La Soufriere trail is closed – Wilson

Director of the National Parks, Rivers and Beaches Authority, Andrew Wilson has warned that there are dangers still lurking on the trail that leads to La Soufriere Volcano.

In a televised interview last week, Wilson also reminded the public that the Soufriere Volcano trail remains closed to hikers.

This comes after one hiker, Colin Browne of Sion Hill lost his way last Tuesday, May 17 after he left a group of which he was part and ventured back down the slopes on his own.

Browne was heroically rescued by a team comprising Desron ‘Lavaman’ Rodrigues, Ozari Williams and Paul Cyrus, who braved the rough terrain at night to search for Browne and bring him out of the mountain safely.

Speaking about the volcano trail, Wilson reminded that, “the site is closed.”

He warned against using the site for hiking, “because of safety issues.”

Wilson also cautioned about the dangers that lurk, particularly on the upper slopes of the trail.

He explained that much of that part of the trail has eroded gullies and loose materials.

“If you use it, you are exposed to a high level of danger, you could easily go off track, or slip over an embankment or gully, and could get lost.”

The National Parks director also warned about the possibility of fog appearing suddenly on the slopes which could impair the vision of hikers and also cause persons to become disoriented.

Professional hiker and tour guide, Desron ‘Lavaman’ Rodriquez is also cautioning that whenever the trail reopens, hikers should not go there alone.

“If you are ever thinking about going on that mountain, it is best if you use a guide or someone who knows the area very well,” ‘Lavaman’ said in an interview with SEARCHLIGHT last week.

He emphasised that “it is very risky.”

Ozari Williams, who was also instrumental in last week’s rescue of Browne urged that when planning to hike La Soufriere, “always walk with somebody who could take care of you, because it is a very challenging hike.”

And engineer, Paul Cyrus who was also on the recent rescue mission, said persons wishing to hike the volcano trail should seek to find out about the weather conditions on the mountain before doing the climb.

He said this information can be obtained from a simple google search, and it is usually accurate.

Whenever the trail reopens, Cyrus warned that persons should not go hiking on La Soufriere if it is raining, overcast or foggy.

When the search and rescue party located Browne around 1.15 last Wednesday morning, he was injured from a fall and had veered three to four miles off the volcano trail.