Gatberg - Monk's Cowl (Drakensberg) Jun 2008

Darrell and Liza arrived at my work shortly after 4pm on Friday. Gordon and Nicola were stuck in traffic and arrived some time later. We left around 16:30 and made our way through Jo'burg traffic. Just after 9pm we arrived in Bergville and slept under the tennis court veranda.

Day 1 (21 Jun): My alarm went off at 05:30 but I snoozed it 3 times before getting up just after 6am. It was chilly but not cold. We had rain during the night but the skies were clearing fast. We had breakfast, packed up and were on our way shortly after 7am, arriving at Monk’s Cowl around 08:30. We signed in, got dressed and were on our way. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the weather looked stable. We started up the path towards the Sphinx. I was walking with the new La Sportiva Thunders and took it nice and easy. We passed a group of day trippers at the Sphinx and spread out a little as each took his own pace up towards the contour path. Gordon reached Blind Man’s Corner just before me and veered off to the left to the campsite. When I reached the path I dropped my pack and went to fetch him as we were supposed to go the other direction. Just after 11am we were all at BMC and we rested a little before carrying on. My left foot started developing the same problem I had with the KSB Sherpas. It wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t walk but it certainly did not bode well. Shortly before 12am we reached a little gully with a stream where I decided to sit for lunch as I needed to take my boots off – my foot was starting to hurt quite a bit. After lunch it was better for the first few hundred meters but then it started hurting again. Despite this, I kept going well and we descended from Hlatikulu neck to the river valley. We could see a pretty clear track leading up a spur towards Gatberg and it seemed easy enough to follow. I was already harboring ideas of not going to the top but seeing the path made me re-evaluate. We reached the river valley just after 1pm and looked around a bit before finding two decent campsites. I took my boots off to rest my feet but as discussions grew about climbing Gatberg, I put my shoes back on and tried to tie the laces in a different way to see if I could ease the pain. However, walking a short distance, my foot was screaming again and I decided to give it a rest. Gordon, Darrell and Nicola were set on going so they started at 1.30pm. Liza and I pitched the tents and listened to radio communications from Darrell on their progress. I spent the afternoon reading and relaxing in the tent. Just after 4pm they returned, with Darrell and Gordon making it to the top. They indicated the path was reasonably easy to follow but the last section is a little exposed, although not as much as Cathedral peak. Soon after we started boiling water for some coffee and tea and then started eating and cooking as well. The pasta with mince and cheese came off beautifully and with the beetroot as a starter and hot chocolate as pudding, we were very content when we went to bed at 6pm. I still read well into the night. It was chilly outside but certainly not as cold as I expected it would be – I probably only switched my light off at around 9pm.

Day 2 (22 Jun): We woke just before sunrise, had breakfast and packed up. My feet were feeling OK so I made good time climbing back up to Hlatikulu neck. I went in front and walked all the way to Blind Man’s Corner without feeling much pain. Here I rested and waited for the others. A couple came walking up, on their way up Sterkhorn. Clouds were building and a very light, cold breeze was blowing – it looked like it might rain later, perhaps even snow! Down from BMC we went, and rested again at the Sphinx – this I climbed as well. Unfortunately, with the downhill, my foot started hurting. Even so, shortly after passing a huge group of youngsters on their way up, Gordon and I dropped our packs to have a look at the sunken forest. We walked for about 100m before we walked into some forest where a few really large boulders seemed to provide a different touch to the forest. We returned and caught up to the others, arriving at the car just before noon. We all had a very welcome hot shower before hopping in the car for the long drive back.