Double Crossing the Dragon

Gear that I used:
- 33 litre Osprey Talon pack
- Mountain Hardwear Lamina 20 sleeping bag
- Thermarest Neoair mat
- First Aid Kit
- Garmin Dakota 20
- Light weight camera
- Spare batteries
- Food
- Energizer headlamp

Clothes:
- Hi-Tec Hard Shell Rain Coat
- K-Way Challenger fleece
- K-Way long sleeved technical shirt
- Mr Price Sport Trail pants
- Hi-Tec Flash Force shoes
- Hi-Tec thick outer socks (with randomly selected thin socks as inners)
- 2 buffs

Mike used:
- Hi-Tec 40 litre pack
- Mountain Hardwear Pinole 20 sleeping bag
- Klymit Static-V (which failed around day 2)
- Emergency bag (this plus sunscreen was his share of communal weight)
- Food

Clothes:
- Hi-Tec Dron Rain Coat
- K-Way quarter-zip fleece
- Black Diamond short sleeved shirt
- Mr Price Sport Trail pants
- Adidas tail shoes iirc
- Single pair of thick socks
- 1 buffs
- Black diamond cap

Our packs were around 9.5kg (ex water) at the start of the first traverse, and about 8.2kg at the start of the second.

Exact times per GPS tracks:
S-N: 5d7h05m36
N-S: 5d6h54m28

Total time: 15d7h49m40

Stats per GPS for both traverses:
Distance: 466km
Moving time: 4d19h29m26
Stopped time: 10d12h20m14 but that does include the stop of 4d17h49 at Witsieshoek
Average moving pace: 4km/h
Average overall pace: 1.27km/h
Altitude gain and loss: 18 558m (well, the GPS thinks Bushman's Nek rose 16m while we were away)

Congratulations guys - this is quite an achievement and something to be very proud of - well done!

intrepid wrote: Good effort guys!

I missed the memo on blue shirts for the return traverse - I wore my blue shirt on the first traverse. Oh well, at least I had bunny ears...

A few random remarks about this trip:
1) It was considerably harder than Mike and I had anticipated. A 6 day GT is pretty easy, probably the easiest number of days for a GT - but even though you feel fine at Witsieshoek before setting out, those half-healed blisters come back very quickly!
2) I have never felt so trashed after a GT as I did after this one (two?) - the cumulative effect of double GTs is much more than double a normal GT
3) If you are considering doing a double GT - book a few additional days off work for after the GT, I am still not 100% and it has almost been a full week already
4) We have both already agreed that we have to go back and do this fully unsupported in 5-10 years time. We have also agreed that we need to go an do a sub-80h GT after Mike has finished his matric (he starts matric next week). That being said - 5 GTs in 25 months has been a bit much, so I need to hold off on GTs for a year or so.

As for a one way 6 day GT - this is the easiest way of doing a GT, the days are long, but not that long. No night hiking is required, but your pack is still quite light. I highly recommend this to those of you who will "never do a GT because I can't be away from work for that long" - combine it with a long weekend and you are set.

For anyone who wants to hear Mike and I presenting this trip - come around to Old Main Brewery in Hilton on 25 Jan at 7:30, we will be talking in Durban as well - but dates and times aren't confirmed yet.

Thanks Carl

Viking wrote: One thing that concerns me a little is your response to the lightning - running and sheltering in shallow caves are two big no-no's where this is concerned. Be careful!

The running from lightning story, as I far as I understand, is a common myth. The spot where the lightning will hit will be struck irrespective of what you do. Just to clarify - running may be a bit of an exaggeration, we fast-walked.

Cliffs most certainly do attract lightning. But the location of Giants Cave makes it a low-risk lightning zone due to the way lightning works. The amount of energy required for arcing is reduced as the terrain rises, thus resulting in high spots being hit more often - however, the cave is in a large cutback with high cliffs on 3 sides, meaning that the Lesotho side of the ridge is likely to take any strikes that were coming from the direction of the storm. Further to which - there isn't really a lightning-safe spot anywhere near Giants Castle Peak. It is probably the single worst spot to be in a thunderstorm in.

The static shock from the summit cairn was really scary - and the reality is that we probably weren't far from being taken out in that storm. No strike on the summit itself was noted while we were near it - lots of strikes in the general area though.

Viking wrote: Ok time to nit-pick.
What distinction are we making between a double GT and two spaced close together?

I would use whether or not the blisters have healed yet as a guideline

Correction to Ghaz's equipment list for round 2. He carried what may have looked to the un-informed like spare batteries for his GPS. In fact they would better be called ballast