CHAPTER 8 - From day walker to multi-day hiking - Total immersion in the wilderness

 

“I WAS AMAZED THAT WHAT I NEEDED TO SURVIVE COULD BE CARRIED ON MY BACK. AND, MOST SURPRISING OF ALL, THAT I COULD CARRY IT”.

CHERYL STRAYEDER

 

CHAPTER 8

From day walker to multi-day hiking

Total immersion in the wilderness

 

A very, very long time ago…………………

 

I was never going to be satisfied with doing day walk and trips only. I often found myself in a position where I had to turn around and go back to camp in order to make it back before nightfall. This would normally always happen when I am in an area which begs for further exploration. I also always wanted to go ever forward, round the next corner, up the next hill or cliff; see what is waiting to be discovered.

 

 

The only solution to my dilemma was to engage in multi-day hiking. Wherever you ended up at the end of the day did not matter, you simply pitch your tent and the next morning you are up and moving forward again. This really appealed to me because now I could actually live in the wilderness. It was an absolute joy to enter the wilderness on the first day and disappear out of sight deep into the wilderness with boots and backpack. My backpack would be my home, kitchen, pharmacy, clothes cupboard and equipment garage for the next 5 to 7 days!

 

 

Going deeper and deeper into the wilderness with every passing day was an ever beckoning call. All of a sudden I now had the opportunity to live like a Wild man and explore to my heart’s content.

 

 

As I was always walking alone and because multi-day hiking was going to take place in a similar fashion, it obviously meant that I had to be well prepared and self-sufficient. The only person around in the wilderness who was going to be able to assist me in the event of an emergency was me. I could also not rely on a cellphone as the areas which I hike into and explore do not have any coverage at all.

 

 

I had to make very sure that all the equipment I carry with me were reliable and would suit all of my needs on a daily basis as well as in case of an emergency.

I can still remember the very first time that I slept out in the wilderness. I was on a visit to Lotheni – yet again, middle July – and one of my plans was to hike to Ash cave and Lotheni Pass and spent the night in the Wilderness – my birthday. So on the morning of my birthday I was packed and ready to go. Swinging that backpack onto my back nearly buckled my knees. I could not believe how heavy it was, and it was packed for only 2 days with 1 overnight stay! I was absolutely huffing and puffing by the time I reached the 8 km mark. Lotheni also does not have very leg friendly terrain!

 

 

 Today, when I think back to this hike, I can only smile in remembrance. Now, I think absolutely nothing of lugging a 20 kg backpack around for up to 20 km a day, 7 days at a time, with no effort. Make no mistake, as the day carries on, so the backpack will become heavier!

 

 

It is an established fact that if you want to get fit for hiking, you have to hike. If you want to get used to carrying a heavy backpack, then go backpacking.

 

I entered the Lotheni River Valley, went up to Ash cave and later that day I came upon this magnificent yellowwood forest. By then I was dead tired and it was the ideal place to sleep over at. The biggest problem now was to find a spot level and big enough, close to water to pitch my tent on. Searching on the outskirts of the forest I found a spot where eland had been sleeping the previous night. It was well protected and a tiny little stream chattered 15 meters away. In no time at all I had camp pitched for the night. All of my equipment with me was brand new and being used and tested for the first time. Food was on an experimental basis and I have to say that half of that experiment went seriously belly up! Sleep that night came quickly and easily. Insomnia does not exist in the wilderness. The next morning I woke up in a tent iced over. Had a good cup of coffee, admired the view, packed up and off I went back to camp. It was an amazing experience. I saw so much more than on a day walk and I had hundreds of photo opportunities.

 

 

I do have to mention that all of the equipment I had with me that day, is still being used by me today. They have become trusted and cherished friends.

 

The new hiker will find that with regular hiking trips changes to the equipment and the way they get packed takes place until one day there is a settled manner in which everything happens. Equipment after a while will end up being the same stuff getting packed every time and nothing else is needed. Trial and error is the buzz word. You will learn very quickly.

 

 

It would take a while before my next overnight hiking trip. Once the second trip happened, that would be what I was all about most of the time.

