Solo hiking in the Berg

Hard to say. Apparently there is a cave up there, so they were probably using it for shelter during the snow earlier in the day. If I was to speculate I would say they were smugglers waiting at the top of the pass for nightfall as Thabo the ranger in the office at Vergelgen said that quite often Smugglers use the ridge just north of here as it goes all the way down to the settlements in the mkhomazi valley.

They may well have just been having a laugh trying to freak the mlungu out.

GriffBaker wrote: They may well have just been having a laugh trying to freak the mlungu out.

Well it definitely worked. I would have also high tailed out of there! Glad all ended well.

Thanks for the report back - scary stuff.

On GT last year, Hobbit and I saw a large group with big white sacks on their backs. One of the guys without a bag came to "shepherd" us away from their group (going up the Mohlesi ridge, which is what they were doing too). We had a friendly chat with the guy as he subtly kept us moving to the left (towards the SA border). We tagged the khulu summit but took our summit shots a bit away from the peak so they couldn't see us. We then stopped for a break around the corner above Nhlangeni Pass, so that we were well out of sight - and that's how we discovered that 4 sleeper cave I call "Sehonghong Cave". We took a reasonably long break and never saw them again.

I think Vergelegen is popular as it is serviced by roads above and below, and is rarely visited by hikers.

@Griffbaker, sorry to hear about your experience, I'm headed out this weekend for a solo hike in the Bushmans Nek area, hoping that I don't experience what you did, but like you if I feel threatened or not to happy I'll simply pack up and leave, not worth the hassles.
Hiking solo is a rewarding experience as long as those kind of incidents don't occur.
Hopefully this doesn't put you off solo hiking.

@Fitness

Take care up there and enjoy.

Definitely not put off the solo hike. Sometimes you get a Berg itch that needs to be scratched immediately and you can't always find people at the last moment to join you.

GriffBaker wrote: Sometimes you get a Berg itch that needs to be scratched immediately and you can't always find people at the last moment to join you.

Isn't that what the upcoming hikes thread is there for

3 and a half weeks since I was last in the Berg, my feet are properly itching - 10 days to go till I am off to Vergelegen for an attempt at day hiking up an Ultra-Prominence peak

[/quote]Isn't that what the upcoming hikes thread is there for

Haha! Got the message.

My intended solo hike this past weekend from Bushmans Nek to top of Thaba Ngwangwe ( Thaba Khoto) went off without a hitch, started on Friday around 11:15am with the intention of getting up onto the escarpment and pitching a tent just above the top of the pass.
The hike to Bushmans cave is straight forward and actually a very nice walk in, weather was awesome with little or no wind and not a cloud in the sky, I arrived at the cave for a mandatory lunch stop at around 1:45pm, had some lunch took in the views and headed off around 2:15pm to head for my overnight camping spot.
Going up the pass I wondered if I'd encounter any locals as the top because being winter I thought they might be further inland but as soon as I arrived at the top at around 3pm I spotted at Basutho shepherd on the ridge between Thamathu peak and The Knuckles, naturally with the commotion that has happened recently I was on alert, so I decided to rest up and see if he had any intention of coming across. True to form the shepherd quickly made his way down the ridge and across to me, I thought I'd ease the situation by meeting him just below where I planned to camp.
I think he was startled when he came over the small ridge to find me standing there greeting him, he was very pleasant never asked for anything but I could see he was curious. I asked him about his sheep and how many he had and asked where his Kraal was, having to use hand gestures as his English and my Sothu are not very good. We "chatted" for about 20mins and before he left I offered him a little biltong and a chocolate which he apprehensively took. He then moved on across the valley again, I was then in 2 minds whether to camp where I intended or not, and I decided to camp.
As luck would have it I never got harassed by him or any of his peers but Mother Nature decided to unleash a gale force wind on me.
From midnight until I descended off the Thamathu Ridge the following morning the wind pumped.
Packing up a tent on your own in gale force winds isn't fun, I contemplated long and hard whether just to pack up and head down or try have a go at Thaba Khoto.
I tried making some coffee to cheer me up but the wind was so strong I couldn't even get my gas stove to stay alight, so ate a Mars bar while packing up my gear,
Ready to go at 7:30am I started the long slog up the ridge towards Ngwangwe cave, a few times I had to remind myself that the mountain was going nowhere and that I could always come back and do it in better conditions, but to be honest I'm rather stubborn and don't usually give up. Half way up I stashed my pack which made the rest of the climb up the ridge somewhat more enjoyable.
The cave below the rock band is quite nice the only issue being water, at this time of year you'd have to carry all your water up with you if you anted to stay in the cave, there were however some really awesome icicles that had formed in the overhang just around from the cave.
The rock band has some challenges and I know others have summited the peak using different routes to go up but I had chatted to a wise old local who's climbed he peak more times than he could count and he told me of the quickest but probably the most exposed route to the top.
looking at the route I was in two minds as it had some serious exposure but was a straight forward climb, I decided to give it a go, like I said earlier I'm quite stubborn and often have this saying in my head "if you not going all the way, why go at all"
The climb up was actually a lot easier than I thought and in no time I was on the summit of Thaba Ngwangwe ( Thaba khoto) and trying to stand upright while the wind was howling.
Took a few snaps and mandatory selfies at the summit cairn and then decided to descend, knowing the down climb is usually more scary than the up climb, I took my time with foot placings and hand grips, I got relatively easily and began the long slog down the ridge to collect my pack.
I decided to descend back to Bushmans Nek via Thamathu Pass, the walk out is very straight forward and easy, I was back down at the car by 1pm.
All in all a great hike solo and one which I'd happily do

Thanks for sharing. Thaba Ngwangwe is a special peak - I have been up it twice, the views are great!

www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/8-ways-7-really-to-mentally-prepare-for-a-solo-adventure_us_57e33d48e4b00267764fb914

Some interesting info here on solo trips, obviously not all 'Berg pertinent though..