Epic Day Hikes

great! this will be my first hike in giants area. i'm well aware of the security issues and will be careful. which pass loop combination would you reccommend?

Sorry
But if you do Langalibalele and Bannermans in one day, it will be epic. You would need to be fit and carrying light. Are you hiking or trail running???
G

With an early enough start in summer and a good pace it is possible, not easy, but possible. 12km to the hut, 3km to the escarpment, 3km to Langies top, 10km back to the car park, 28km total, but up a fairly easy pass and down a really easy pass, just the Senqebethu ridge thats tough, and if going past Bannerman Cave instead, it can be completely avoided... And don't forget that you can see Popple from the top of Bannerman Pass

intrepid wrote: Be very alert for stone-throwing on both passes.

Refer to the Dragon's Wrath reference to a specific Ghaznavid having rocks thrown at him, that was great fun, but personally (having done Bannerman Pass twice this year, once in Summer, once in Autumn) I haven't seen a single Basotho around Bannerman Pass area, only at the top of Langies.

thanks for the advice. i'll give it a go. and maybe take a hard hat with for those stones.

@plouw - wear your cooking pot on your head and take a sling-shot.

Hi All

I am quite interested some of the more challenging day hikes (Light and Fast) that people have done to access the high berg.I am looking for a few new ones. Even if if it is similar to the one Stijn did where they over nighted in Fangs cave.- Wow what a lekker hike
I have done which I think are the usual ones like:
Up Langalibalele Pass and down Giants
Up Bannermnas and down Langalibalele
Up Cockade and down Tsekeseke Pass
etc

Maybe Intrepid could start a new thread or section called Light and fast that we could access that shows the passes taken and distance. Appolagies if this has been done before.

regards
Selous

There is a thread from last year where we discussed epic day hikes - you should get some inspiring ideas there: www.vertical-endeavour.com/forum/8-drakensberg-hiking/3012-epic-day-hikes.html

And yes, I love these type of trips! Busy toying with the idea of up Xeni and down Tlanyaku as another weekend hike. The round trip is 55km but unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a convenient cave at about the 30km mark... It might be contrived, but the only logical reason why I'd be combining those two particular passes is because they are the only passes in the Cathedral Peak area that I have yet to do.

Stijn wrote: unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a convenient cave at about the 30km mark....

Where does Roland's sit km wise?