Mini Hike Reports

I agree, awesome Idea!!

As the fact is, all of my hikes in berg so far are Day hikes. Next year is the year to change that.

I have got some really good pics on my day hikes that I will soon enough do small write ups and add pics.

Sterkhorn hike this weekend, and tent at Blind Man's Corner.
Unfortunately only one of the group made it to the summit, because of the weather, but still an enjoyable hike.
Berg Adder on the path on the way back

Girdled lizard at Breakfast stream

Sterkhorn and Cathkin, sunny on Sunday morning

Sterkhorn on the Sunday morning.

Tent town at Blind Man's Corner

The path is very eroded in places.

Some friends and I did a circular route on the contour path in Cathedral Peak. The plan was to go up Cockade, sleep in Twins, and then descend Mlambonja, but unfortunately some of the group weren't fit enough.

The lower Mlambonja Valley:



Camp the next morning, where the paths coming from Cockade and Mlambonja meet (night fell before we could make Cockade the previous day):



The lower Tseketseke Valley:



The Tseketseke buttress on our final morning:

Spent the weekend at Hlalanathi and got to do the Tugela Gorge hike on Saturday morning - the Tugela is very dry! Moody clouds made for some great views of the amphitheatre anyway. Also did a short run along the All Out Adventures singletrack on Sunday morning.

Btw, the R74 road past Sterkfontein Dam has a very rocky and bumpy gravel detour road in place now. We chose to take Van Reenens on the way home instead.

Seeing as I am about to disappear for 2 weeks and won't have a chance to do an overly detailed hike report on my 2 Berg trips this week, here is a mini-hike report on my day hike yesterday:

Bollard/Mashai loop: the victorious Hobbit

As many of you know, last year a team of 3 of us had to call rescue when we were stuck on Bollard Pass in bad weather. I was hoping to have all 3 of us back together for taking on this pass, but unfortunately only Hobbit could make it.

My cousin, James, and his friend Michelle (her first time on the escarpment) joined us as well. We did the loop of going up Bollard Pass, bagging Mlambonja and down Mashai Pass in 12 hours. We stayed high on the Matebeng Ridge to cut a lot of distance. Weather was perfect.

Ps. the exit from the ledge we were stuck on a year ago is rather steep. I had forgotten how steep this was!