Nerd stuck in a sailor's body.
It s been a long time since my last post and between work and hiking, I ve not had much time to write these posts. I ve also not done any big hike quite worthy of its own post, so this is just a quick catch up with some photos and bits and pieces that I think are Continue reading Quick Update Post
Most often my hike planning consists of me frantically scrolling through Google Earth on a Friday morning looking for an interesting summit that s in the Goldilocks zone of my abilities. Something less than 15km and around 800m elevation. Often this is heavily influenced by whether the summit is a SOTA summit. Klein-Drakensteinkop kind of fell Continue reading 016 Klein-Drakensteinkop (17.5km,…
The wife took part in a crazy 155km gravel race in Montagu that almost everyone dropped out of due to the 42 degree heat, but her and three others finished. #machine I took the morning after as an opportunity to run up the little mountain behind the place we were staying (actually my parent s new Continue reading 015 A QRP micro-mission in Montagu (2km / 150m elevation)
Back at Cape Infanta I chatted with Dieter in Australia who introduced me to Charly, a German ham who was about to set off on an adventure through Southern Africa and wanted to do some radioing on top of Table Mountain. This had been on my list for a while so it was perfect timing. Continue reading 014 – Table Mountain (5km Micro-mission to Maclear’s Beacon)
Let me begin by saying that this was a bad idea. I had decided to climb a mountain and then hike to a survey beacon with no paths to it, alone, on a day with heavy fog. Everything turned out fine in the end, but if you re reading this there are probably some lessons you Continue reading 013 Miaspoort Trail to Hugenot Tunnel Survey Beacon (10.7km / 800m Elev)
It is ironic that I never really thought of Cape Point as a hiking destination. It has always been the place where your friends from overseas go on the day you re not playing tour guide. It was the two SOTA summits inside the reserve, tantalisingly close to each other, that convinced me to go for Continue reading 012 Cape Point (Paulsberg Vasco da Gama Peak) 14.5km 540m Elev
This summit had been on my list for a while as it is close to where we re often based at the Breede River. This also marks only the second time in my life that I ve been in the De Hoop Nature Reserve; the time before was when I was still in junior school! We made Continue reading 011 – Potberg, De Hoop Nature Reserve (7km / 420m Elev)
Sometimes it is good to go back to basics. It doesn t always have to be summit conquests or never before explored trails. The trails on the Eastern side of Table Mountain are as diverse as the people who hike them. Kids on tricycles, families with prams, overcompensating mountain bikers, trail-running bros with their shirts off, Continue reading 010 Table Mountain Fernwood Circuit (10km / 300m…
Mont Rochelle had been on my list for a few weeks. A friend had suggested one of the lower peaks as a great spot for a radio setup, but since the actual summit (Dutoitskop) was a SOTA summit I decided to get to the top instead. Got to collect those sweet internet points. Mont Rochelle Continue reading 009 Mont Rochelle to Dutoitskop (8km/ 750m Elev)
The Paardeberg packs a lot of opportunity into a tiny mountain range. There s a thousand different routes and something interesting around every corner. I had done some exploring in the area a few years back and had a reasonable sense of the trails but decided to just start hiking and see where things led me Continue reading 008 Paardeberg to Rocky Outcrop (7km / 405m Elev)