RESPECTING THE WILDERNESS

DRAKENSBERG

KwaZulu-Natal  South Africa

Mountain of the Dragons

South Africa’s mightiest mountain range with its spear-like peaks – reminiscent of the saw-toothed spine of a gigantic dragon.

 Where Adventure beckons..........

DRAKENSBERG WILDERNESS PHOTOS © WILLEM PELSER

“ALL THAT IS GOLD DOES NOT GLITTER, NOT ALL THOSE WHO WANDER ARE LOST”

JRR TOLKIEN

RESPECTING THE WILDERNESS

If you want to keep on enjoying the Wilderness, you’ve got to make sure you put back what you take out. The limited number of hiking areas and trail systems, ever-increasing hiker densities on popular trails, and ecologically insensitive hikers are taking their toll on many over-utilized routes. It requires a concerted effort from the entire hiking community to ensure that future generations can one day follow in our footsteps.

   Even though the philosophy of ’leaving nothing but footprints’ may sound like a cliché, it holds as true now, as when the first piece of used toilet paper littered a previously pristine trail. Constant awareness of the consequence of your behavior on the trail is necessary, so find out about specific rules and etiquette along the route. Often, damage is done without an individual actually realizing it, so make it your duty to educate yourself and your companions regarding environmental issues and preservation.

Fauna and Flora

   The golden rule is to stick to the designated trail, no matter how big the temptation to take a short cut or step off the path to get a better view. Trailscapers follow very specific contours and use switchbacks in order to avoid erosion, as water rushing along a footpath can soon turn it into a ravine. In delicate desert habitats, stepping off the trail may damage seedlings germinating just beneath the surface and you will also leave traces of your tracks for years to come.

  

   Be aware of your environment and try to tread in places where your footsteps will do the least damage. Limit your group size, walk in a single file, and seek out solid hard-pack or rock when you can, avoiding stepping on regrowth along trail edges. Picking flowers or plants along a route is tantamount to signing your own expulsion order from the hiking community, and do not light a fire in the Drakensberg Wilderness. It is illegal and highly dangerous and destructive. The decomposition of dead plant matter is imperative in the nutrient and mineral cycle enriching the soil, so stick to the ‘no fire and collecting of wood’ rule wherever it is enforced.

   Remember that you will be sharing the trail and its surrounding environment with snakes, spiders, wasps, scorpions, leeches, and other lovable little nasties intent on protecting what is their rightful home. Keep your distance where you can and in most cases you will be able to avoid a painful confrontation. In case you do stray into the firing line, make sure you have a well-stocked first-aid kit on hand.

If you encounter wildlife on the trail, stick to looking rather than touching. Handling an immature animal or bird might not seem wrong, but the chances are the mother will discard her offspring because of your human smell, leaving it to die. Even the most innocent animal might pack an unexpected punch, leaving you with bites or scratches that could turn septic. When approaching large animals in wilderness areas, do so with caution, giving them a wide berth if possible.

Joining a volunteer group

   Hiking is a long term commitment and it is imperative to preserve wildernesses for future generations. With urban development constantly encroaching on our green spaces, it might be necessary to throw your weight behind a pressure group, sign a few petitions, or join in a demonstration to preserve an unspoiled area.

  

   Other ways of giving back are by getting involved in trail maintenance, or by joining a hacking group to remove alien vegetation. If you notice erosion, broken signage or damage to the route while on a hike, stop for 10 minutes and do your best to repair or arrest the damage. After all, you have been using the trail and it is only fair to give something back. If there is a hiking club in your area, they will be able to advise you regarding trail maintenance; if not, assemble some friends and do it yourself.

   Hiking philosophy embraces the principles of minimum-impact hiking, so be prepared to take home whatever you carry in. A sad fact is that responsible hikers are often forced to remove waste left by less ethical hikers.

   Use biodegradable soap when bathing or doing the dishes, to prevent contaminating the ground, and always remember to wash at least 100m away from any water source.

   When urinating, step off the trail and move well away from a water source, where you can limit any damage to terrain, enjoying the view while you go.

Being environmentally friendly extends to an awareness of everything you do in the wilderness, such as pulling up invasive vegetation, or not taking short cuts that could result in erosion. At all times try to monitor your overall impact on the trail.

What to do with waste

Organic matter: Fruit and vegetable leftovers are decomposable, but may attract animals which could easily become camp site pests. Carry the leftovers out with you.

Cigarette butts: This is littering at its worst. Culprits are guilty of polluting the fresh air, leaving behind litter that takes years to bio-degrade and create a potential fire hazard. If you simply have to smoke on a hike, keep a small container on hand and take your cigarette butts home.

Human waste: Bears may do it in the woods, but this does not give you carte blanche to indiscriminately use the outdoors as your personal loo. The proper way is to take a spade and dig a hole, do your thing, ignite and burn the toilet paper before covering it all up. You must be at least 100 meters away from any water source, so start climbing if you are in a canyon.

Tampons: Take along some zip-lock bags. Seal used sanitary pads or tampons inside a double bag and pack them out.

Plastic and tin: Never leave or bury it in the wilderness. Put it back in your pack and take it home.

  

We as hikers, explorers, and adventurers have the absolute duty to respect and protect our Wildernesses. Nobody else will do it for us. Take ownership!

The End.

Safe Hiking.

References and Acknowledgements

From the book – Hiking, the essential guide to…. – J Marais

Photos – Willem Pelser

Compiled by Willem Pelser

THE CULTURE OF WALKING

DRAKENSBERG

KwaZulu-Natal  South Africa

Mountain of the Dragons

South Africa’s mightiest mountain range with its spear-like peaks – reminiscent of the saw-toothed spine of a gigantic dragon.

 Where Adventure beckons..........

 

DRAKENSBERG WILDERNESS PHOTOS © WILLEM PELSER

“ON FOOT, THE PULSE OF THE DRAKENSBERG WILDERNESS

COMES THROUGH YOUR BOOTS”

THE CULTURE OF WALKING

Our ability to walk upright is thought to date back to the Early Stone Age, a period more than one and a half million years ago. It was then that our ancestors stood upright and gingerly took their first steps. These small steps would prove to be a proverbial giant leap, allowing humankind to fast-track its development along evolution’s long and winding road. Walking on two legs allowed our forebears to develop and use sophisticated tools, quickly turning them into a dominant hunter-gatherer society.

   So it was that mankind became walkers, striding proudly upright across the vast plains of ancient continents. As hunter-gatherers, they walked out of a necessity to support their nomadic lifestyle rather than for pleasure, searching the wilderness for food and shelter. Slowly this natural landscape changed as evolution marched on, with first agriculture and then industrialization taking its toll. Vast cities of concrete and steel mushroomed throughout the developed world, replacing trees, rivers, grasslands and forests with tarmac roads and soaring skyscrapers. Green belts and park-lands all but disappeared in some places and soon many city dwellers found themselves captives of an unnatural environment of their own making.

   Which brings us to where we are now at the beginning of the 21^st century and, some would say, with civilization at its technological peak. Many of us find ourselves in a position where we have more income, resources and free time at our disposal than any previous generation. And in order to escape the pressure and stress of our urban environment, we buy ourselves some time in the great outdoors, because it is here that we are able to rediscover the instinctive simplicity that came so easily to our cavemen ancestors. And what better way to get in touch with our earthy side than by exploring the many natural splendors of our planet on foot?

STEPPING OUT

   In essence, walking is about undertaking small journeys of discovery. It might not be exploration on a grand scale discovering the far-flung corners of the globe, but it still captures the sensation of travelling into the unknown. You might well be on a well-trodden track, a route that you have walked many times before, but such is the beauty of nature that it will show you a new face every time.

   A glimpse of scarlet in the undergrowth might uncover a previously unnoticed flower, or a flash of feathery blue will reveal a kingfisher flitting along a stream bed.  Over the years, a hiking route will become like and old friend, ageing with you and mellowing as you get to know it better. Seasons will herald joyful changes along a regular trail, dressing it in splashes of colour in spring, or shades of green in summer, while winter will bring with it the return of stark and simple lines. Over time, trees will shake off their spindly adolescence, spreading gnarly branches in greeting when you again encounter them after a decade or two. It does not matter how many times you travel a certain way – every walk will bring with it new discoveries, allowing you to explore to your heart’s content.

ON GOOD TERMS

   Over the generation, as we tramped along our bridle-ways, country lanes and mountain paths, some walkers donned rucksacks, dressed in technical clothing and took to using specially designed equipment. Walking was no longer just a stroll in the wilds, and a host of new terms and expressions was born. Nowadays, people go hiking, trailing and backpacking all over the world. High on ridged peaks, mountaineers traverse; in canyons or gorges, individuals dabble in canyoneering or kloofing; clamber on all fours up a steep scree slope and you are elevated into the realm of scrambling; follow a route hugging the coastline and you’ll be pleased to know that you are coasteering. Many related terms exist and, it is impossible to cover all of them.

