had he not shouted "Jaguar, JAGUAR!!").
