Your First Berg Pass - Let's Hear the Story!

My first Berg pass was Mlambonja via the Bell Traverse. I did it with old running shoes, a lot of cotton clothing and a lot of borrowed gear. It totally got me hooked on the Berg. Those sunrises from Bell Cave have always enchanted me, and my first one was not a dissapointment. I was fascinated by the sharp point of Amphlett in the distance silhouetted with a yellow and red background. The view of the massive Bell right over you, around the corner from the cave has always impressed me. The exposure and the views along the trail were totally fun. Loved the Chessmen looming overhead. There was also something about watching a bird prey soaring in the valleys below me when we got to Twins Cave that hit home. We did a short walk up Mlambonja Pass from Twins. The harsh bareness of the escarpment impressed me, and I remember standing on the summit of the Khulu which looks straight down into Twins Cave. From there I remember seeing the old outpost along the Kwakwatsi near the summit of Ntonjelana, which doesn't exist anymore. It was a shanty-like collection of plastic and metal sheeting.

It was an unforgettable trip which has me returning to the Bell Traverse time and again. I still love it every time.

Lets hear some more?

In 2008, myself and a few friends decided we would like to start hiking in the Drakensberg. Even though I had no experience whatsoever, I took it upon myself to scour the internet for information about possible hikes we could do. For some inexplicable reason I insisted on us ascending a pass and overnighting on the top. Having never even walked one step with a heavy backpack before, in hindsight I should probably have gone with an easier option first up!

So I eventually started reading about Langalibalele pass, which seemed to be the easiest pass in the Berg. Although, I was having a lot of difficulty figuring out exactly how tough it would be, because one website would describe it as severe, or very difficult, and the next would claim that it was childsplay!

I remember being very proud of my brand new "kit": A backpack from Mr Price, and some boots from Game

The four of us set of from Durban on a Friday evening. We had planned to camp outside the Giant's Castle gate on the first night, then start hiking first thing in the morning. That plan quickly fell through when the heavens opened, and we the roads became completely flooded in the region of Kamberg, so we decided to spend the night in the ablution block at the Glengarry campsite.

The next morning we left bright and early for Giant's Castle. We parked the car, signed the mountain register and headed off. As we began climbing the main ridge, I noticed we a had a little issue to deal with. My friend had WAY over packed his backpack. He had literally packed his whole house in there. And, he was carrying the tent, a ridiculously heavy 4 man camping tent. He was trying his best to hide his discomfort, but his face turning beetroot red suggested that perhaps he had taken on too much, so I offered to take the tent from him.

We all seemed to be pretty out of shape, and we huffed and puffed our way up to the plateau section of the ridge where we stopped and had lunch. The weather had turned rather gloomy, and the mountain tops were completely covered in mist and cloud.

After lunch we struggled onwards where we had another long break at the waterfall. We were all exhausted. At this stage I began to get a little concerned. The area was totally unfamiliar to me, it was getting late, and I had NO idea how far we still had to go. I began to have terrible thoughts that perhaps we were still nowhere near the halfway point yet. How much further should we push? Should we turn back?

With the urgency growing, I motivated the guys to try pick up the pace, but this was easier said than done as we started encountering some of the steep sections of the pass and altitude was beginning to bite us. All the while, the tent from hell was balancing on my neck and shoulders, making the going extremely tough and uncomfortable. I really should have been taking things at a comfortable pace, but the fading light, and the demoralizing mist was making me push harder than I should have, and I began to pull ahead of the rest of the gang. I remember the horrible feeling of not being able to take more than 3 steps at a time before I would have to stop and pant and rest for a bit.

After what seemed like an eternity, a rare gap in the mist came, and I saw the top of the pass for the first time, it was only about 100m ahead of me. Possibly the greatest thing I have ever seen!

As I got to the top I let out a whoop of delight to let the others know that I had made it, then promptly collapsed on the ground, unable to move a muscle.

When the others made it to the top, we set about pitching the tent, then we all climbed inside for a well deserved rest. I was not well. I was experiencing a level of fatigue that I had never experienced before. The overexertion, altitude and the lack of hiking fitness had absolutely floored me.

A dinner of pasta was prepared, but I could hardly stomach it at all. All I could manage was a few shots of whiskey, which quickly sent me to Lala Land. So much for the "jol" had planned to have up top!

At 1am I woke up, and could not get back to sleep again. It was extremely uncomfortable in the tent, the four of us squashed up like sardines. Our friend "Dingo" was snoring like a bulldozer, and no amount of kicks and elbows could get him to stop! So I thought I'd spend some time outside of the tent. The skies had cleared, and the stars on display were magnificent! The icy biting wind was not so magnificent, so, caught between a rock and a hard place, I spent the rest of the night alternating between being squashed/deafened inside, and being frozen outside.

When dawn finally broke, we were treated to the sight of a sea of clouds below us. I had seen this phenomenon in many Drakensberg pictures, and felt privelaged to have been able to appreciate it first hand. But the joy if this spectacle was short lived. We had all had enough of mountain tops, and wanted to get down asap!

We hastily packed up everything, and began descending the pass. I quickly discovered that my legs were BUGGERED. Having never had any serious exertion on them, the previous day's overloaded ascent had taken its toll, and they felt completely weak. Jelly-like. The hike back down to the car was absolute torture for me. I could hardly put one foot in front of the other. Having streaked ahead of my companions on the way up, I was horribly left in the dust on the way down. I remember thinking to myself... " I AM NEVER EVER EVER DOING THIS S@#T AGAIN!!!"

2 Days later back at my PC, I was busy planning the next hike Talk about a short memory!

I remember not being able to walk up stairs for many many days after that first hike, and I am very glad that the legs have had some time to "toughen up" so that subsequent hikes have not been nearly so hellish

Some pics of the hike here: