April is always the best time of year for hiking in the Berg, so we were all looking forward to our hike over the Easter weekend. The plan was to spend a night above the Injasuti Triplets, ascending Judges Pass with our final night being above Bannermans Pass before walking out. But you know what they say about the ‘best laid plans’……………..
We were joined at Giants Castle by Tony, who would be spending the first day with us - we would go up Judges Pass whilst he continued on towards Centenary Hut. We were soon making the long gradual ascent to the contour path and the day was warm. We had our lunch at Bannerman Hut and then continued on. I found I was struggling with my usual problem on the first day – lack of energy and very much out of breath. Soon I was at the back with the others having to stop frequently for me to catch up. I don’t acclimatise at all well on the first day but find I am then fine for the rest of the hike. So it was with some relief that we reached the bottom of Judges Pass and set up our tents. It was a most beautiful afternoon and we relaxed outside our tents admiring the views around us.
We had a windy night and woke up to thick mist and very little visibility. We packed up and started up the pass with rain gear as it was very wet. This continued the whole way up, with no views to be had, and it was only once we topped out that we broke out above the mist. A beautiful blue day in Lesotho and it was wonderful to see and feel the warmth of the sun again. We stopped for a while to dry out our wet gear and tents before starting the final climb up the back of the Trojan Wall. I had been looking forward to seeing my first sight of the Injasuti Triplets, freestanding massives that are directly in front of the escarpment, so we were all so disappointed when the mist started coming in again over the edge. By the time we reached Upper Injasuti Cave, it was a whiteout and there were to be no views for the remainder of the afternoon. We had intended tenting, but now there was little point. We decided to stay in the cave, but felt we should wait a while before settling in as another party may have booked it and still be on their way – we hoped not! We made a hot drink and then fetched some water and had just decided on who was sleeping where when two young guys arrived…….Oh no! They then proceeded to tell us that they were a party of 16! They all piled in, students by the looks of it. We naturally had to pack up our gear but were rather taken aback at their lack of friendliness and apparent disregard and respect for us - granted they had booked it, but there was no ‘ sorry, hope you guys will be ok’ etc as the weather was really not nice. Most of them did not even notice or acknowledge us and were all talking at the tops of their voices. How they were going to fit 16 in there I don’t know. I knew there were some flat terraces somewhere down in the mist, so we headed downwards and luckily soon found the area. We had our water so at least we did not have to still take care of that. However we endured a very noisy afternoon and evening as the students made a huge noise, never stopped yammering away and this continued well after our bedtime. It was rather annoying to come to the Berg for some peace and solitude and be subjected to this. The wind came up in the night which was good as it cleared the mist away and dried the tents, so we awoke to a beautiful sunrise over the Triplets sadly accompanied by the starting up of the ‘hadedas’ in the cave again. We were glad to see the back of them – the group went down Leslies Pass as we were packing up. It was a beautiful day, and the air felt like champagne. We headed for the saddle at Popple Peak and from there contoured around and along the escarpment edge to the top of Bannermans Pass. The masses of pink and cream Everlastings everywhere were magical and we were literally walking over carpets of flowers. There were a few herds of sheep around and as we arrived at the campsite, a shepherd arrived with his dogs and wanted to chat. It was not long before the inevitable ‘sweets’ story came up – although he seemed pleasant enough initially , we decided to head down the pass as it could have ended up differently and we didn’t feel like being harassed all afternoon . I have never enjoyed Bannermans Pass and the same was true for this time around - it seems to have grown more boulders than ever before and is very rough and tiring. A great deal of care and concentration is required negotiating the pass and the overgrown paths didn’t make it any easier. We were pleased to reach the hut about mid afternoon and whilst the others stayed in the hut, Thora and I elected to tent outside. We walked out the next morning on a lovely clear morning and were back at Giants Castle by 10.30am.
This hike brought home to me that the Berg we have hiked in and loved for many years is slowly changing – standards are dropping in the upkeep of paths andg one are the days when you could expect to see very few, if any people on the escarpment . It’s sad that we now need to be more aware of our safety. And as for the ‘hadedas’………well, this is hopefully a first and last occurrence!