   Before we boot up though, it is useful to define two universally accepted terms associated with walking: hiking and backpacking. Although the word backpacking was originally coined to describe the process of walking in the outdoors with a pack on your back, and is a term widely used in the USA, in other parts of the world backpacking is usually associated with budget travel, and hiking has replaced it as the term used to describe a walk in nature, along a well-marked, defined pathway or route. Therefore, depending o which country you are in, you will find both hikers and backpackers walking along a trail in a conservancy or a state forest, across a public common, or in a national park, following a route, possibly with the assistance of a map, a trail-guide, or both.

   Hikes can either be single-day or short routes, or long trails that require a number of days, even weeks, to complete. Many multi-day hikes traverse wilderness areas with the aid of marked trails, with hikers having to move from Point A to Point B, possibly along a compass bearing, or with the aid of map coordinates, and usually encountering a wide variety of terrain. These expeditionary, or wilderness, hikes are usually more rigorous than hiking along marked trails and require detailed planning and preparation, as well as a higher level of experience from participants.They are frequently in remote locations, and may involve a group of people with a range of specialist skills.

   So far, so good, but the small matter of terminology does not quite end here either. Travel beyond the borders of your home country and you’ll find people talking a different walk. In New Zealand, the outdoor tribe go tramping; and Australians venture into the outback for a bush walk. A ramble across the moors might be the norm in England, but many South Africans prefer hiking, while Americans and Canadians stick to either bushwacking or backpacking.

   Venture beyond the comfortable cocoon of the first world and you will encounter a further culture shift, discovering that most people in developing countries rarely walk for pleasure. To them, walking is often an economic reality, but this does not mean that they take no pleasure from it. On the contrary, walking is often an integral part of courtship rituals and other traditional rites, allowing individuals or groups time to get to know each other.

THE NEXT STEP

   A final observation: venturing into the great outdoors for a walk is often not about reaching a destination. For most of us, a walk is about the enjoyment of a journey on foot between two points, allowing us to take pleasure from a heady blend of fresh air, scenic views and simple exercise. Sweeping panoramas, the emerald glow of a deep forest at noon, or the invigorating scent of a mountainside alive with heater are sure to put a spring in your step.

   Soon you will feel the blood cursing through your body as you leave the daily grind behind and relish the freedom of the great outdoors. Along the way, take time out to lie beneath a spreading canopy of ancient trees, or admire the majesty of the mountains, soaking up the enchantment of nature. As our planet revolves under its wide blue sky, bask in the beauty of your surroundings. After all, unlike our cavemen ancestors, you are walking because you choose to, not because you have to.

We as hikers, explorers, and adventurers have the absolute duty to respect and protect our Wildernesses. Nobody else will do it for us. Take ownership!

The End.

Safe Hiking.

           

References and Acknowledgements

From the book – Hiking – The Essential Guide to Equipment and                                                       Techniques  – J Marais

Photos:  ©W Pelser

Compiled by:  Willem Pelser

THE DRAKENSBERG - MENACE AND MYSTERY

DRAKENSBERG

KwaZulu-Natal  South Africa

Mountain of the Dragons

South Africa’s mightiest mountain range with its spear-like peaks – reminiscent of the saw-toothed spine of a gigantic dragon.

 Where Adventure beckons..........

“THOSE WHO WALK ALONE ARE LIKELY TO FIND THEMSELVES IN PLACES NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN BEFORE”

THE DRAKENSBERG

MENACE AND MYSTERY

The Drakensberg is a place of matchless beauty and grandeur, where cloud caravans wind in and out of a world with soaring peaks, and ice-clear mountain streams tell of a peace you will find nowhere else. It is the ideal place where your harassed businessman can unwind and discover once again those inward resources and assurances he thought he had lost forever.

  

   But it is also a place of hidden menace where, for the unwary, disaster can strike in a flash of a second and where death lurks around the least expected corner. Increasingly over the years rescue squads have had to be called in to pull in a stranded climber or to bring in the body of someone who has paid the ultimate penalty.

   In the early days rescues where primitive, ad-hoc affairs. Stretchers were nothing more than a couple of blankets tied to two poles, and there was no organised rescue system at all. Later new and better equipment came into use, attempts were made to enlist the use of aircraft, and the names of those who were willing to go out with rope and tackle to bring in an injured climber were listed. Today the modern, highly organised rescue system co-ordinates the potential of the Police, Army, Air Force, Parks Board, paramedical and specialist medical services, and the highly trained men of the Mountain Club of South Africa in a service able to swing into action, almost at the press of a button.

