Hiking in Hogsback

Sunday, 25 April 2010

I spent the weekend hiking in Hogsback and it was just what the doctor ordered. We left in the very, very , very early hours of Saturday morning and almost died on one of the passes on the way to Hogsback, because the driver took a corner too fast and went off the road. Luckily there was a dirt ‘pavement’ at that particular place, unlike on the rest of the pass where there was just a metal barrier and very steep drops.

It was freezing when we got to Hogsback and started the Zingcuka Loop, the forest we were hiking in was very wet, slippery and the ground was steep. It became clear very quickly that the one girl was not in a fit state to be doing the hike. She failed to tell Mark, the leader or myself (co-leader) that her knee dislocates very easily and as a result she was walking really slowly, to prevent that from happening. Both mark and I knew that we would never be able to complete the 19.7km that we had to do to reach the hut, by sunset. Luckily Mark’s done that hike before and knew that we would eventually be crossing a road, which we could then take instead of the path, which would make it shorter and easier to get to the hiking hut.

We landed up doing that, and I think it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for me, because I am very unfit at the moment. It also meant that we got to the hut and had time to relax and get to know our fellow hikers before supper. There were eight of us doing the hike and five out of the eight were exchange students. Two American girls, a Dutch girl, an Australian girl and a German guy. The other two guys are South Africans whom I know from previous hikes. I got along so well with the exchange students, especially the Aussie girl. They all had a wonderful sense of humour and the jokes were flowing freely.

Apart from the good company, the hike itself was very beautiful. Even though we hiked mostly along the roads on the second day, we were still surrounded by forest and beautiful views. We also went to the stunning Madonna and Child waterfall, where we saw a really big snake. It was a bright orangey yellow colour, with black markings and looked suspiciously like a puff adder. Although I am really scared of snakes, I really like them and so I was in my element.

So all in all it was a very fulfilling and uplifting weekend and it was good for me to get back into nature, as I neglected that part of myself last term.