Ka Masihlenga Pass
From the Hlatimba Pass South thread
elinda wrote: We got to the top of Ka Mashilenga just before 11.00am and found it to be very daunting and covered in a thick
layer of snow that extended some 100 metres down into the gully.
We spent some time weighing up our options as the snow was very steep
and hard and extremely slippery. In the end our leader opted to bum
slide down very slowly, using walking poles and digging in his heels.
The rest of us found a way down the steep grassy slopes on the side
which necessitated careful placing of your feet before dropping down
into the gully and avoiding most of the snow. Our leader arrived safely
at the same time, although with a very frozen posterior……….
We proceeded downwards and kept to the grassy banks on the right hand
side. We found vague traces of a path here and there but mostly had to
find our own way. Further on we had to get down another snow filled
gully which again necessitated careful negotiation and took quite a lot
of time. A few anxious moments!
This pass is very long and just never seemed to end.
We were fortunate though that the grass had recently been burnt so it
was relatively easy to walk through although we did have to go through
quite a few messy patches above Yellow wood Cave which slowed us up a
bit. We reached Yellowwood at 3.00pm and then it was the slog down to
the office which we reached at 4.30pm. Two hard days and I have the
sore muscles today to prove it. Nonetheless an interesting hike,
although I can see why not many people do Ka Mashilenga!
From the Mini Hike Reports thread
ghaznavid wrote:
Take nothing but litter, leave nothing but a cleaner Drakensberg.
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The view from the top of the pass, down the KaMasihlenga valley. Photo courtesy of The Real Dave.
Most of the pass is grass slope, with the top of the pass shown in the photo below.
Another view of the top section of the pass, with the whole pass visible below. Photo courtesy of The Real Dave.
Lower down in the grass slope, there was a short section with boulders in the grass, with the views down and up this section in the photos below.
A view up the pass from near the lower end of the boulder section.
A view down the pass. We would mainly stay in or close to the gully in the upper section. Photo courtesy of The Real Dave.
Where the valley transitioned from the steep section to the flatter gradient, we moved to the true right, and would stay on the true right or in the stream for the rest of the way.
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We went quite far on the side slope, and once we could see that there were no further obstacles in the stream, we went down a spur to get into the stream. We were going to overnight in Yellowwood Cave, which was still a long way away, in a patch of yellowwood forest, beyond the patch of forest visible in distance in the valley in the photo below.
A view back up KaMasihlenga Pass from near where we got into the stream, and off the side slope. The slopes of Uklebe Pass are at the right of the photo below. Photo courtesy of The Real Dave.
Our feet were sore from the side slopes, and it was a relief to get into the boulder bed of the stream and onto flatter terrain.
A view back up the pass from the stream. Photo courtesy of The Real Dave.
We spent most of the lower section of the route in the stream bed, although where possible we exited from time to time onto the terrace on the true right. Photo courtesy of The Real Dave.
In places there was a trail on the terrace on the true right, which we followed, although in some of the places we walked on the terrace there was no trail. In some places the trail went through thick bush, and at these places we found it easier to go around the bush, or stay in the stream. It was clear that these were animal tracks (with the small antelope going under the trees and shrubs), although in some more open places it was evident that hikers or locals would use the trail. Photo courtesy of The Real Dave.
In the late afternoon we reached the yellowwood forest, which stretched quite far on the true left, and we followed the streambed for most of this section. Just downstream of where I am in the photo below, we found a trail going off to the left into the forest, which we followed to Yellowwood Cave. Photo courtesy of The Real Dave.
We left our packs at the cave, and went back to the stream to collect water and wash, before settling into Yellowwood Cave. Later that evening we would see the lights of two locals in the stream, hear them talking to each other, and hear their dogs barking, as reported by David in the Berg Alert thread. We would again see their lights at about 05h00 the next morning as they returned upstream.
From Yellowwood Cave the trail downstream stays in the forest on the true left of the stream for quite a long way before exiting the forest and crossing the stream onto the true right, and then there are good trails going to either Simes Cottage or the Lotheni office.
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