Rookies - How to get started / learn the ropes

I think a good start is to read the posts under the gear sections on this forum. Ask questions, experiment and don't let others tell you what to do - find what works best for you. Hike reports can also give you useful idea of areas to visit, what the conditions are like etc. Just remember that some of the guys on this site are very fit - for example: some of what Stijn does in a day is tough to do in 3 days. By contrast I usually do relatively easy routes, but to others my routes may be rather difficult.

Day hiking is a great place to start - get used to the areas, altitude, foods that work for you etc.

Remember that we are all different. For me, light weight and long sleeves work well. For others shorts and heavy packs work. For some Backcountry food is wonderful, for others its cardboard.

I'd start by getting some nice hiking clothes from Mr Price Trail range - I find their pants better than the FA and K-Way ones I have tried (at 3 times the price). Technical clothes help more than one would think.

I am a member of the MCSA KZN section, but I see the membership as a way of getting the annual MCSA journal and helping fund the good work the club is doing. It also gets me 5% off at CUM and 10% off at MMO. I have signed up for many official MCSA hikes, only 3 of them actually happened - 2 were lead by me and 1 wasn't even the MCSA division I am a member of. So clubs don't seem to be the best way these days, but linking up with VE members works really well. I have personally done over 100km of hiking with 5 different people who I met through VE, in addition to having hiked with a fair number of other VE members who I either didn't meet through the site or haven't done 100km of hiking with yet.

Most importantly - ask plenty of questions on this site and of people you hike with, write lots of hike reports and give feedback so that you contribute back to other beginners who will ask the same questions. And of course, enjoy the mountains - but don't forget that they are known as the Dragon's Mountains for a reason, respect them

PS. On my recent hike up Leslies with Nico, he used an amazing water bladder made by Source which opens completely on the one side and has a brilliant valve system. He tells me it sells for R250.

It's great because you can open it right up to fill or clean and is the first bladder I have seen that makes me consider an option to my wide mouth Nalgene bottles. Maybe a system of one bottle plus one bladder...

I've looked at those Source bladders. I don't like the closures, I much prefer a circular screw-on lid, much easier to fill and handle etc (and the spine on the Nalgene CRC bladders make a huge difference). I also don't like the Source bite valves :/ (my 2c worth )

thanks.. what I know about bladders is very limited and basically amounts to seeing others use them. What is the issue re the bite valve?

From what I remember, it was quite a lot clunkier and bigger and harder to deal with than the Nalgene bite valves (which I find best).

Hydration bladders are another example of something that works for some people, but not everyone. For me, hydration bladders were great for about 2 years, but now I'm back to water bottles which are easier to clean, much cheaper, easier to fill up and take up far less space in your pack. The thing was - initially I didn't drink enough from my water bottle. Then I switched to a bladder and started drinking more, and when I switched back to a water bottle based system last year - I continued to drink the higher amount of water, but without the disadvantages of a bladder.

intrepid wrote: People are prepared to take novices along on their private trips, depending on the objective of the trip of course, since not every trip would be a suitable beginners hike, and sometimes there is not a lot of time available to help you with all the preparations etc.

Kind of off topic - but my view on development is that we all started off somewhere and someone taught us what we know. In return we should teach others what we know in return.

Naturally peoples fitness varies, and you don't want to hold a group back when starting off (an offense I have been guilty of many times - most notably GT2012). So its important to train hard before joining a group.

Thanks for all replies so far. First step is to get some hikes in, and get my hiking fitness up.

HELP

I'm taking a long shot here...

My wife and I would like to do our first Drakensberg hike in September/October. None of my friends are hikers, and I do not know any people who hiked in the Berg before. (I don't want to take any chances in the mountains as a first timer.) We are looking to join a party/group who is planning a trip during those months. I have no experience of hiking in the Berg, thus we are looking to "tag" along with someone / group who is a bit more experienced and wouldn't mind us joining them?

We are also in the process of kitting us out with all the basics and training to get fit for hiking.
We will be using our own transport to get to the berg (from Pretoria). Are there any fees for hiking in the Drakensberg?

We would really appreciate if someone can advise us in this regard.