Devils Peak from Newland Forrest

To avoid getting into the traffic of Cape Town I planned my hike up Devils Peak to start from the east and Lance dropped me of at the Fire Station in Newland Forrest just before 10:00 in the morning. This being the day after my India Venster hike I expected some soreness in my legs, early on during the hike I know I was right in that regard – this was going to be a slow day 😉

Looking at the map ahead of the hike my choice to follow the “Rim trail” up to the Newlands Gorge turned out to be an interesting one. The trail started out as a beautiful small path that soon got fainter and then even fainter, at times it was almost invisible and it became clear that it was used mainly by game, not hikers. Lots of fun, though, to climb over and crawl under obstacles and I did not at all mind the hour it took me to reach the contour path.

The climb up the gorge was steady and, due to my tired muscles, pretty slow without any difficulties. Reaching the saddle I could easily detect the rest of the trail towards to top of Devils peak and continued in a steady pace until I reached the summit.

 

 

Sky was clearer than previous days and the view over Cape Town just breathtaking!

 

 

The wind from N/W was pretty hard and I hope You can live with the sound on the video:

 

Going down I had to abandon my original plan of following the
knife edge, that path was simply indiscernible, and
instead I descended down to the Upper Traverse path following this around the northern edge of the mountain aiming to get down to Kings Blockhouse.

Parts of the trail offering a lot of fun, steep descents 😀

 

 

The contour path took me once again back to Kirstenbosch garden where I got picked up by Lance for the ride back to the house.
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Peace // Claes

More Table Mountain – India Venster to Skeleton Gorge and Kirstenbosch

 


Starting at the lower Cable Car station the India Venster (meaning Indian Window in Afrikaans) trail soon crosses the contour path and runs steeply up the mountain side. It is generally considered to be on the more difficult side and partly closer to climbing then hiking.


The trail passes under the cable car several times during the first part and every time I see the car pass by me I get this mixed feelings of envying the easy transport and pity the passengers missing out on this beautiful and fun hike!
I have to admit that the trail is so much fun, I have to remind myself to stop and enjoy the view every now and then!

Getting even better during the second half of the trail, almost vertical at times yet with great grips and threads not really difficult to climb. Still I recommend anyone being advert to heights to chose another route up this mountain. Some parts are very close to the edge along impressing drops!

Heading for the Café at the upper station for a nice double Cortado I made a new friend from Perth, Australia and got company for the rest of the hike. We took the trail leading south to the Woodhead reservoir, crossed the dam and turned east heading for Kirstenbosch Garden through Skeleton gorge.

Just before reaching the gorge and at the most eastern end of the Hely-Hutchinson reservoir there´s a fantastic sandy area almost forming a beach right on the mountain. Had swimming in the reservoirs been allowed, this had been a great place for a refreshing dip 😀

The decent through Skeleton Gorge soon follows a creek carrying no water this time of the year yet should be impossible to pass during rain fall. Leading through beautiful shady forrest and offering fun climbing parts and even a few ladders it´s a treat after the scourging sun on the top af the mountain. A short walk after reaching the bottom of the gorge lies the botanical garden of Kirstenbosch, unfortunately I didn´t have time to explore the garden itself, got that saved for another day!

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Peace // Claes

Table Mountain from Constantia Nek January 4th 2017


First shot at hiking Table Mountain was on Wednesday January 4th 2017, I started out from Constantia Nek just before 9:30 after Lance got me a ride there. Following the trail and keeping left for the jeep trail I met a couple and got pointed even further west where I found a marvelous little nature trail leading up the mountain side.
The spectacular view at times almost dangerously distracting as the hike became more of a climb in some sections!
Weather was amazing, warm and sunny with a nice breeze cooling me down every time I got over a ridge.

Not many people on the trail, I passed a total of 6 persons before reaching the first reservoir and bumped into a party of four with three dogs bathing and enjoying the cool water.
The planned route west of this reservoir was heavily overgrown and, swiftly adjusting plans, I followed the jeep trail north just passed the … cabin where a water faucet was placed serving hikers with amazingly cold and tasty water. After drinking my fill and washing head and face, leaving my hair wet to cool the head, I soon continued north along the mountain side, aiming to follow Smuts Track up to the peak of Table Mountain.
The day getting warmer and covering quite a lot of elevation taxed my water supply harder than I planned for and I actually ran out of water on the way up. Reminder to self: always fill the container with fresh water even when I don’t think I need it ?

