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| Jamaican Caves Organisation |
| Caving News | Funding - Tours and Donations | JCO Main Page |
| JCO Publications | Contact: info@jamaicancaves.org | Cockpit Country Mining |
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876 397 7488 |
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(Feb 3, 2010) The Jamaican Caves Organisation continues to be in need of funding, with the lack of this limiting our activities. Accordingly, to further our cause (the preservation of the caves of Jamaica) and bring in some very necessary money, we are offering hiking tours, and allowing paying volunteers to join us for fieldwork. All those who contribute should be aware that we are not trying to get rich on tourism, we are simply trying to keep the JCO alive, and active, in an environment of intermittent NGO funding. If what you want is an easy visit to a show-cave, don't bother contacting us - we carry out cave exploration and speleology, and that usually means a few bruises by the end of the day. That also applies to the hikes we supply guides for - they're not strolls through manicured parks, they're real treks through what is left of the Jamaican wilderness, and you're going to get a few insect bites and scratches. You'll live through it, and you'll have memories that will last a very long time, but it won't be particularly easy. |
| Caving |
Norwood Ratbat Hole - January 31, 2010. Photo: J Pauel.
Click for medium resolution. Volunteers are expected to assist us with our research. This includes rapid assessments of bat caves, searching for cave-adapted invertebrates using a hand-lens, helping with mapping surveys, looking for evidence of Taino use of sites, and monitoring/clean-up of previously explored caves. Target sites vary, but are always interesting and challenging. A donation of 150 US$ per person is required for a single day, and 100 US$ per day for multiple days. The maximum number of volunteers at any one time is limited to three people. We can often take care of pick-up and drop-off at hotels if given a good enough heads-up, although this is not possible for Negril (too much driving). Costs for volunteers while in the field are 500 J$ per night for accommodation (apx 6 US$), which supplies a floor to sleep on, and occassionally a flush toilet (otherwise, it's a pit latrine). Bathing is in the nearest river. Food is what we can easily find, usually chicken and rice for about 300 J$, although we are sometimes able to do our own cooking. We supply all the gear, including helmets, headlamps, vertigear, and we also give training in single rope technique. The sites we visit often include vertical pitches, and tight squeezes, so those with an extreme fear of heights, or claustrophobia, should find something else to do. Jamaican residents who would like to join the group on a long-term basis are invited to contact us - no donations or fees are involved. |
| Hiking |
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Cockpit Country Hiking - Daytrip 
This is the easiest and least expensive of the hiking trips we're offering. The route is from Windsor, Trelawny, along the Troy Trail south into the Cockpit Country, and then down into Bamboo Bottom, to the west. At the southern end of Bamboo Bottom, the trail passes through a saddle into Guthries. From Guthries, the trail leads back to Windsor to complete a circle of about 4 km's.The Cockpit Country is the largest remnant of the Jamaican wilderness, and there is really nothing else like it on the island, or indeed in the entire Caribbean. If you like tropical forests, birds, butterflies, bromeliads, and karst topography, or have no experience with it and think you might, you'll probably find this trip to be very cool (and it will perhaps inspire you to return in the future to be more adventurous). Please be aware that this hike is not particularly difficult, but it is not for those who are terribly out of shape. The schedule is a 10:00 AM departure into the bush from Windsor, after having linked with our guide at Miss Lilly's (in the nearby village of Coxheath). Return to Windsor is about 2:00 PM. The cost of this outing is 40 USD per person if you supply your own transport to Windsor, with a minimum fee of 100 USD**. Cockpit Country Hiking - The Troy Trail 
The Cockpit Country of Jamaica, in its central region, can be traversed by only three routes: the Troy-Windsor Trail, the Quickstep Trail, and the now almost-lost Heading-Pantrepant Trail. Other than these three thin lines that offer a tenuous course through the inhospitable depths of the Cockpit Country, there are no "easy" ways across. "Easy" in this sense means that if you know what you're doing, you're almost guaranteed to not die en route. [More information on the Troy Trail can be found here.]The logistics involved in hiking across the Troy trail are not trivial. The two end-points, Tyre and Windsor, are separated by a drive of close to three hours, and because of this it is necessary to supply ground transport one way. This increases costs and time. The hike itself can be completed in as little as six hours, when done from south to north (our preferred route, because it is from higher to lower), but can take as long as 10 hours, depending on how fit everyone is. Because there are only so many hours of light in a Jamaican day, and it is difficult to hike in the Cockpit Country at night, even on a trail, it is critically important to be at the trail-head in Tyre at 8:00 AM. One way to guarantee this is to stay there the night before. The available accommodations are rather spartan, but very cheap, and fine for anyone who doesn't mind "roughing it". Please be aware that the hike is not particularly easy, and the usual JCO cautions about fitness apply. The fee for this outing is higher than we would like, primarily because of the extra transport costs. We are supplying two options, the first for Ja residents who can handle their own transport arrangements, and a second for foreign visitors. Option 1: We supply two guides who will meet you in Tyre at 8:00 AM. They will take you across the trail to Windsor, where you will have your own