El Yunque Forest.. A Northwest Approach

Most folks visit the El Yunque US National Forest via a formal tour and I highly recommend that. I took the half-day tour from San Juan on my first visit. There are links to half day and day trips in the Sidebar. That was great, but now I had an opportunity to see it from a different perspective.

The San Juan Photo MeetUp group was celebrating their 100th trip and chose this spot for their picnic. We caravanned from San Juan to the site since some of us had never been there. It’s a typical drive up into the mountains on paved, but narrow twisty roads. We took Highway 3, then 186 to 9966.

The road literally turns to garbage upon entering the park.

It is paved, but crumbling in places with growth literally in the road. It looks more like a paved path than a road.

The US Forest Service sign marking the entrance is overgrown. It says:  Caribbean National Forest. Which BTW, is the only Tropical Rainforest in all the US park system. El Yunque peaks at 3,543 feet. On the opposite side of the road, there had been a huge chunk of the hill that sluffed off (from heavy rains), into and across the roadway. I got my boots muddy simply getting out of the car.

GoogleMaps shows Highway 9966 intersecting another road after crossing a stream. What it don’t show is a heavy locked gate, just to the other side of a concrete bridge.. This was our picnic spot. There is parking for about a 8 cars, tops.

It was a beautiful spot and one I hope to come back to.

Our intrepid leaders, Brad and Eric explained the lay of the land and what to look out for.

They both pointed out that the water level was higher than they had seen it before.  Dark clouds above means there is a potential for flash-floods.  They are very common here so you always need to have a plan for getting to high ground quickly.

Though it’s not too hard to get down to the rocks below, they were very, very slippery. That said, several of us had to go check them out. I had my regular sling bag with waist strap so it stays put. No balance issues. I took a tripod instead of the monopod and regretted that.

I could have used my monopod like a walking stick or ski pole.

When I say the ‘dry’ rocks were slick, I mean like frozen lake ice at -10F with warm water flooded across it.. think ice rink with boulders in it.  Very hazardous.

The rocks under the water were not as slippery so you spent more time in the water than not. It was warm water so no big deal.

I took a few shots out in the open before making my way back into the woods.

The ground was mushy and muddy from the previous 3 days of rain. I trudged on up the hill a bit further before turning around. A small aqueduct/pipe encased in concrete made the going a little easier.

I walked on top of the aqueduct until it disappeared into the ground.

You really are ‘in the jungle’ here so the view through the woods is very limited. Almost claustrophobic. Perfect for close-ups and macro shots. It’s also somewhat dark, down under the forest canopy. I kept having to set the ISO to 400 and 800 to keep shutter speeds usable.

Because of the spongy undergrowth, my tripod was useless.

I swear, a fiberglass ski pole with basket on the end would make a perfect walking stick.

Near where I turned around, I spotted several Palms with small blue/black berries, similar to Acai. These were hard with a thin skin.. I saved a few for later. Handling the berries stained my fingers.

I will gear up differently, the next time we come…

kneepads, the monopod and a smaller photo fanny-pack.. I’ll limit myself to a camera and 2 lenses.. one being a true macro. Plus a change of shoes once I get back to the car… I got pretty muddy in the process.

I did score a pair of Hip-Boots when we were in Las Vegas, but they would not have provided any better traction on the slick rocks. One guy had these bizarre looking ‘foot shoes’ with toes (Vibram FiveFingers). It was the first time I had ever seen them.

He said they were much more flexible than any shoe he had ever tried.

He also said the US Military had just recently discontinued using them. Something I’ll check out later. They definitely look weird, but interesting.

The lizard close-up, fern detail and red leaf were shot on or near the concrete bridge so it’s not necessary to tromp off into the jungle to get good images. The vertical shot of the river and rocks was done from the bridge as well. The wide panoramic shot has a ‘red speck’ near the middle.. that’s a photographer working his way up the slick boulders.  Can you make out the other guy too?

Safety in Numbers..

Security is always an issue, but I never felt like it was a problem while working within the group.  I’m not sure I would come out here by myself and leave my car where I could not see it.

I met several more members of the MeetUp group this time around. The MeetUp is a nice eclectic mix of casual shooters and dedicated photographers. Everyone is welcome regardless of skill level.  We simply share a passion for photography.

Another fantastic day to be in Puerto Rico! Thanx Brad and Eric.

See larger Images on Facebook- I am now adding a few ‘high-rez’ images from each post to my FaceBook page- Roberto’s Puerto Ricoafter each post.

This is the only place you will be able to see them. Here’s a direct link to the Facebook page.

If you ‘Like’ it, let me know, Thanx- Roberto