A third of the
year has now passed, where has the time gone too?? In my last newsletter I referred to Easter
being around the corner, well the corner has been turned, the long range hike
to Mpumalanga has been done, and hopefully we will enjoy a feedback
story, as well as an evening slide show at the Club from the participating
parties. As I write this report, our
secretary, Keith Ashton, is loving , hating, sweating, freezing, enjoying,
wondering what life is all about as he, with 11 other hikers from the Mountain
Backpackers are doing another Grand Traverse.
This time the South to North traverse.
This is the ultimate hiking challenge.
It proved to be an arduous task, with freezing weather every night and
during the first four days mist, cold and rain, followed by sweltering days and
freezing nights. A few days later a
further cold front moved in to add to the discomfort of the hikers. Conditions being as severe as they were only
half the team eventually made it.
Also busy over the
week-end were our brave ladies with Allison, Teresa, and Irene helping with the
daunting task of climbing up to the top of the escarpment via
Allison, Teresa, Irene, the Midlands Hiking Club
Salute you.
Also this long
week-end a group of our members, under the leadership of Brian Henwood were camping and hiking at Monks Cowl. We look forward to their report and pics.
We still would
like to have more folk attend our day walks.
We need people to come forward to help lead some hikes for us. The bad news is that Lawrence Bates,
Chairman of the Mountain Backpackers Club for over 30 years is now hanging up
his hiking boots. To all hikers his
wealth and knowledge of day hikes, and
overnight hikes will be lost. A great
loss indeed as
CLUB NEWS and POINTS TO PONDER - The Club Web Site at www.mhc.co.za,
was officially launched last month. Again
we must thank Rod Hart for all his work and effort in getting this site up and
running. I ask you to visit the site,
use it, and keep it updated with the news of the club. The site will be up-dated as and when Rod
gets “stuff” to put on. At the club’s
last committee meeting a long discussion was had as to how to keep the website
alive. No News Is Bad News – so we need
news to keep the site running. In order
to do this your committee decided on the following.
PRIZES , PRIZES, PRIZES.
Hike Write Ups
After any hike,
any member of the hike can volunteer to write a short account of the hike. Send a copy of the write-up to your hike
leader, and a copy to your newsletter editor, Noël Harper, by e-mail, fax,
runner, telegraph, whatever, for inclusion in the Newsletter and for onward
transmission to Rod who will put it on the website. The author of any article published will
have their name put into a “lucky jar”, at the Annual General Meeting each year,
a draw will be made, and the lucky author will win a substantial prize. The
author is not limited to one article only, the more you write, the more times
your name will appear in the “lucky jar”.
If the hike leader
does not get any “Volunteers”, he may write the article himself, and go into
the “lucky jar”. So don’t be sorry, write that story.
Hike photos - The same applies to hike photos, day hikes or
outings or longer hikes. Send pictures
to Rod, they will be put on the web site. At the end of the year, prior to the AGM,
all photographs published will be sent to an “outside the club photo
specialist” who will decide on the best pic of the
year. Here we hope the specialist photo
shop will come to the party with a worthwhile prize. We are working on this prize at the moment.
TOO EARLY
!!!!!!!! The Club’s AGM is just around the corner – in August. Your
committee would urge you as members to be fully participative in the nomination
and voting in of the people who make up the committee. In the
past, nominations have been made at the meeting – last minute rush ???? . We
would ask you to give early consideration to who you would like to vote for,
and support during the next hiking year.
We also
desperately need hike leaders, just day hikes, our present leaders need some
help. It is getting harder to put together the hike
fixtures as in some cases, if the present leaders are not available for any
reason, the hikes must be put on hold. For a club our size we should have more than
the small handful of leaders we have at present. If you feel you may like to lead, but not
sure of what to do, or expect, please contact any one of the committee, and
they will help.
In my last
newsletter I said I would publish parts of a report done by a young
“There are no words I can use to describe
camping in the wilderness. Every night as I fell asleep beneath the stars
I felt a completeness I have never felt before. Every time I watched the sun enter and leave
the sky I felt more alive than I could have imagined possible”.
“The silence was amazing. It was
like being in a kind of airlock that no noise could penetrate – all there were were the stars and the roving peaks and valleys”.
We ran into some
very foul weather, rain, mist, ice, extremely cold and horrible – “Going
to the “toilet” has never proved so tricky as you struggle out of the tent,
putting on waterproofs, thermals, and boots and tried your best not to lose
sight of the tent in the closing mist-----“-
“The last sunrise in the Draks
was one of the most amazing sights I’ve ever seen …….”