transport waiting in the late afternoon. The guiding cost is 75 USD/person for groups up to 4, with a minimum of 250 USD**. For groups of 5 to 8, the fee is 60 USD/person. We will not take groups of more than 8 people across the trail at any one time. Option 2: The schedule for this tour is pick-up in MoBay to Ocho Rios on the afternoon of Day 1 (Negril is not possible), with arrival at Tyre by sunset. The JCO will supply basic accommodation for that evening, as well as dinner soon after we arrive. The next morning, before 8:00 AM, we will be on the trail. If things go well, we will arrive in Windsor by late afternoon. If things lag somewhat, we should be there by sunset. Upon our arrival in Windsor, transport will be waiting to take our guests back to their resorts, although they might want to have a quick swim in the headwaters of the Martha Brae River, in Windsor, before they do. The fee is 175 USD/person for groups up to 4, with a minimum of 500 USD**. For groups of 5 to 8, the fee is 150 USD/person, and we will need at least 2 weeks advance notice. Cockpit Country Hiking - The Quick Step Trail 
The Quick Step Trail is the other of the two routes across the Cockpit Country that we can currently supply guides for. As with the Troy Trail, logistical problems (ground transport and accommodations) are a serious factor, and actually much worse. A detailed description of the situation follows:The route begins in Windsor, near the northern trail-head, and then heads west along the Escarpment for a kilometre until a long deep valley gives access to the south; this is the track to Quick Step. Now, one journeys for 6km across the Cockpit Country until the Quick Step road is reached, 8 km's north of the actual village. This final 8 km stretch of road is very rough, has no one living on it other than one madman (who is always carrying a machete), no vehicular traffic, and requires an SUV to drive it. When the village of Quick Step itself is reached, it is still a drive of over 3 hours back to Windsor. Very basic accommodation is available in the village that would allow the group to overnight it, but unless we have a JCO SUV at Quick Step (not cheap to get it there), the group must hike back to Windsor the next day, covering the 8 km of rough road, the 6 km in the bush, and a final km along the Escarpment - this bringing the total distance hiked in two days to 30 km. We have two solutions for these logistical challenges: Option 1: We do not supply transport for this option. The schedule is: departing Windsor on foot at 7:00 AM, and then hiking as much of the trail as possible until a turn-around point is reached at noon. If good time has been made, we will have turned back at the end of the rough road from Quick Step, and will have done the entire actual trail (both ways). The return to Windsor will be before sunset. Jamaican residents who have a friend with an SUV to pick them up at the end of the Quick Step road, on the south side of the Cockpit Country, can do it as a one-way trip (however, our guide/s still have to hike both ways). The JCO guiding fee is 75 USD/person, with a minimum of 150 USD**. The maximum group size is 8 people. Accommodation is available at The Last Resort, which is very close to the start of the trail, for the nights before and/or after the hike at 20 USD/person, not including meals. Option 2: The JCO takes care of transport, basic accommodation, and meals. The schedule for this outing is: Day 1: We pick you up at your hotel, in Montego Bay to Ocho Rios, in the late afternoon. The evening is spent at The Last Resort, in Windsor. Day 2: We hit the trail at 7:00 AM after an early breakfast. We make brief stops a couple of times midway for snacks. By mid-afternoon, we reach the north end of the Quick Step road where a JCO Landrover is waiting. We bounce southwards 8 km to Quick Step, with drinks supplied from a cooler as necessary, and then drive back around the Cockpit Country to reach the north coast in the early evening for drop-off at your hotel. The fee is 200 USD/person for groups up to 4, with a minimum of 600 USD**. For groups of 5 to 8, the fee is 150 USD/person, and we will need at least 2 weeks advance notice. |
| Speleo, Caving, and Rescue |
The JCO is happy to collaborate with visiting researchers - pro bono if necessary, although donations and/or co-authorship are always appreciated.Visiting cavers who happen to be on-island when JCO expeditions are underway are welcome to link with us, as long as they kick in some bucks toward expenses. Please give us as much advance notice as possible, and keep track of the News page. The JCO can assist in rescue situations, or body recovery, but we are often not able to do so unless expenses are taken care of beforehand. In the event of emergency situations, please contact us at info@jamaicancaves.org, and we'll see if we can help. From January 19 to March 30, 2010, we will be in the field and email access will be sporadic - contact Stefan at 397 7488, or Jan at 990 7255. |
| Donations |
The JCO continues to be in need of donations of gear. We present a list of our main requirements below. 3 sets of rack descenders. 8 locking carabiners. A complete set of the digitized 1:12,500 Jamaican topo series. We would like to thank: ESRI for the January, 2010, donation of ArcGIS 9, and associated programs. At long last, we can move on from ArcView 3.1. Bill Palmer, for his donations towards the June, 2004 expedition, and JCO work done in January, 2005. It was a great help in keeping things alive. Guy van Rentergem for his continuing contributions of much needed caving and survey gear. His donations have helped to shorten the above list considerably. Bless-up. Don McFarlane, for buying maps and helping us with funding. The NSS, for the grant received for the Jan 2005 Expedition. The Jamaica Constabulary Force, for paying us for the Hutchinson's Hole work. Sanjay Surana, for his donation of a harness and figure-8. |
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JamaicanCaves.Org is a non-profit organization that is pleased to receive the support of: | |
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The Jamaican Caves Organization |