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)