A Typical Hike to Duarte's Peak

The following is a narration of a typical hike to the summit of the mountain.

The route taken is Mata Grande - La Ciénaga. I call this route the "scenic route" because it's a way to sight-see most of the attractions of J. A. Bermúez Park, where Pico Duarte is located. We departed on January 1st, 1998, and returned on the 7th. The schedule was as follows:

• Day 1: Arrival at Mata Grande. We get ready to travel the following day to Las Guácaras.
  
  
• Day 2: Trekking from Mata Grande to Las Guácaras. In this day water can be found all along the trail and of this day is the climb of the infamous Loma del Coño (Hill of Cursing literally), on the last leg of the hike. There is a medium sized shelter in Las Guácaras and its is traditionally left for the guides to sleep in. There is enough space to set up lots of tents so sleeping in Las Guácaras is comfortable. A river is close by which is suitable for bathing.
  
  
• Day 3: Departure from Las Guácaras to Bao valley. This stretch of trail is fairly easy, maybe the easiest one of all. This is because there are no difficult mountains and the hike is relatively a short one. As a prize, the next day is for rest and relaxation (though it's not always planned that way). It's adviseable to reach the Bao campsite early because most of the tours travelling to or from Mata Grande camp here. In a few words, space here is in short supply.
  
  
• Day 4: R & R in Bao Valley. On this day you can discover one the country's high mountain-valleys, the most beautiful one of them all in my opinion. Bao Valley is the second highest valley in the country, and it's drained by the Bao river, which we had followed along the way to reach the valley. Here is the ideal spot for group pictures, and to make the final preparations for the great challenge to come: The Pico Duarte.
  
  
• Day 5: From Bao Valley to La Compartición. This is the longest day of all. That's why you should depart early. The hardest problem to overcome is climbing La Pelona, the second highest summit of the country. Defeating La Pelona means you have reached the Lilis Valley (the highest in the country) and the Pico Duarte is just a few steps away. Don't be fooled though, La Pelona is quite a challenge and shouldn't be underestimated. On the summit of Pico Duarte, be happy, take pictures, yell, cry, laugh, but PLEASE, NO LITTERING, that includes scribbling graffiti on the statue or on a rock, or throwing garbage, or damaging the vegetation. This also goes for the rest of the hikes and trails. In La Compartición you can meet almost all of the groups that took on the mountain, so there won't be any camping space here either, also being this a place without water and a very cold one (located at 2800 meters above sea leavel and bearing the highest shelter in the park).
  
  
• Day 6: Hiking from La Compartición to La Ciénaga. At this point all you want to do is get there, but that doesn't forbid us to take notice of "Agüita Fría" (Cold Water literally), which is the birthplace of the Yaque rivers (both North and South). When you reach La Ciénaga, you have crossed transversely the Cordillera Central and have climbed to the roof of the Antilles. From here on you only have to worry about making plans for next year's climb.
  
  

Courtesy of Marmota (the Groundhog), translated by MR_CuYaYa

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