“We left the mountains that morning with heavy
hearts…….”
Other worthwhile
comments.
“No one who walks these mountains will forget the
feeling of being in an ancient place”
“……clear icy cold torrents tumbling from the heights,
the tawny grasslands reminiscent of Scotland sometimes, the steep screes and rock outcrops, the wooded hangers and deep
dells, left impressions that will remain with all of us forever”
We have all this
on our doorstep, why not take the time to enjoy it?
I have taken many
overseas “day wanderers” to the Little Berg, and had the same reaction.
Disgusting Behavior
- On a sadder note, just this past week I was on a hike
in the
New Members - We welcome the following new members and
trust they will enjoy many a good hike in our company: Gerhard & Alice Dippenaar
and Yvonne Engelbrecht.
Mountain Weather – take care to hike with warm gear in your back pack,
even day hikes, cold winds can drop temperatures drastically in a short space
of time. A “warm hat or a beany” is a must at this time of year.
Mountain Fires
- KZN Wildlife has
started burning tracer lines, and shortly will commence with burning fire
breaks. Watch where you hike, watch
wind direction, and watch for smoke – early evasive action is of paramount
importance for your safety.
The rule to be
followed now is not to smoke whilst hiking – mountain fires are terribly
dangerous events
Events to watch out for. At our next
slide show evening I will show the 2003 Backpackers Grand Traverse Hike. This is a really tremendous slide show set
to wondeful music. If you really want to see beautiful mountains,
don’t miss this evening. Hiking
regards.
Dave
E-MAIL ADDDRESSES E-MAIL ADDRESSES E-MAIL
ADDRESSES
Your Secretary and
Newsletter Editor have been experiencing problems in communi-cating
with members via the e-mail. It would
appear that some addresses on our records are either no longer in existence or
have been changed. Please would members
who may have changed their addresses over the past year or so please advise
Noël Harper on nfh@satweb.co.za in order for our records
to be updated and to ensure that you will be in receipt of your Newsletter and
other items of interest in the future.
This past week-end
several members of the Hiking Club gathered at the Monks Cowl Camp site. A fairly small camp it must be one of the
closest sites to the mountains. There
are both electrical and non-electrical sites all situated in well maintained
grounds on cut grass, in parts undulating, but nonetheless most picturesque
with beautiful views. An ablution block
consisting of a bath and shower, 3 toilets and 3 wash hand basins is available
for ladies plus a similar set-up with two showers instead of the bath, for the
gents in the camp. There is also a
small toilet block with basins. The
water heated in a donkey boiler is scalding hot. Smoke can be seen rising from the boiler in
the early hours of the morning, and it is kept regularly stoked throughout the
day. For the peckish
there is a cafeteria serving teas, cold drinks and tasty lunches at reasonable
prices as well as a kiddies’ playground.
A definite plus is
the condition of the paths in the area.
All are clearly marked and well-maintained, so one should not get
lost. A booklet with the walks is available
from the office should one need something to give guidance. Being a long week-end the camp was extremely
busy but despite this we did not feel crowded out.
LOST
CAVES, SWOLLEN RIVERS AND OTHER ADVENTURES Teresa Whitefield
After the usual
adjusting, putting on plaster, sunscreen and any other vital rituals before the
start of a hike we set off to find our ‘lost’ cave. Unfortunately, 500m down the track our wise
leader decided much to the relief of all in the party, that the waist deep
Bushman’s River was too dangerous to cross.
So we did a smart U-turn and headed off in the opposite direction.
Now we were going
to find another ‘lost’ cave. We had a
lovely morning walking in the shadow of the Giant along rapidly disappearing
paths. At lunch time the rain came down
so we decided to set up camp and the rain rather accommodatingly stopped for a
brief while so that we could get our tents up before the real deluge started. By
that time we were sipping tea from the comfort and dryness of our tents.
Later in the
afternoon we did some exploratory walking while trying to orientate ourselves
and the possible location of our cave. The rain was not as accommodating but since
our tents were up and dry inside we did not mind too much.
Early in the
evening the gals had a delightful bath in the nearby stream while the gentlemen
of the party kept a careful eye on the Giant.
Then it was time for sundowners and dinner.
The next morning
we set off to find our cave. Dave
decided to guard the packs while resting his ankle and the rest of us headed
off down into the next river valley. After a couple of false starts, Margaret
spotted a possible cave and Keith bravely headed uphill to ‘check it out’. We were in luck because this was our elusive
cave but the biggest excitement was the family of porcupines that fled on our
approach.
