The hiking thread!

[Scuderia1]

So this weekend, we hiked to the 2nd highest waterfall in the world, (Tugela falls) in the Drakensburg. What an experience.
highlights were the chain ladders, staring at the milky way with the naked eye. We camped at the top of the mountain of the mountain on saturday night and made our way back on sunday morning. Here are a few photos from the weekend

 

[Scuderia1]

 

[Cray]

So this weekend, we hiked to the 2nd highest waterfall in the world, (Tugela falls) in the Drakensburg. What an experience.
highlights were the chain ladders, staring at the milky way with the naked eye. We camped at the top of the mountain of the mountain on saturday night and made our way back on sunday morning. Here are a few photos from the weekend
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Great pics, love that hike

 

[ShaunSA]

Great pics, love that hike

Looks amazing. But no ways in hell I'm doing that!

 

[Cray]

Looks amazing. But no ways in hell I'm doing that!

In terms of "bang for your buck", it's probably one of the least strenous hikes you can do in the berg with the best payoff in terms of views. But yeah, the chain ladders are a bit hair raising the first time you do it. There is an alternate route to the top which is a tough scramble up Beacon Buttress gully but avoids the ladders. (The mount-aux-sources 50km Ultra trail run goes up the ladders and down the gully)

 

[Segg]

In terms of "bang for your buck", it's probably one of the least strenous hikes you can do in the berg with the best payoff in terms of views. But yeah, the chain ladders are a bit hair raising the first time you do it. There is an alternate route to the top which is a tough scramble up Beacon Buttress gully but avoids the ladders. (The mount-aux-sources 50km Ultra trail run goes up the ladders and down the gully)

Do you have any maps, links for trip planning etc for these routes? I've always wanted to do this hike but struggle to find any good information.

 

[Cray]

Do you have any maps, links for trip planning etc for these routes? I've always wanted to do this hike but struggle to find any good information.

https://www.vertical-endeavour.com has a good forum for berg hiking for the less well travelled routes but the Amphiteatre via the chain leaders is very well marked in terms of paths.

You basically have two options.

1) The easier option, drive to Sentinel Car park via Witsieshoek resort (if you car is low clearance you can park at Witsieshoek and get a shuttle for a cost.

This link describes the actual hike.

https://www.vertical-endeavour.com/blog/38-drakensberg/passes/200-the-chain-ladders.html

If you want to avoid the Chain Ladders, there is this alternative which accesses the summit via Beacon Buttress gulley, more of a slog but skips the ladders.

https://www.vertical-endeavour.com/blog/38-drakensberg/passes/201-beacon-buttress-gully.html

2) The other, more difficult (and longer) option is to start from Mahai campsite (Royal Natal) to Wietsieshoek, then Sentinel Car Park and then either of the above two options.
Which add on about 10km with about 900m of elevation (one way). The Mont Aux Sauces ultra trail runners do this route and it's about 50km so you might want to break it up into two days.

The first two options starting from the Sentinel car park are medium difficulty (just take warm clothes in a day pack just in case as weather is very changeable. Sentinel car park to the Tugela falls and back is a very popular day hike (have done it four times)

 

[Flanders]

Just completed the Amatola - what a beastie!

It's been 10 years now since my last Otter trail and hadn't done any multi-day hikes since. How time flies. Started training in Magalies in June with weekend day hikes at various spots. Very glad I got every ounce in of training I did as it was definitely needed.

Hogsback (basecamp essentially) is a beautiful little town and I had no idea it even existed prior to this adventure. The trail was stunning with a variety of landscapes and terrain. Our party of seven encountered some serious weather in the first three days with torrential rain on the third which nearly ended our trip with some truly harrowing water crossings and bundu bashing to regain the trail and avoid being swept away. One of my favourite aspects of this sort of thing is when everyone pulls together during the tough times.

If you go you will be well briefed and supported by the guys at Away with the Fairies (backpacker HQ) with periodic updates of weather and potential hazards - Lu and Adi, you guys are legends. Unfortunately don't have any immediate pics as I managed to lose my phone on day 5, which was the only downside to an otherwise unforgettable trip.

 

[RedViking]

Hogsback

I say this everytime someone post about hogsback. Used to go there yearly before my wife got sick. Amazing hiking spot. There was a time when they closed down some of the trial due to complete deterioration and lack of maintenance, but not sure how it is these days. Was an absolutely magical place.

 

[Flanders]

I say this everytime someone post about hogsback. Used to go there yearly before my wife got sick. Amazing hiking spot. There was a time when they closed down some of the trial due to complete deterioration and lack of maintenance, but not sure how it is these days. Was an absolutely magical place.

Yeah, I was blown away. Would love to see it in winter too, minus the hiking. That area obviously gets very cold as we experienced cold nights now at the end of October. One night was 3 degrees with us trying to dry all our clothes around a donkey boiler.

They have put in some serious effort I hear to improve and maintain the trail. It was very well marked. There are some treefall type obstacles here and there (I hate those! ) but that's to be expected and for the most part I think it was good. The start of the trail happens a few km before the official start as the roads are a mess at that spot so I think we racked up 109km or so in total. Going to be a very chilled Sunday for me, and as much as possible, Monday too.

 

[Flanders]

Some pics coming in from our team today:



Start of our day 3 from the hut - the trail was just a torrent at this stage:



Pic doesn't do the intensity justice but this is where we were stopped in our tracks by this now raging waterfall. Would have been certain death crossing this so we had to back track and scramble to the top, off trail. Guys got ripped to shreds by brambles and other nasties - kudos to our mate in front for taking the brunt of that.



View from Geju Peak on day 4:





The type of hut you'll find on Amatola - day 4, - Mnyameni: