VE Berg trip

Yep, 19-21 March is confirmed. Monk's Cowl is also confirmed as the location, though there is a little time left for changing venues if need be, so if anyone has anything more to add, then speak now, or hold your peace until the next one . KZN Wildlife will basically follow our lead on these arrangements and support as they can.

Frik Lemmer and Eduard Goosen will unfortunately not join us since they are away on an official trip to Ethiopia and only return when the trip starts. Frik will see us once we are back down though. They asked me to extend their appreciation and thanks to all participants. A Cadet ranger named Njabulo Mavundla will be standing in for Frik and he will be joining us for some, if not the whole trip. We will also probably be assigned one or two Field Rangers who will assist in locating the pines.

They have encouraged us to take plenty of pics as they want to try and get some sort of media coverage afterward. On this note I'd also like to add that we should make an effort to GPS all sites we work on, take before and after pics, and make notes on sizes and number trees felled etc.

They have also asked us to try avoid using Keith Bush Camp because of other hikers on the long weekend, since our group is pretty big. We can consider various sites along the Mhlwazini, starting from Gatberg up towards KBC, but with the request that, if at possible, we use existing areas that are already flattened for camping. Certainly KBC can be visited during the day for a clean-up etc. Frik has warned that some of the pines will require some long walking to get to, but hey that's what we are there for. We will still see how we will split-up and manage the group.

They will give us some flexibility in exceeding the 12-person group limit, but we are looking at contingency plans should we need to split up totally. This is why confirming numbers is vital.

We may not do any repairs to the trail as this is a delicate job that will require careful planning, skill and effort one day.

We will require bow saws, about 90cm or longer. No poison may be used. For very large trees, we can ring-bark using cane-knives.

Will everyone be able to arrive on Friday evening at the Monks Cowl campsite? So on Saturday we can walk in and work half a day. Sunday we can tackle the more remote pines. On Monday everyone is free to walk out within your smaller groups of buddies whenever you need to.

I am toying with the idea of extending the trip by sleeping over at Blind Mans Corner on Monday night and walking out early Tuesday morning. This is not officially part of the trip, but anyone that wants to join me is welcome to. I'm considering climbing the Southern and/or Middle summit of Sterkhorn, or Turret and Amphlett - so any experienced trad climbers in the group, let me know if you are interested.

I'm still trying to secure the use of a few bow-saws, potentially from EKZNW. Does anyone have access to some from a company that doesn't mind sponsoring some, even just temporarily? I reckon we'd need one saw per 2-3 people, and each saw should have 1-2 replacement blades. Leather gardening gloves will be useful too.

@Stijn: thats fine, I realise everyone needs a little flexibility. This is also why we need to be as independent as we can be, within our little units (in Stijn's case, platoon!). Everyone is encouraged to get there Friday if they can, will give us more chance to meet each other and will make the getaway on Saturday morning smoother.

Should we need to split up the group, either 50/50, or one bigger one smaller, any volunteers/ideas for splitting up? Contingency plans would be to send the second group to Wonder Valley or Eagle Gorge (will still get confirmation for this). This will only be done if we really need to. The intention is to keep everyone together.

May be obvious to some, but please can everyone be fully kitted with the right gear and food, and able to hike and navigate independently. I have a reasonable first aid kit, but everyone should have basic supplies, especially plasters, paracetamols and stuff for blisters. Also, remember that Vertical Endeavour is not a guiding outfit and while every effort will be made to manage this event as best as possible, we cannot assume ultimate responsibility for everyone's gear, safety etc. Its the kind of event which will be a success by everyone being capable of looking after themselves and slotting in, and I think so far it seems the group is like this.

Will confirm about camp-sites but my feeling currently is that we should head for the Gatberg campsite at the Mhlwazini and take it over. Anyone who wants to join our crowd there would of course still be welcome. I will check the registers in the morning before we leave to see what other hikers are up to, though we will probably be among the first to set off.

We have now secured the use of tools - bow saws and cane knives - from EKZNW, which should be enough for the group, so at this stage we won't need to worry about bringing tools. The only thing we might want to bring along is some leather gardening gloves and one plastic rubbish bag per 2 people roughly for litter clean-up (or one smaller plastic shopping bag per person).

Frik and I also decided that this time round it may better that the field rangers do not accompany us - it has a small potential for creating an undesirable dynamic should there be smugglers around and they see the uniforms.

Frik will try see us on Saturday morning at the main camp site.

We have also narrowed the area down to the Mhlwazini Valley only - Operation Mhlwazini it is! Wonder Valley is a considerable problem that we can tackle another time. If our group is around 20 people we can all stick together and camp along the Mhlwazini near the base of Gatberg - we'll just try and spread the tents out to a radius of say 50-100m to minimise the impact. If we are a larger group, we'll spread out more. There are sites for camping on the way to Zulu Cave and directly below the cave, if we don't make use of the cave itself.

We'll split up into smaller groups and head in different directions, especially on Sunday (full day). There are rouge pines, individuals and small clusters, all along the Mhlwazini down to Eagle Gorge. Please bring cameras and GPSes along!