Hilux 4x4 Forum

OK this is not a 4x4 Trail report but it was still a trail

This weekend I suddenly received this brain wave to hike up Table Mountain
It was only Elmi and myself.

It was a very hot day, we started at about 08h20 and went up the Platteklip Gorge
I was amazed to see how many people went up the mountain by foot, most of whom did not take enough water and did not wear proper shoes. One guy even wear normal slippers.
I think most people do not realise how far it is.

It was actually very interesting to see the different people who went up the hill.

After we reached the top we had a nice cup of coffee and carrot cake in the shop, walked around enjoying the view, had a pro-vita lunch away from the crowd and then went down the same way again.
I think we will do this much more often. I also want to explore the other routes on Table Mountain.

Fantastiese uitsig...Jy het die regte dag gekies om daai stappie te doen...

Hi

You would be amazed by the incredible numbers of people who head up Platteklip with no food, water, hats or sunscreen and in plakkies or other totally useless footwear. Thus far this year we have rescued about 5 or 6 people overcome with heat stroke/dehydration just in Platteklip.

If you are looking for a nice easy way up the mountain, nothing beats the Skeleton Gorge and Nursery Ravine hikes up from Kirstenbosch, beautiful trees and riverine forests. You end up close to MacClear's Beacon (highest point) and from there it is about 45min easy walk to the Upper Cable Station. Well worth doing.

And if you do run into trouble on the mountain, call Metro Control on 021 937 0300

Dankie vir die mooi pics Pieter! Hoe lank het dit julle geneem op / af?

Tafelberg 201 4.2 km 0.2 sq km

Platteklip Gorge is stunning, but the trek down is definitely tougher than the trek up, a knee killer of note! I prefer to go up via the pipe track and breakfast rock and then come down via Platteklip, much longer but really scenic.

Pieter, please let me know where you plan on heading next, would like to join. I'm working on the fitness thing at the moment in preparation!

Nice pics,but now i miss home

Dit mag dalk nie vir jou 'n 4x4 trail gewees het nie maar as dit ek was, was dit dalk 4x4 want ek sou op stadiums probably gekruip het. Dit is die voordeel om heeldag agter 'n PC te sit... mens raak lekker onfiks.

Baie mooi fodies

Ai, dit is darem maar lekker om ou Tafelberg uit te klim. Mens kan amper nie glo wanneer jy bo kom en sien wat jy gedoen het nie. Stap nou maar die lekker roetes hier in die Suidkaap.

Pieter, I salute you. :salute:

But you are aware they now have a Cable Car for this sort of thing?


-F_D

Eric, I saw that thing that looks like a UFO, but it seemed a bit boring.
Mark, we left at 08h20 and were back at the car by 13h30 ( we left home at 06h30 just to stroll up a mountain)
Bretton - I will let you know next time

Nic, I were amazed at the number of people you described above. It is crazy. There was a group of school children, aged about 16 and one little boy aged about 13 who went up. They had a "leader" with them. The youngster fell behind and I noticed that he was not well. So I asked him if he had enough water and he did not even have water with him, not even an empty bottle. SO I gave him half of one of our bottles. I was furious with his so called leader that he can take people up the mountain without water. On our way down we found a girl who was sitting on the rocks and looked as if she was about to collapse. Same thing, no water, so again we donated some water. I would guess that half those people went up with not enough water.

I know there is a sign with pictures of a bottle with the words H2O on it, but I think there should be a clear signs saying
"If you do not have at least 1 litre of water per person and if you do not wear proper hiking shoes, DO NOT even consider walking up this road."

I want to explore all the other routes as well and heard that the one from Kirstenbosch is very nice. Just not sure where to begin but next time I will be doing that one.

Ai hoe mis ek my tuisland nou.
Nice Pieter, dalk kan ek eendag saam stap.

Magties Pieter, ek is nou moeg na ek die fotos gekyk het.

dalk doen ek dit ook eendag.

Pieter,the one trail from Rhobes mem is great,we hiked it first and then a few weeks later did it on MTB's

Wow! Fantastic views and pics. You'll need to store that number in your phone when Mr_B comes along with

Well done funny how we overlook our health hey?

pietpetoors wrote:I know there is a sign with pictures of a bottle with the words H2O on it, but I think there should be a clear signs saying
"If you do not have at least 1 litre of water per person and if you do not wear proper hiking shoes, DO NOT even consider walking up this road."