From the peak it´s an easy walk crossing the plateau to the cable station where they established a café serving a few lunch dishes besides coffee, other beverages and sorted sandwiches.
I had beef stew that contained more bones than meat, pretty lousy value for money and, to be frank with You, I´d recommend You pack lunch if You plan on having lunch on the mountain!
After spending around an hour at the café, eating and resting it was time to follow the north ridge of the plateau back to Platteklip Gorge and decent along the trail down the gorge.
Usually steep decent are slightly uncomfortable for knees and quads, this one being no exception, I took it pretty slow and easy downhill. Also I was rather surprised to see that the fence partly following the trail at the steeper parts was made out of barbed wire… Please don´t grab if You fall, and don’t fall onto the fence… ?
Once out of the gorge there are several forks in the trail and the one to follow runs along the mountainside right to the point where the cable car crosses the trail. From there just use the trail leading down to the station.
All in all it was a majestic and beautiful hiking day and I can highly recommend the route. Getting back up on the mountain again and, of course, right back to You with the next report!

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Peace // Claes

Hike of 2016 – Day 13 & 14

August 31st, Day 13, turned out to be another rest day. My friend, Helge, never showed up and I had a lazy day at the cabin, read a lot, did some writing and topped it up with a sauna in the evening.
Decision was made to give Helge until late AM the day after and then leave for Mårman if the weather allows!

I woke up early on September 1st, managed to get the tent dry between showers in the morning and had everything packed and ready. Spent some time in the cabin chatting with other hikers and sorting my stuff for the next few days of the hike.
Finally at 11:15 I left Vistas and defined the weather as good enough to give Mårman a try 😉

From that side it´s a pretty tough hike (I´d actually forgotten how hard…), lots of elevation and the stones and blocks were damp and slippery. The gradient is partly rather steep and standing on the peak of the pass I felt the total of about 1100m (3300ft) elevation in my legs – awesome feeling to get up there, though, and totally worth the effort!

Hope You could get the sound on that video, wind was pretty hard up there…

Anyway, first part of the decent to Mårman Cabin was a slippery mess of wet stones, gravel and some clay. Good thing there was no hurry and I made it down without any incidents, having reached the valley it´s a comfortable hike to the cabin and I was grateful to get out of the icy wind when finally reaching it.

The journey continues, please leave a comment to tell me what You think and share this with friends and loved ones who might benefit or be interested!

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Peace // Claes

Hike of 2016 – Day 12

It’s a tough day, you just have to embrace it – rest day ?
Woke up rested and relaxed, feeling no hunger at all. Had my coffee, read and sit staying at the camp a little longer with the novel for company while the tent dried out from the nightly showers.
As I knew I’d stay at Vistas cabin and wait for my friend Helge I was in no hurry at all, we plan to meet today or tomorrow and I have all the time I possibly need and only a good 5km to go.
Arriving at the cabin just prior to 11 am I cross the bridge to find a spot at the camp site, this early all where available and I picked a really nice one.
Perfect size for the tent, flat and smooth and pretty close to the river. After fetching some water for tea the rain kicked in and I spent the next few hours relaxing in the tent.
My track record with rest days is not really convincing, I normally get bored after just a few hours and want to move on, yet this year this day this spot felt blissful. I can’t say if it’s the weariness i still experience, if I start to educe a peace of mind I lacked up to this point or if it is due to some combination of these. Maybe something entirely different is at play here, whatever is going on I’m thoroughly enjoying the hours in the tent, reading, drinking tea, relaxing,
                                                                 meditating and contemplating life.
A visit to the cabin renders more tea and some pleasant conversations with the hosts and other guests. It’s a bummer the hosts don’t want to do an interview, naturally I feel opposed to persuade them, though.
In the end I lived through an immensely enjoyable day, shot a bunch of photos and commenced experimenting with different filters, met great people, engaged in inspiring conversations and still had sufficient time for myself to relax, unwind and contemplate life.
In short it was the perfect rest day!


The journey continues, please leave a comment to tell me what You think and share this with friends and loved ones who might benefit or be interested!

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Peace // Claes