A staggered grand traverse

There is a thought I have been having recently, discussed it with Kliktrak on Sunday and would be interested in others views on it.

For a start - GT last year was unquestionably the most significant and enjoyable hike I have done. It had its painful moments and was not easy - but was definitely more than worth it. @anyone thinking of doing a GT: if the opportunity presents itself, do it! You will not regret it.

But at the same time, the last 2 or 3 days of GT become a bit boring, you stop noticing the views and it almost becomes a routine. You also tend to follow valleys and naturally you end up missing a lot of the Berg (e.g. in my case we completely bypassed Vergelegen by going Thabana Ntlenyana, only re-entering SA near Hlathimba Pass).

Also, for lots of people the idea of uprooting from their daily life to do a 2 week GT isn't practical/possible. Also, if you don't do it with a club it is a mission to organise resupplies etc.

So - here's a thought:
- You identify a long list of passes you want to do, around 50 would be a good number
- You get a group of people together and commit to weekends of doing each over a set time period (e.g. a year would give you a hike more or less every 2nd weekend)
- You make sure you cover the entire Berg by doing every second pass on your list. E.g. You start by going up Chain Ladders and coming down Icidi, the next weekend you go up Ifidi and down Fangs, then up Mbundini down Mnweni etc

It wouldn't be a GT by definition, but you would cover the entire escarpment and most passes. You would also have the sense of systematically covering the Berg (although nothing stops you from doing the distance out of order).

I would be interested in hearing others views on this.

Sounds very interesting.
I think a hike every 2 weeks might be more difficult to arrange than a full two weeks
Its very similar to the way a lot of people hike the Appalachian Trail in the US, doing sections at a
time as and when possible.

joshilewis wrote: I think a hike every 2 weeks might be more difficult to arrange than a full two weeks

In theory people could miss bits of it, but these things are never the same if you don't achieve as a team. Doing 1 reserve at a time could make it a bit easier. You could also do it over 3 years, that's once every 6 weeks...

Smurfatefrog wrote: You wouldn't cover the whole escarpment, in your example you won't cover the section between Ifici & Ifidi for example

That's why you alternate passes - you pass Ifidi to reach Icidi, then you go up Ifidi, hike past Icidi and Mbundini and drop down Fangs.

It's fun at Garden Castle - there are so many passes close to eachother, you could go from Pitseneng to South Mzimkhulu, North Mzimkhulu to Rhino or Mashai Pass, Verkyker to Bollard, Wilson to South Mzimude etc...

I sense a resurrection of the SUPER TRAVERSE!!!

Stijn wrote: I sense a resurrection of the SUPER TRAVERSE!!!

I may have slightly stolen the idea from you

mmmmm I like this idea!!!

I'm going on a hike tommorow up Organs down Tseketsek! Trying to do another 24 hour Adventure race style mission. So I like this idea very much.

Will let you know how it goes!

ahowes wrote: mmmmm I like this idea!!! ... Trying to do another 24 hour Adventure race style mission.

I wonder if its possible to do a staggered traverse/super traverse by a series of day hikes. Although I'm sure Chain Ladders to Ifidi would be a "fun" day hike

I'm thinking (when I have some time) I might actually plan a route, revolving around 25 weekends with the odd 3 dayer thrown in for the longer walkins and harder passes (basically Mnweni and Vergelegen). It may be worth doing this over an extended period of time (but not in the correct order). Even if its just statistical/a long term goal.