Places to Hike in Trinidad: The Chancellor Trail
Oooh, this feels weird blogging again.
It's been a couple months. Not that I haven't been hiking. I've been hiking. But I haven't really gone anywhere new that I haven't blogged about before.
Well I tried something new today. Well, relatively new.
I finally completed the Chancellor Trail.
Some time last year I attempted the Chancellor Trail with a hiking group but we couldn't make it the entire way. It was just too fricking hard. We ended up calling for a ride to meet us in St Ann's.
So I ketch a vapse today and decided to try it again.
Listen, this wasn't planned at all. I was actually planning to stay in my bed and watch YouTube videos all day to be quite honest.
But after a frustrating morning, I decided I needed nature.
So around midday, sun blazing, I geared up to go for a walk. I didn't know where I was gonna go, I was just gonna walk.
"Can I come?"
My ten year old suddenly appeared, eager-faced and wanting to tag along.
So I said why the hell not.
My niece and her friend decided to come along too.
Not wanting to bore them with just another long distance walk, I started thinking where could we go that's scenic and not too far from home?
That's when I decided why not try the Chancellor Trail again?
I warned my son before we left that it was gonna be long, strenuous and probably more difficult because of the blazing midday sun. He insisted he wanted to go.
I don't even get nervous taking him on these things anymore, he's used to tagging along with me on my long walk adventures.
But as a precaution, I decided to leave out the first leg of the walk. The actual walk up Chancellor Hill.
The Chancellor Trail begins at the top of Chancellor Hill and fitness freaks usually park at the bottom, make the trek up Chancellor Hill and take the trail all the way out through St Ann's and back to their vehicles.
But I got dropped off at the top of Chancellor Hill, cutting out about 2.2 miles to make it easier for my son.
The trail was exactly as I remembered it from my first attempt. Actually it was a little worse.
There were a lot more fallen trees than I remembered.
A small wooden bridge to cross over a chasm seemed more rickety than before and the railing on one side had fallen away. It was like a scene from a horror movie.
Needless to say we were all a bit scared to cross it. Well except my niece. She gangsta.
Several parts of the trail had eroded more than I recalled from the first time I tried it. But hikers have tied ropes along the way which really helped to navigate those treacherous parts.
I remember the first time I did the trail it felt so long. Today, it was like we were out of the mountains and back on St Ann's Road in no time.
I dunno what all these no "no trespassing" signs are about. They're everywhere. So I guess we trespassed. We gangsta.
There's even a spring from which you can quench your thirst and refill your bottles if you happen to run out of water.
It wasn't as long as I thought it was. Just about 6 and a half miles in total.
But there are some steep uphill parts and some VERY steep downhill parts. I felt my knees buckling walking down those hills.
Anyway, we made it all the way out to the Savannah.
And I'm pretty sure we would have made it from the bottom of Chancellor Hill too.
Anyway, next time fuh dat.
Level: Hiking groups rate this as a level 3 or 4.
Got any ideas of scenic places to walk or hike to? Comment any suggestions down below!
It's been a couple months. Not that I haven't been hiking. I've been hiking. But I haven't really gone anywhere new that I haven't blogged about before.
Well I tried something new today. Well, relatively new.
I finally completed the Chancellor Trail.
Some time last year I attempted the Chancellor Trail with a hiking group but we couldn't make it the entire way. It was just too fricking hard. We ended up calling for a ride to meet us in St Ann's.
So I ketch a vapse today and decided to try it again.
Listen, this wasn't planned at all. I was actually planning to stay in my bed and watch YouTube videos all day to be quite honest.
But after a frustrating morning, I decided I needed nature.
So around midday, sun blazing, I geared up to go for a walk. I didn't know where I was gonna go, I was just gonna walk.
"Can I come?"
My ten year old suddenly appeared, eager-faced and wanting to tag along.
So I said why the hell not.
My niece and her friend decided to come along too.
Not wanting to bore them with just another long distance walk, I started thinking where could we go that's scenic and not too far from home?
That's when I decided why not try the Chancellor Trail again?
I warned my son before we left that it was gonna be long, strenuous and probably more difficult because of the blazing midday sun. He insisted he wanted to go.
I don't even get nervous taking him on these things anymore, he's used to tagging along with me on my long walk adventures.
But as a precaution, I decided to leave out the first leg of the walk. The actual walk up Chancellor Hill.
The Chancellor Trail begins at the top of Chancellor Hill and fitness freaks usually park at the bottom, make the trek up Chancellor Hill and take the trail all the way out through St Ann's and back to their vehicles.
But I got dropped off at the top of Chancellor Hill, cutting out about 2.2 miles to make it easier for my son.
The trail was exactly as I remembered it from my first attempt. Actually it was a little worse.
There were a lot more fallen trees than I remembered.
A small wooden bridge to cross over a chasm seemed more rickety than before and the railing on one side had fallen away. It was like a scene from a horror movie.
Several parts of the trail had eroded more than I recalled from the first time I tried it. But hikers have tied ropes along the way which really helped to navigate those treacherous parts.
I remember the first time I did the trail it felt so long. Today, it was like we were out of the mountains and back on St Ann's Road in no time.
I dunno what all these no "no trespassing" signs are about. They're everywhere. So I guess we trespassed. We gangsta.
It wasn't as long as I thought it was. Just about 6 and a half miles in total.
But there are some steep uphill parts and some VERY steep downhill parts. I felt my knees buckling walking down those hills.
Anyway, we made it all the way out to the Savannah.
And I'm pretty sure we would have made it from the bottom of Chancellor Hill too.
Anyway, next time fuh dat.
Length: From Chancellor Trail out through St Ann's to the Queen's Park Savannah 6.7 miles (10.7km)
Terrain: Winding, undulating dirt trail out to paved road. Very steep uphills and downhills.
Time: Took us 4 hours, 16 minutes but this included a number of rest breaks.Level: Hiking groups rate this as a level 3 or 4.
Got any ideas of scenic places to walk or hike to? Comment any suggestions down below!
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