Tuesday 30 June 2020

Drakensberg - Injasuthi Reserve

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





  “HIKING A WILDERNESS CHANGES YOU. AS YOU MOVE THROUGH THE WILDERNESS YOU CHANGE THINGS AND IT LEAVES ITS MARKS ON YOU. MOST OF THE TIME THOSE MARKS ON YOUR BODY AND MIND IS BEAUTIFUL. OFTEN, THOUGH, THEY HURT TOO….”
UNKNOWN 












Drakensberg  
Injasuthi Reserve


It’s amazing sometimes, how wrong things can seem to be for so long, and how suddenly they can then come right. For years and years conservationists and mountaineers bemoaned the fragmented land control of the Drakensberg and its subsequent lack of an overall conservation plan: ‘efforts have been made in the past – to consolidate the area under one authority – but it has been a story of half-hearted measures and government procrastination’, wrote one author. Then it seemed that one day, overnight, we had a new government, and then we had uKhalamba – Drakensberg Park stretching for some 300 kilometres from Royal Natal Park to Bushmen’s Nek. And now, not only that, but this park is a World Heritage Site and the core of a trans-frontier ‘peace park’.




      One of the prime pieces of the Berg that for many years lay in private hands was a small chalet resort called Solitude, close to a yellowwood forest on the southern bank of the Injasuthi River where it tumbles out from a red-shouldered gorge. In 1838 Voortrekker leader Gerrit Maritz made a laager next to what they called the Klein (little) Thukela towards Escourt, and they would almost certainly have explored up the valley whose Zulu name, Injisuthi, ‘the well fed dog’, suggests it was a rich hunting area. However, the uppermost reaches of the valley were amongst the last areas of the Drakensberg to be explored by mountaineers, and it was only in 1937 that some of the peaks in the area were climbed and named. The most outstanding of them is the Old Women Grinding Corn, which, like Giant’s Castle to the south and Cathkin Peak to the north, stands out from the Escarpment connected by a narrow nek. Looking at it from the north you can imagine the scene of the old women kneeling over her grindstone.


    But you have to walk up, up the Injasuthi Valley, to the lower Injasuthi Cave and even higher, to where the river races over large boulders where there is no path and the massive red-shouldered of the Little Berg give way to the softer green slopes of the sub-Alpine belt, before you can gaze upon the great giants that guard the valley. Early descriptions spoke of the Twins, and only in 1937 after closer inspection was it realized there were in fact three pillars of rock standing free from the main Escarpment wall. The Eastern and Western Triplets are massive towers, more vertical and fortress-like than any other in the Drakensberg. The Middle Triplet is a mere flake of basalt so barely separated from the main wall that it is hard to see until you get really close. Then you also see it is not ‘mere’ in any sense and that each is a huge formation.




   That anyone would contemplate climbing them is a thought that will befuddle most people, but mountaineers are not like most people: I suspect one of the reasons they climb peaks like these is just to astound the lesser mortals they refer to as ‘gapers. The sheer, sometimes crumbling, faces of the Triplets were first climbed in 1950 and 1951 and they remain, along with the likes of Devil’s Tooth, among the longest and hardest rock routes in the Berg.


   Interesting to note is that among the opening ascent parties were to stalwart climbers of that era, Lorna Pierson and Gillian Bettle. It is with nostalgic yearning that I look at the old black-and-whites of them, obviously ruddy-cheeked in the fresh mountain air, short bob cuts, and clothes of the period, wholesome young women, with their virile, wholesome young men – golden girls and boys. Days gone, days which we who were not there can never fully grasp.




   Just north of the reserve chalets the route up the Little Berg is called Van Heynigen’s Pass. It was named after J van Heynigen who was chief forester at Monk’s Cowl in the 1930’s. He hatched the idea of connecting his forest station to Cathedral Peak by constructing a contour path that would meet the tracks built by the Mike de Villiers who started the Cathedral Peak forestry research station and built Mike’s Pass. Later Van Heynigen pushed his path southwards, hoping that one day the parks board would built a path north from Giant’s Castle to meet his.




   In the early 1970’s Reg Pearse wrote that the Natal Parks Board had begun forging a path north to Injasuthi: ‘When these two paths meet there will be something like 200 kilometres of well-graded pathway’. For many years there was just talk talk talk, but today you can walk from the base of Cathedral Peak pretty much all the way to Bushmen’s Nek on paths through the Little Berg – admittedly sometimes a bit higher and sometimes a bit lower, and sometimes you think that the whole path was laid out to be an endurance course. It is true that in places it’s in nearly impassable condition, such as below the Pyramid, while elsewhere it is so tortuous you wouldn’t want to believe it is the best hike between the two points. It is also true that from Sani’s Pass to Bushmen’s Nek it’s the Giant’s Cup hiking trail which, for the most part, is so far from the mountains it could be called the ‘toe-hills meander’. But the basic idea is there and who knows what will happen in time……


   In 1980 Solitude was purchased by the state and incorporated as a satellite section of Giant’s Castle Game Reserve. On maps the name was first anglicized to Injasuthi, then corrected to eNjesuthi, and currently is spelt Injisuthi. It is called normalization. Accommodation is in 15 chalets, each sleeping six and fully equipped for self-catering, as well as two dormitories sleeping 8 each. About 200 m downstream is a caravan park and camp site, which in autumn becomes a riot of orange wild dagga flowers. At the office there is also a small curio and food shop, stocking only the basics. The main landmark from here is Monk’s Cowl, looming up between Champagne Castle and Cathkin Peak and lording it over the Injasuthi Valley. Hiking routes start from three points in the camp: the tar road across the vehicle bridge leads to Poacher’s Stream, Battle Cave, Marble Bath Cave, Lower Injasuthi Cave, Fergy’s Cave and Centenary Hut; starting next to chalet 4 and continuing over a wooden footbridge this route leads to Van Heynigen’s Pass, Wonder Valley Cave and the contour path to Monk’s Cowl; starting from dormitory hut unit 2 is the route to Grindstone Caves and from there to Marble Baths, Cataract Valley, Yellowwood Forest and the old kraal and dipping tank.





