Archive for the ‘Weekend Hikes’ Category

Weekend Hike

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

HIKE:              SALPETERKRANS

 

DATE:      24 – 26 SEPTEMBER 2009

 

TYPE:              BACK PACKING

 

AREA:      STEELPOORT

 

 

What a lovely weekend was had by all, even though I sent us off over the wrong mountain in totally the wrong direction as a start.

 

The owners Chris and Wilna come out to greet you and make you feel extremely welcome. The facilities are spotless; and there is everything at the base camp that one could possibly need – so this would also do very well as a base camp hike. We had a wonderfully restful time listening to the frogs down at the dam at the base camp, and the birds on the roof at the overnight hut.

 

As a result of the disastrous start we reached camp just before darkness set in, and although we found wood for the braai, we were not able to find any for the donkey. The trail itself is in very good condition, well marked, but we felt that where there were splits and you have markers going off in two different directions, boards need to be put up with some info. This time of the year is still very dry and this hike would be quite spectacular later into the rainy season.

 

The directions on how to get there are spot on as well and in conclusion a highly recommended hike.

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HIKE : CANNIBAL HIKE

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

DATE:       17 – 19 JULY 2009

 

TYPE:                 BACK PACKING

 

AREA:       CLARENS – FREE STATE

 

We somehow seem to be suckers for punishment by doing the hikes in the Free State in the freezing winter months. But this area has a beauty of its own during these cold dry months, and as there is not too much in the line of shade, we feel it would not be prudent to do these hikes in the very hot summer time.

 

This hike was formerly called St Fort, and although a few changes have been made, those of us who had done this before found it fairly familiar. A barn/storage area has been converted into the base camp, and I honestly don’t think any of us have ever been so cold on any local hike. The temperature recorded in the cars the next morning was -8.5, we managed to photograph it at -7, and cold has nothing on this. But oh so typical of our beautiful country, no sooner had the sun shown its face, and the temperature climbed relatively quickly. The wind kept on reminding us that we were well and truly in wintertime though.

 

Lovely views, gorgeous rock formations, and then the rock paintings in the overnight cave (which by the way is huge – you could fit more than an army in there with ease) are still well preserved. Having had such a cold night on the Friday we thought we would all not survive the night, but it was very much warmer, even though we were basically out in the open – maybe it has something to do with the cave being much higher up. There was quite a bit of the trail that still needs a fair bit of attention.

 

In conclusion – any hike done in the Clarens area is always very beautiful, the maintenance of the trails and of the accommodation just needs to be monitored, but then this applies to all the hikes.

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REPORT ON HIKES DONE BY FLORIDA HIKING

Friday, March 20th, 2009

 

HIKE:              SCHOONGEZICHT

 

 

DATE:      20 – 22 MARCH 2009

 

TYPE:              BASE CAMP – 12KM / 6KM

 

AREA:      PAST RUSTENBURG

 

I finally managed to get more than our usual small amount of hikers to go on this hike (we were 11 in total). We ended up sleeping in the owner’s art studio, together with a bat and an adorable Jack Russell puppy, as she had double booked the venue. Most of the hikers were ok with this, luckily we are a bunch that are not too fazed when all these curved balls get thrown at us. We seem to attract our fair share of that. Due to a lot of rain having fallen, the dam in the vicinity was over flowing and as a result the bridge we had to cross was under water. Arrangements were made for us to make a detour. We were advised early Friday morning about this. The actual trail was a bit of a disappointment, not much variety. On the Sunday I totally misread the map given to us by the farmer, and sent us all off in the complete wrong direction. So in conclusion probably not our most successful and enjoyable hike.

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REPORT ON HIKES DONE BY FLORIDA HIKING

Friday, February 20th, 2009

HIKE:              CYCAD TRAIL

 

DATE: 20 – 22 FEBRUARY 2009

 

TYPE:              BACK PACKING – 12KM / 8KM

 

AREA: MIDDELBURG

 

We all felt that we were suffering withdrawal symptoms as we set out for this weekend hike, and were looking forward to our usual bit of skulduggery. This is an old hiking trail that has been revamped due to part of the land being sold. Although we originally planned to walk the Cycad trail, once the trails were explained to us we opted for the slightly longer, and hopefully more picturesque route. On day one the actual distance walked was much shorter than was noted and was not too much of a problem for us .With all the rain the veld was looking lovely .There was a bit of a uphill slog to the camp. We had maybe misjudged the effect the heat would have on us all. Many of us gave Peter a run for the hurler’s award as we battled our way up to the camp. A lovely camp, gorgeous views, and we all thoroughly enjoyed our braai. Unfortunately on the second day it felt as if we had just got going when we realised we were already back at the start.

This is certainly a trail that is well worth the visit, the days are not long and it is well worth taking ones time. This was by no means a difficult hike .

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