I had a week at home during the last week of December 2020 before starting a new job, and thought that spending New Year in the Berg would be a great idea. As the time grew closer, the weather forecast was not looking good, but I think we were all pretty keen to escape into the mountains so we went ahead anyway. The plan was to leave from Highmoor and hike up to the contour path below the Gable of The Giant and tent. I have been curious to try out the smugglers route that leads up from here over the Gable and into Elandshoek Pass on the other side, so this was a good opportunity.
It was warm and sunny as we set off but the clouds soon started building up and it was clear that rain/storm was on its way by early afternoon. Shortly after our lunchstop black clouds moved in accompanied by a lot of lightning and thunder. As we were about to ascend out the valley and on to a ridge we felt it wise to sit out the storm close to the river lower down. So we hunkered down and once the rain started, pulled out our groundsheets and sheltered under that until the storm moved further south.
Jean discovered that her boot heel was starting to come off so we stopped for some repair work. I carry Leukotape, and this came to the rescue to bind up her boots and enabled her to complete the hike.
We reached our camp site around 2.30pm and no sooner had we put up our tents than the storm returned. And this time it was very violent - we cowered in our tents whilst the worst lightning I have experienced in the Berg crashed around us accompanied by torrential rain and wind. It seemed like we were directly in the eye of the storm and this continued for some time before eventually subsiding. It rained again through most of the night and we awoke to thick mist. We packed up soggy tents and as we made our way on to the smugglers path, the sun made a watery appearance. After negotiating a bit of a scramble just before the top of the saddle we were soon on the path that runs below the Gable on the Lotheni side. This is undulating as you make your way through gullies and side streams before you reach the base of the pass. Here we stopped for a breather before commencing the climb, sustained and steep in places but with a path most of the way. Another tricky scramble towards the top, and then we were there. From the bottom this pass looks impenetrable as there is a rock band at the top, but at the very last you negotiate a rock slab to the left and then you are on top.
We enjoyed lunch looking over the escarpment behind the Giant with The Tent and Hawk visible before making the climb up behind the Giant. Our plan was to check out the tenting spot just below the summit, and also as a backup, the caves at the top of Giants Pass for shelter, but as Jean was not feeling well we decided to find a spot nearby and relax for the remainder of the afternoon. Greg and Farouk went for a walk further up whilst Thora and I stayed with Jean. They reported thick mist at the top so visibility would have been zero anyway. We had a bit of rain during the night and lightning, but it was far away so we had a more peaceful night.
Temperatures dropped during the night and it was 6 degrees when we packed up. As it was still very misty and a lot of rain forecast for the remainder of the day we decided to return down Elandshoek Pass. It was very misty the entire way with soft drizzle that turned into a steady rain the further we descended. By the time we reached our campsite of the first night, we were all drenched and even our rain gear had given up the fight. It was not much fun putting up already wet tents in pouring rain, but soon we were settled, into relatively dry clothes and firing up the gas stoves for a much needed hot drink.
We walked out on our final day in thick mist but made good time, arriving at the Highmoor offices around 11.30am.
Not ideal conditions, but we somehow managed to enjoy ourselves nonetheless!
( thanks to Farouk for the use of some of his images - I wasn't taking chances with my camera in the wet!)
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