 

 

There is nothing in life which I love more than being able to disappear into the wild, rugged wilderness all by myself for 5 to 7 days at a time. Why maximum 7 days? Packing for more than 7 days will not be an option as the backpack will become too heavy, and the extra weight is all related to food. You do not need extra equipment, but you will definitely need extra food. Remember that you also need to carry at least 3 days’ worth of emergency food with you. (Never eat your emergency food other than during an emergency. Doing differently might end up being a serious problem when you do end up in an emergency i.e. get snowed in). Once you are done hiking your emergency food must go home with you. Stretching a hike to 8/9 days is feasible, but anything longer is going to end in misery. Also remember that the Drakensberg is not leg friendly terrain.

 

It is a magical feeling to become part of the Drakensberg Wilderness and to be the only human around. The entire wilderness is yours.

 

 

That morning after my first night out in the wilderness I made a solemn promise to myself that I am going to do a 5 day hiking trip. It took a while but it eventually happened, and then again, and again, and again!

 

 

When I left the wilderness after my visits there, my heart and soul stayed behind. My link with the Drakensberg Wilderness was firmly established.

 

 

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 – “Drakensberg Wilderness – Solo Journey Through Paradise” – W Pelser

Photos:  ©W Pelser

Compiled by:  Willem Pelser

 

MAN AND THE CHANGING WORLD

 

“GREAT THINGS ARE EXPERIENCED WHEN MEN, MOUNTAINS AND A WILDERNESS MEET”

UNKNOWN

MAN AND THE CHANGING WORLD

Man is only one of three million species that inhabit this earth, but he already consumes more food than all land mammals put together. During the Stone Age period, the world’s human population consisted of some one million people. It took until 1850 to reach one thousand million. Only 80 years later, in 1930, the world’s human population doubled itself to two thousand million. In 1960 it was estimated at three thousand million and in 1975 it was expected to reach four thousand million, with the probability of eight thousand million by the year 2000.

   From the outset man was more intelligent than other living creatures and was therefore able to successfully adapt and overcome the difficulties confronting him. During the Ice Age, man covered himself in skins instead of migrating to warmer climes. He then discovered fire and began to build shelters. From eating berries, fruits and roots, he learned to grow crops and to rear animals for meat, milk, and skins. He started to trade, which led to road systems and eventually the building of ships which connected him with other continents.

   With each progression, man has advanced in all fields of life. Industry and scientific advancement have swept ahead without man learning to manage his world and its resources more rationally.

   Rivers and lakes have silted up through soil abuse and incorrect farming methods. Usable water is becoming scarcer each day due to silt and pollution: only 1 percent of the earth’s water supply is now of use to man.

   Atomic power can be very useful to man, but already man has polluted the earth with radio-active dust. Unwise use of poisoning insecticides resulted in poisoning plants, animals and human beings, too. Factories have spilt their effluents into rivers, lakes, and seas, until they can take no more. We burn coal, paraffin and other fuels which not only pollute the atmosphere but take a long time to replace.

   In the early days of the earth, people such as the Red Indians and the Bushmen lived in harmony with their environment; they knew that their lives depended on knowledge of sound ecological concepts. Today, we are only beginning to learn. We cannot treat our planet as if it were limitless in its supply. All sources of energy come to us from the sun via plants. The coal and fuel we burn, the petrol we use, have this energy. We are using these, our natural resources, as if they would never run out, but already we have over-used some of our sources of energy which took millions of years to form.

 BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE

   The litter problem in the world is enormous. Millions of tons of litter have to be disposed of daily. This involves a tremendous amount of money; also, a large amount of this litter is not recycled and is therefore absolute waste. Charity begins at home, so must we, in our own minds, be pollution and litter conscious. Plastics and bottles, papers and tins, are left by many careless people in our beauty spots, whether it is in mountains or in water. Apart from spoiling our beautiful heritage, these things can become a source of danger.

   So litter, water, soil, food and our needs become a personal responsibility, where, with self-discipline, we must learn not only to respect ourselves but our environment too.

   There is only one earth and it is not very large; the bio-sphere is even smaller, and what nature has created and developed over millions of years, and which allows our planet to teem with life for our wise use, is rapidly being shattered to such a degree that if we do not do something NOW, it will be too late.

