General Grand Traverse planning & tips

Anthony, if you're doing it with guys that have done it before, you should be able to kick back and enjoy the ride.

The things I would do differently don't relate much to things that didn't work previously. In future I will simply take less time to do it (around 8 days maybe) and would not do re-supplies. Not that 2 weeks and 1-2 resupplies is wrong, in fact if it is your first time, it should be done in this way. Just that after several traverses of various shapes and forms, I wouldn't take a full 2 weeks away from work to do the GT again. And resupplies take some organizing and coordinating. I've done up to 8 days without resupply, and I think I could push this up to 10 if needed. Also, if my group is small, I would consider not taking tents and going with bivvy bags. There are enough shelters and caves around to get away with this.

The other thing I might do a little differently now is how to handle the Giants Castle area. One of my traverses was a week after the really bad security incident on Easter 2005 involving another group also doing the traverse. Even Bannerman Cave was officially closed for a while. When we got there, there were bushes and branches placed over the main sleeping area. That period, also 2006, was a really bad period in the history of the Berg, especially for that area. The going advice for traverses at the time was to avoid sleeping over anywhere between Bannerman Pass and The Tent. This made for a pretty long day over a lot of ups and downs. I used to like camping at Judge Pass, good spots there, and then push all the way through to the little side valley right below The Tent, also nice spots there. This advice may still be relevant, though things have been quiet in that area for a while it seems. With the smuggling picking up at Judge Pass, I might just be inclined to camp right below Gypaetus Point. I did camp in the Jarateng valley this winter, though would still be a little uneasy camping there when the herding season is in full swing.

About tents and personal space, this is a very personal thing. For some the space is important. For me it is not worth lugging an extra tent along, far too much extra weight, especially on a long hike like that.

Hey Rowan, sorry to hear about the challenges on your traverse. Did you manage to complete it?
Navigating on the escarpment is not an easy thing. Somehow you've gotta learn enough of the Berg to understand how the escarpment "works", and also just to get to know some of the landmarks and be able to recognize them from different angles. Studying the map, being able to visualize what your read and look up and recognize what you see is essential too. Knowing when to detour and when to stick to the edge is a learning curve too, and also a factor of time and energy. And of course, there is no substitute for just being out there...lots....

Yes I carry a GPS, but it is only a supplementary tool. Avoid having it as your primary means of navigation. My data is largely my own which I get from simply getting out there, finding what I'm looking for and marking it. Occasionally I get a waypoint from someone, and at times and I mark a theoretical waypoint before the time, either from the paper maps, or using Waypoint Manager with the topographic layer.

My food for a traverse is not really any different than for any other shorter hike. 100g portions work well for me. 100g of oats, pre-cooked maize, Morvite, Pronutro etc for breakfast, and 100g of carbs in the evening in the form of rice, pasta, noodles, cous cous or smash. With that I'll have some sort of fish, biltong or salami, and maybe some powdered pasta sauce in addition. Many different combinations possible that way and very flexible and easy. For lunch I'll have an assortment of dried fruits and nuts, some sort of crackers (preferably ones that are small in size and not easily crunch-able in your pack), maybe some 2 minute noodles every second day or so, the odd packet of John West tuna, that kind of thing. I also have a standard assortment of 3 bars per day and some Jelly Babies or something similar. And instant soups are always good as extra food.

Hope that helps in some way.

anthony wrote:

Intrepid i have never used a bivi bag, is there a great weight saving? The tent i use weighs 2.1kg, split between two that's just over a kilo each, the other advantage of a bivi bag i would presume is that it does not take as long as a tent to pack away meaning one could get going quicker.

Depending on the bivvy bag, you might save around 500 grams per person, though your tent weight is already quite ideal. Not taking a tent along is quite a personal thing, and not something I'd readily recommend. Its just something I would consider myself. I would only do it in a small, strong group where everyone is like-minded in this issue and everyone has reliable equipment. I also only recommend it if you are very familiar with the route and basically know the exact location of every marked High Berg cave, plus a few unmarked ones in addition. Also you gotta love caves to do this, and accept the fact that not all of them are great shelter and you might get some rain blown onto you at some point. For me tents are necessary evil at times, even though the flexibility in itinerary they offer is great. On my traverses is was a regular routine to pack away a wet or frosted tent early each morning and haul it out again during mid-morning tea to dry it out. The balance between relief from this chore and the flexibility of where to camp lies in personal preference.