CaribbeanSaba & Statia

My first volcano hike was the Quill on Statia

By July 13, 2017 No Comments
Statia - Quill - Crate & Clouds

The Quill is a volcano that has been dormant for over 1600 years, but the awesome part is that it still has the crater and you can hike to the rim and even down into it. Plus, it is only 2000 feet high, so it is not that hard to hike.

Statia - Quill - Sign

The hike begins

Before you set out make sure you get your annual pass from the National Park office for $10 a person. Next you can take the path right next to the office to get up the 100-foot cliff separating lower and upper town. From the top you will take a right and then a left as you follow the signs to the base of the volcano.

The trail up to the rim was not too bad steepness wise and it was very well maintained. As you walk in the shade of the trees you can read information signs the National Park has put up every now and then. Plus you can notice the temperature and plant life changes as you climb higher and higher.

Statia - Quill - Trail

The trail got steeper once I reached the rim and went along it

There is a hike that goes around the volcano about a quarter of the way up, one to the rim, one along the north rim, another along the south rim, and one that goes down into the crater. Each of these have different difficulties and I think the NPS does a good job estimating the difficulty and time for each of the hikes.

I did the hike to the rim and then along the northern side of the rim. I was gone a little over three hours. Once I got to the rim it was a short, but very steep hike to the top of the northern part of the rim. Once there I sat and had a snack as I looked down into the lush forest growing in the crater and was trilled as clouds would crest the rim and descend into the crater.

Statia - Quill - SnakeBesides the fascinating views, inspiration of touching clouds, and health workout I saw a couple chickens, a cool iguana (tomorrow’s photo of the day), and a snake I almost stepped on. I must admit I yelped a little as I clung to the nearby tree when this happened. Ok, Ok, Ok I screamed out like a little girl and start over sweating since I need a treatment for hyperhidrosis, but I did recover quickly and got some pictures and video of him. Does that make me manlier? Haha

All in all, hiking the Quill was wonderful and a great experience for me. I hope you get a chance to do it someday. It was a great warm up for Mt Scenery on Saba that I climbed two days later. I will tell you all about that next week.

Statia - Quill - View

Check out that view!!!!

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