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 – Walk through the Wilderness – C Walker & D Richards

Photos – Willem Pelser

Compiled by Willem Pelser

THE DRAKENSBERG ROOF OF SOUTH AFRICA & MOTHER OF RIVERS

“THE ADRENALINE AND STRESS OF AN ADVENTURE ARE BETTER THAN A THOUSAND PEACEFUL DAYS.”

Paulo Coelho

THE DRAKENSBERG

ROOF OF SOUTH AFRICA &

MOTHER OF RIVERS

This watershed has a notable atmosphere. Surrounded by clouds, often with a summer thunderstorm exploding below the level of its summit, it seems to be a small world of its own, lost in space. Jagged peaks menace it on all sides. Snow blankets it thickly in the winter, while the summer months see its bogs decorated with many flowering plants, which flourish happily in alpine conditions of incessant rain, hail, snow, and powerful winds.

  The umLambonja River draws its waters from at least 100 separate springs. The foothill country through which it flows is richly grassed, and attracted from earliest times vast herds of antelope. These antelope in turn, attracted Bushmen hunters who found this area to be something of a paradise. Not only was there plentiful food supply, but the many tributary valleys of the river were well wooded, and erosion had carved out from the sandstone below the basalt a magnificent series of caves and rock shelters. In one valley alone, that of the Ndidima River, there were 17 of these natural rock shelters. On their walls the Bushmen left nearly 4000 separate rock paintings, most of them highly colorful and many reaching a superb standard of artistry. These are probably the most beautiful prehistoric art galleries so far found in any caves. One cave alone, Sebayeni, has 1146 of these remarkable pictures.

   The area drained by the umLambonja River ends at one of the most dominant of the Drakensberg summits, the 3182 m high Cathkin Peak, and it is a overpowering presence in the range. This great mountain acts as one of the cornerstones of the Drakensberg, swinging the range around more to the south and, in the process, being well exposed itself. A difficult “E” grade, and a frustrating mountain to climb, it stands near a ridge of jagged-looking peaks, including one weird looking height known as Ntunja (the eye) with a great hole bored by nature immediately beneath its summit. It glares out over the surrounding countryside like a one-eyed giant.

   Behind Cathkin Peak stands a sinister looking peak known from its shape as the Monk’s Cowl. It towers 3234 m high and has an evil reputation amongst climbers. It rears up steep and dark against the main wall, which here reaches a height of 3377 m on the summit of what is known as Champagne Castle.

   For the next 45 km, the Drakensberg maintains a steady height of around 3150 m. There are no gaps or easy passes to the summit. The impression of a precipitous island is complete, with an undulating sea of grass-covered foothills sweeping in upon it from the east. Two rivers, with their complex of tributaries, have their sources along these slopes, the quaintly named Njesuthi (well-fed dog), and the Bushman’s River. The name of Njesuthi particularly suits this rushing torrent. Fed by numerous tributaries, it gains in size and power, bounds happily down rapids and waterfalls and eventually joins the Tugela as though off to hunt with a pack of hounds.

   The Bushman’s River has its source on top of the escarpment, immediately behind the 3314 m high mountain known as Giants Castle. There is a superstition common along the Drakensberg, with several variants. It is said that pointing at the mountain implies disrespect, and bad weather will inevitably follow. Another mountain near Cathedral Peak is taboo to women. If they point at it, they will surely marry somebody living on its slopes. The residents on the slopes are said to be unprepossessing.

   Giant’s Castle looks down on the Giant’s Castle Game Reserve, a wilderness area preserved as a home for herds of mountain eland, and other antelope. The valley of the Bushman’s River was also a home of Bushman, and their caves are preserved, having many galleries of paintings on the rock walls.

   Giant’s Castle, like Cathkin Peak, is particularly prominent, for it acts as a cornerstone, swinging the escarpment sharply south-westwards and leaving itself exposed in the process. It is a great gatherer of clouds, and many violent storms have their origins around its cliff faces.

   South of Giant’s Castle there looms another high wall of basalt. Rivers such as the Lotheni and the Mkhomazi tumble down from the summit in lovely sequences of cascades and falls. There is an atmosphere of solitude and wildness, with crisp air and crystal-clear water.

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: Southern Africa – Land of Beauty and Splendour – Readers Digest

Photos:  ©Willem Pelser

Compiled by:  Willem Pelser