Overnight Berg hikes with kids

Leone wrote: Really all you supper Olympic fit people making it sound so easy

I guess it is a lesson in context - some of the people on this site are incredibly strong hikers. Something I have learned is that there is a massive span of degrees of fitness between the start of intermediate fitness and the top of the advanced fitness levels - I would like to think of myself as being in the advanced category, but I will be right on the lower end of it.

Take my trip on Sunday for example - we did 36km in just under 15 hours. Now, in my mind, this trip wasn't particularly difficult - the gradient was gradual, the trail is easy to follow, and weather was perfect. I could have gone faster or further. By contrast - someone like AndrewP could probably do the same route in 6 hours without really trying to go fast. To some, this would have been far too difficult to do in a day.

It is important to know your own fitness, and the fitness of the members of your group. It is also important to know how extra weight in your pack will influence your speed and energy levels.

For me at my current fitness level, I would say that I can do about 45km in a day with a sub 5kg pack. With a 15+kg pack I doubt I would go much more than 20km. By contrast - there are some who might be able to only do 30km in a day with a sub 5kg pack, but could do 25km with a 15kg pack. It really depends on the individual.

Agree with ghaz & intrepid, the difficulty of a hike needs to be taken in context: a lot of the hike reports on VE are written by experienced hikers who have developed their hiking skills and fitness over time; another thing, compared to a walk/run on the beach there are no easy hikes in the Berg for those of us who live at/near sea level, because there is 17% less oxygen available at 1650m altitude due to the lower air pressure, so we get out of breath quicker and everything seems harder.

Leone, the fact that your kids were up for a swim and had fun at the cave means that although it was long and difficult, it was not too much for them. Well done for taking them again. How long did it take you to get back the next day?

Leone wrote:

it’s the second time this year I have lost a toe nail

To avoid losing more toenails you may need to make sure your toes are not too close to the end of your shoes/boots with the socks you hike in, and look at different lacing methods. Also suggest doing some practice walks/hikes at home to get used to your footwear.

andrew r wrote: To avoid losing more toenails you may need to make sure your toes are not too close to the end of your shoes/boots with the socks you hike in.

Good advice. I also carry nail scissors in my first aid kit, they have come in handy from time to time (and not just to open packets of game - which incidentally can also be done using 2 rocks).

Finger nails can also be a problem if you come across anything scrambly along the way.

I usually cut finger- and toe-nails before a hike, but last time didn't because they didn't seem too bad.
Lesson learned: painful toenails on the hike, which was not too difficult, and I see they are bruised as well.
Will always clip in future, even if only needs a bit taken off.

Hi Leone
Sorry to hear about the 'exhausting' effort and happy to hear about the challenge. Lol
Kids are just amazing and I have no doubt this will keep getting better and better.
About your toe nails...
I will bet money that you have the wrong boots. Just because the shoe fits doesn't mean it's right for you. Worth doing research and getting solid advise in store.
Before you lose that nail I can only assume you have some fluid build up under the nail. Do you try and drain it after every day's hiking? A little painful but that can often prevent you from actually losing it.

Have fun,
Kobus

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Two weeks ago my 3-year old granddaughter joined us for her second hike in the Berg (see A Legacy continued .... for her first outing), this time without Mom (looking after a new 5-month old) and Dad (working). We stayed 2 nights in Aasvoelkrantz Cave in the Highmoor area.
Jessica exceeded our expectations, hiked most of the 3.5 km to the cave (only asking to be carried on approaching the cave as she was getting cold - it was rather misty), hiked the whole way back to the office and thoroughly enjoyed her time at the cave. She will definitely be back for more.

Ready to go...

This just comes naturally.

This picture just illustrates how she was embracing the experience.

Hi,
I'm wanting to introduce my kids to the scale and beauty of the Drakensberg with an overnight hike.

The goal is to:
Engender an appreciation and love of the 'berg (we live in Cape Town)
Experience a night in a cave
Enjoy the satisfaction of a strenuous but not overly severe hike, not looking at an epic trip to put them off for life, not yet anyway
Stay safe

Info:
Kids age 14 and 12 - very good walkers who have enjoyed a few overnight hikes over the past few years.
We'll be staying in Hilton so looking at Southern Berg.
We looking at late December.

Any ideas/advice will be much appreciated,

Thanks,
Sean

Lots to do. Presume you are just looking for one night?

From Bushman's Nek
Bushman's Cave about 10 km each way following the Bushman's river
Lammergeijer Cave 11 km with a bit more up hill Daniels Cave is on the way and shorter with less up hill.
Tarn Cave about 11 km Beautiful cave with stunning views of the Devil's Knuckles and Tarns to swim in above the cave.

The MCSA KZN section has a club trip over new year and we are going up to Lammergeijer and then over the Knuckles and down to Tarn and then out.

From when my children were small (6 years old) I made a list of all the caves within 10 - 12 km of the car park. There's over 30. We spent many happy years exploring them.