Then it was time
to head up the very steep hill to pick up our packs and head for home.
Once again we had
a wonderful weekend of hiking and thanks to the leaders who are prepared to
take us to these special places.
CEDARA
– SWARTKOPS DAY HIKE
Harold Rees
2 April 2006
The weatherman was wrong again!
He forecast a cool to warm day, but it was already hot when leader
Graham gathered his group together at the Cedara
Farm. Mike, Dino, Aris
and Joan were old hands; with Barbara, Mary, Christine, Harold and Theresa new
to the Club.
The initial section of the hike was through the College and ffarm buildings. Our
first water stop was at the last of the buildings, from where the view opened
out over a small grassy valley up to the plantations clothing the flanks of Swartkops. The
grassy slopes proved to be a long hot slog, but a tea break in the shade of
some large pin oak trees, beside a small dam, was a welcome and cooling
reward. At this point Barbara and Mary
decided to take a shortcut back to the cars.
A gentle breeze eased the climb up the steep grassy slopes beneath the
electricity pylons. In places the grass
and brambles were rather high, but on the higher slopes the grass was short and
the walking easier. After reaching the
ridge, Graham took us into the pine and bluegum
plantation on tracks used by the motorcycle brigade. We even heard some – fortunately not on our
piece of the mountain. A last steep
scramble up a rocky slope brought us to the top of Swartkops
with magnificent, if somewhat hazy views.
Midmar, Impendle, Karkloof and Edendale were all
visible. Aris
pointed out Bleak House – apparently on a different day walk route. An early lunch break was declared to enable
us to enjoy the scenery, the cool breeze and some shade.
Immediately after lunch we passed by the trig beacons and radio masts
occupying the topmost positions on the kopje.
A washed away 4x4 trail of loose gravel took us almost straight down,
with views over Sweetwaters on our right, and then
all too soon we were back into plantations which cut out any views. From there it was a fairly even gradient
through the forests back down to the cars.
Thanks to all for an enjoyable hike.
WEEKEND
AT COBHAM NATURE RESERVE
Brian Henwood
February 2006
Cobham is situated 13 km north of Himeville
in the Mzimkhulwana Nature Reserve. The KZN Wildlife
camp site is on the banks of the
There are many hikes that one can do in the Wilderness
Area adjoining the Nature Reserve but I always favour
the circular routes and it was therefore a simple decision when our group
agreed on an all-day hike despite the threat of rain.
Having
pitched our tents and achieved a basic level of order in the camp we headed off
in the direction of Hodgeson’s Peaks. The twin peaks that rise to 3250m above sea
level are a well known landmark on the
berg escarpment as they form the feature known as the Giants Cup. We walked up along the right bank of the
swiftly flowing
As a rainstorm was gathering on the far hills we
picked up our pace across the plateau and set our direction on the Little
Bamboo Mountain in the distance. Some seniors in a large community of baboons
foraging in the grasslands expressed their displeasure at our presence and
reluctantly allowed us to enter their territory. We followed them into the Siphongweni
river gorge, descended steeply down a sandstone band of rock and down a gentle
grass slope where we found ourselves a quiet pool. The sun broke through the clouds momentarily
to light up our lunch break.
It
has not been possible to send via e-mail to our
approximately
60+ members this document including
a
colour Photograph. The good news is that it can be
viewed
on the Club’s Website.
Keith giving Libby, Margaret
Usher and Margaret Ashton a lesson on map reading.
It was a short hike down the valley to the Mzimkhulwana Hut, which is the second overnight stop on the
Giants Cup Trail. From there we headed
back to the Cobham Camp Site along the Giants Cup
Trail path passing Bathplug cave and Tortoise Rocks. About 2km before our final
destination the heavens opened. We
clambered down the last descent with rainwater cascading down the slope all
around us. The thought of that hot shower at the camp
site kept us going to the end of our 18km hike.
Ossie, the camp guard, welcomed us home and despite the
rain that continued throughout the night, the fire in the Pholela
Hut boma proved an ideal venue for our sundowner
drinks and braai.
We unanimously agreed that we had
a great hike.
BLISTER
TIP
Blisters are
always an uncomfortable possibility on a long hike. The recommended procedure for dealing with
them is that one should only puncture a blister when it is apparent that it
will burst if the pressure is not released.
Before doing so wash the area thoroughly with soap and water, apply
antiseptic and insert a sterilized needle through the healthy skin near the
edge of the blister into the fluid. A
needle can be sterilized in a little boiling water and antiseptic. Apply a little more antiseptic, gauze and
plaster to keep the area free from dirt.