   It will be many years before Klaus Schobinger forgets the tragic events of the night of 24 October 1975. He spent it alone in a small cave in the Drakensberg, barely surviving in sub-zero temperatures, not knowing that his brother-in-law lay dead in the open, only a few meters away.

   The two men, Klaus Schobinger and Otto Werder, had climbed together for many years. They had recently ascended Mt Kilimanjaro, and they knew the Drakensberg well. They were both experienced mountaineers. They had planned to spend the weekend of 24 to 26 October climbing in the Cathedral Peak area.

   They arrived at the reserve about midday on the Friday. Then, shouldering their packs, they set off for Organ Pipes Pass. This is an easy climb, entailing a pleasant walk up the Umhlonhlo Valley. A bit of a zigzag to the summit of the Little Berg, up past the Camel, through Windy Gap and so to the pass proper. Here the going gets a little steeper, but there are no real difficulties and it is not long before you are on the summit plateau. 

   All went well until the two men reached the pass proper, with the Organ Pipes, long basaltic spires stabbing the blue of the sky, on their left. Here Otto Werder ran into trouble. He developed stomach pains and cramps. He struggled on for a short while, but soon it was obvious that he needed a rest. But time was getting on. The grey hush of twilight was beginning to spread across the waiting peaks. It was decided that Schobinger should go on ahead and prepare their cave for the night while Werder followed on more slowly behind. It is one of the cardinal rules of mountaineering: never, under any circumstances, split your party if you can possibly help it. They did split. They should have known better.

   It had been their plan to spend the night in Ndumeni Cave. When you reach the head of Organ Pipes Pass you have the vast Lesotho Plateau sloping gently down before you, but on your left rises a huge dome of Ndumeni Peak. In the rock faces of the dome are several small caves and one large one, known as Ndumeni Cave. The only trouble is, it is a ‘dry ‘cave. There is no water nearby. But at the base of the dome, running down into Lesotho, is a small stream, the Kakoatsan. You have to fill your water-carrying utensils at the stream before climbing up to the cave.

   As Schobinger approached the stream he noticed a few ominous black clouds swirling around the peaks to the north. He started to fill his utensils, and then….. it hit him, a blizzard of unprecedented fury and intensity. There had been no warning. Suddenly there was the terrifying scream of the tortured wind, the roar of falling hail, the steel-like hiss of rain against rocks and blinding sheets of snow swirling across the plain. Experienced mountaineer that he was, he knew what this meant. He grabbed his sleeping bag, abandoned his backpack and the rest of his gear, which he knew would slow him down, and fled terrified, up the rocky slopes for the shelter of the nearest cave as fast as he could.

   For the next six hours he was pinned down there, in sub-zero temperatures, with no food or water. He could not move. Survival out in that wild storm was an utter impossibility. He did not worry unduly about his companion. There was plenty of shelter on the lower slopes of the mountain, and Werder had all his kit and food with him. At midnight there came a lull in the storm and Schobinger was able to venture out. He searched around for his friend for a short while, failed to find him, and then returned to his cave for a few hours of troubled sleep.

   Next morning, as soon as it was light, he set out, exhausted, cold and hungry, to find his friend. He first climbed up to Ndumeni Cave where they had originally intended spending the night. There was no sign of Werder. He then went down to the stream to retrieve his backpack, and there he found Werder. He was dead. He had obviously fallen 20 meters down a sharp incline and broke his neck.

  

   Horrified, Schobinger set off as fast as he could for help, 14 km down the rugged Organ Pipes Pass. It must have been terrible for him to have almost died of exposure himself only to find that his brother-in-law was already dead.

   There are two things we can learn from this tragic episode. Both men were mature experienced mountaineers. They had done this particular climb at least a dozen times before. They knew the area well. And yet they came to grieve and one man died.

   One thing to remember is the terrible suddenness with which Drakensberg blizzards strike. This one struck without warning. Without shelter no one could have survived a night out in it.

   The other is a point already made, but must repeat: never, if you can possibly help it, split a party.

We as hikers, explorers, and adventurers have the absolute duty to respect and protect our Wildernesses. Nobody else will do it for us. Take ownership!

The End.

Safe Hiking.

References and Acknowledgements

From the book:   Dragon’s Wrath – Byrom/Pearce

Photos:  ©W Pelser

Compiled by:  Willem Pelser