   The only caves that can be booked for overnight stays are Lower Injasuthi, Grindstone, and Marble Baths. Fergy’s and Junction caves have been subject to flooding and are no longer suitable for use as shelters. ‘Fergy’ was Sergeant I Ferguson, a policeman who in the 1940’s was given the task of guarding what was a government reserve (before it was sold to a private owner in the 1960’s) against poachers. He was a man who seemed to love life in the wilds and used the cave as his headquarters. Generations of hikers also enjoyed its comforts which are, alas, no more. But Lower Injasuthi Cave is far nicer and better situated anyway, and was until recently very little used by hikers. It makes a great 2 day return hike giving you access to the sacred bowl at the base of the Triplets – comparable in majesty to the base of the Amphitheater. The other place of great majesty is Battle Cave, whose significant ‘battle’ scene can only be viewed on a guided tour. There are plans to re-open Tree Fern Cave to hikers.


   Centenary Hut is located at the foot of Corner’s Pass. It is badly vandalized by Basotho poachers and cattle thieves. Repairing the hut is futile as it would just be destroyed again. The only pass giving easy access to the summit from Injasuthi camp is Leslie’s Pass, going up Buttress Fork Stream past Marble Baths.







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 – “Best Walks of the Drakensberg” – D Bristow

Photos:  ©W Pelser

Compiled by:  Willem Pelser






Tuesday 16 June 2020

HIKING THE WILDERNESS - LIGHTNING

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





I SOLO HIKE THE WILDERNESS, NOT TO ESCAPE LIFE, BUT FOR LIFE NOT TO ESCAPE ME”

UNKNOWN












HIKING THE WILDERNESS
LIGHTNING

Of all the hazards that can best you in the wilderness, it is certain that being struck by lightning is one of the most terrifying. That bolt from the blue can zap you without warning, melting your boots to your feet and reducing you to a smoking heap. And it’s so hard to get away from, too – especially if you are high up or in the forest. Well, that does not have to be the case. One of the reasons why you should take an interest in the weather around you is so that you can avoid being on that knife-edge ridge in a thunderstorm.




Warning signs
   Your best source of information for thunderstorms and the menace of lightning is the weather forecast. And if storms are predicted for your area, amend your plans – it’s better to spend a few hours in the outdoor shops. If you do get caught out, there are a few steps you can take to avoid becoming toast.

   If you hear thunder or see lightning, don’t hang around for the rain to come, get to safety as quickly as you can. If you can hear the rumble of thunder the storm is probably only 10-16km away. You can see lightning a lot further off, usually up to 24km away, but in the hills your visibility and the sound of the thunder may be obscured and deflected by valleys and ridges. When you see the flash start counting. Stop when you hear the bang. Divide your result by 3 for a metric answer and by 5 for a distance in miles. If your result is between 5 and 8km, you are in the usual strike zone for lightning, and therefore most at risk.


Protect and survive
   The best places to shelter from the rain are often the worst places to avoid lightning. Tall trees are natural lightning conductors, but caves and overhangs too will conduct electricity around you and your body will act as a conducting core.

   If you are in a forest, see if you can find a patch of younger trees. If you’re on rocky terrain, see if you can find a boulder. Sit on your rucksack with your head down and your hands on your knees. You don’t need to throw out all your metal ware – lightning has bigger fish to fry than being drawn by your ice axe, walking poles, camera or crampons – but it may be sensible to lay them to one side. The middle of a well-drained slope is probably the best place to be.





Clouds
   If you take a little time to learn which clouds are associated with the different types of approaching weather you can impress your friends with forecasting prowess in the wilderness. If you only learn to identify two – learn cirrus, the high level, wispy clouds that precede a warm front and follow a cold one, and cumulonimbus, the angry thunderclouds which foretell severe weather.


Wind chill
   However cold the air temperature actually is, you will feel colder if there is also a wind blowing. Wind chill is the dramatic factor loved by news reporters because it sounds so dramatic: ‘Although the air temperature was just above freezing, wind chill on the remote farm saw temperatures plummet to -10! There can be no doubt that the wind chill is a killer – it’s a measure of how your body reacts to the conditions of cold air being blown against it. Freezing air will cause you more harm faster if it hits you at 50kmh! If the ambient temperature is -5 degree Celsius and there is a 20kmh wind blowing, the temperature will feel to you as if it is more like -12 degrees Celsius.





How does this affect the Wilderness hiker?
   You have to be prepared for the conditions you’ll find in the wilderness. It’s not just the case of checking to see if it’s going to rain. High winds can make ridge walking very dangerous. Snowfall can occur even in summer at altitude, rain will swell watercourses making route changes necessary, and poor visibility will slow you down, even if your navigation is Exocet-like.

   The moral is, keep your eye on the weather reports before you go. Get accurate forecasts, and understand how they will affect you on the ground in the Wilderness and Mountains.


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 – The Ultimate Hiking Skills Manual – Hinkes/Bagshaw

Photos: Willem Pelser
Compiled by Willem Pelser