This is Ken, the other fool who attempted this. Bottom line, we made it. But it did kick our ass. There are only 2 things I would have done different. Water and food. I brought 24oz of water for just me. That should be double at the very minimum. I forgot what the distance between Los Tablones to Aguitas Fr?as was, its not that far. But it will kick your ass. And 24oz of water is not enough to get between the two.
In some places you are literally climbing a 30 degree incline on sand, mud, or very unstable rocks. For every 18 inches you move forward, you slide 6 inches backwards. The trail is nothing like you would ever imagine in North America. This "trail" is more of a wash meant for mules or mountain goats. And I bet they have a hard time too.
It was my ignorance not bringing the right food. I've done extreme stupid stuff like this before, and just plain forgot. TJ and I like eating healthy, so we brought "healthy" food. That was stupid. What you need is sugar. Hillbilly is right, I forgot all about trail mix, with a lot of M&Ms. Hard candy to suck on, and lots of cut up apples, oranges, and mango.
Our physical conditioning for the climb was fine. There is no other training or any other physical preparation I would have done. I dealt with the altitude pretty good. But there is no way you can train or condition yourself for altitude other than live at a higher altitude. My body can only create so many red blood cells here at sea level. When I am at altitude, my blood cells can only carry so much oxygen to the rest of my body. I operate in a deficit. That's just how it is. And that is part of the challenge.
In hindsight, like I said, I would have brought more water, and more sugar. But even with that, I dont think it would be possible to do it in 14 hours. Maybe 18 hours. And no matter what, you have to hike at night. Even if you attempt this during the Summer time when the daylight hours are longer, it's necessary to hike at night.
The one thing that has me curious. People hike Pico Duarte all the time, and basically say it was fun. Let me tell you, it's not fun. There is no way any human could have fun hiking up Pico Duarte. It's survival and pushing yourself to your limits, and meeting a challenge. The people who say it's fun have a burro. They dont pack their own food, water and clothing with them. A burro carries it for them. And I would guess well over 50% of them ride the burros too.
So, if you want to have an enjoyable trip up Pico Duarte, take a mule OR TWO. One to carry your supplies, and another to carry you! You'll still be tired, but you'll have great pictures, and fond memories of your experience.