Hi there

We have tried the signage thing and most people ignore it. On one memorable occasion we were told by a foreign tourist who we'd rescued off India Venster (the direct path between the Lower and Upper Cable stations) that he's seen the sign that advised that the route was steep and dangerous and should only be attempted by experienced climbers but had ignored it as it "was not large enough and should have been bigger". :roll: After that they took down the all the signage that referred to the India Venster path and concealed the start as much as they could and we've done relatively few rescues since.

pietpetoors wrote:I want to explore all the other routes as well and heard that the one from Kirstenbosch is very nice. Just not sure where to begin but next time I will be doing that one.

There is a great map of Table Mountain available from most bookshops/stationers, online and Kirstenbosch by Peter Slingsby, called 'Table Mountain, The Map'. It shows all the commonly used paths up the mountain and the surrounding areas in very high detail. It is even waterproof and tearproof so that if you spill the tea it won't disintegrate

niclemaitre wrote:

pietpetoors wrote:I know there is a sign with pictures of a bottle with the words H2O on it, but I think there should be a clear signs saying
"If you do not have at least 1 litre of water per person and if you do not wear proper hiking shoes, DO NOT even consider walking up this road."

Hi there

We have tried the signage thing and most people ignore it. On one memorable occasion we were told by a foreign tourist who we'd rescued off India Venster (the direct path between the Lower and Upper Cable stations) that he's seen the sign that advised that the route was steep and dangerous and should only be attempted by experienced climbers but had ignored it as it "was not large enough and should have been bigger". :roll: After that they took down the all the signage that referred to the India Venster path and concealed the start as much as they could and we've done relatively few rescues since.

pietpetoors wrote:I want to explore all the other routes as well and heard that the one from Kirstenbosch is very nice. Just not sure where to begin but next time I will be doing that one.

There is a great map of Table Mountain available from most bookshops/stationers, online and Kirstenbosch by Peter Slingsby, called 'Table Mountain, The Map'. It shows all the commonly used paths up the mountain and the surrounding areas in very high detail. It is even waterproof and tearproof so that if you spill the tea it won't disintegrate

You guys should try and follow Nic and his mountain club crowd up there. I have noticed them run up the route with a full backpack (20 - 30 kg's of survival / climbing kit) at night on rescues.

OT: Glad to see you here Nic, with the vehicle you wanted.

I have noticed them run up the route with a full backpack (20 - 30 kg's of survival / climbing kit) at night on rescues.

Sounds like I'm going to have to step up my "exercise" routine... bliks3m!

Mr_B wrote:

I have noticed them run up the route with a full backpack (20 - 30 kg's of survival / climbing kit) at night on rescues.

Sounds like I'm going to have to step up my "exercise" routine... bliks3m!

Lekker roete Pieter en heerlike uitsigte padlangs en bo. Fantastiese fotos!

Stuart and I went for a short hike this morning. We left Langebaan at 6AM and started hiking up Tafelberg at 10 2 8

I wanted to do the back route for a change but because it was very misty and chances of rain I decided to stay on the known route, Platteklip

Was cold and misty, but at least the route was not crowded.

Only bad thing about the fog is that the restaurant at the top was not open so we could not have a cup of coffee.

Pieter, with all due respect...

"Do you consider this a "fun" thing to do in the middle of Winter?" ...

I only got out of my nice warm bed at 09:30 to make a nice hot and the thought of climbing a mountain* never ended my mind once - nooit - not at all!

And it was not even cold here, the sun was shining brightly!

*Not that we even have anything higher than an Anthill here anyway.

PS: Very nice photos!

-F_D

Ha ha, by 9:30 we were almost at the top.

We needed a challenge, planned it earlier the week and decided we are going up the mountain no matter what the weather conditions.
Must say the dense fog was a total different experience than the normal sunny days. I will most definitely do it again in such weather.

Lekker! Nice pics too!

Eric, you're still too bright and mentally active (for a geriatric, anyway ) for your mind to have "ended"!

Why thank you, Andy! I love you too!


-F_D

Awesome pics, thanks for sharing Pieter. There's certain things money can't buy. Eish now I'm itching for a hike