When the hike to end all hikes ended last week and we realised that we had missed Judas’ Peak… The dismay was more than a little overwhelming. Judas betrayed us… and our Thirteen Peak Adventure seemed unattainable. Honestly, when we did the long hike from Kloof Corner to Suikerbossie and we knew we were tired at Kasteelspoort… we should have come down and called it a day. Because…
I love Kasteelspoort…
Kasteelspoort is my favourite way to get up Table Mountain. The views are incredible and if you get up nice and early then you can do the entire climb in the shade…
The trip up is short and sharp and beautiful… and before you know it you are done.
There is a little bit of clambering… it is extremely manageable and so much easier than the giant steps to get up the much more popular Platteklip.
The point was for us to get to the top of the mountain as early as possible and tag Judas Peak on the way down at Suikerbossie.
I wasn’t the only one loving it!!!
Breakfast at Tranquility Cracks…
Having hiked on Table Mountain my entire life, I have never ever explored this back corner and above the Twelve Apostles before.
Because we had done most of the hard work the week, not to mention started this hike long before dawn before, we could take it a little easier. Instead of breakfast on a mountain top… we had breakfast at the Tranquility Cracks.
Oh what magic is this… exploring in the Wolfberg Cracks in the Cederberg and had no idea there was such magic right here in our hood.
I was beyond excited to discover it. Google where to find them, off the path that takes you from Kasteelspoort to Llundudno Ravine… if you get to Grootkop then you have gone too far.
We will definitely be back there…
The Twelve Apostles
So breakfast and exploring and then out across the “rolling hills” that are getting up and over the tops of the Twelve Apostles. “Rolling Hills” is really a euphamism for trail runners who run up and down mountains every day of their lives.
But we did and fresh legs and and a morning wander across the mountains was a lot more fun than our previous experience the week, as we tried to dash to the finish in the dark.
Views for ever…
And a few Thirteen Peak runners ahead of us…
Yeah, not what I would call rolling hills… but what was a road block the week before was done and dusted.
We were happy to stop for a snack at the bottom of Grootkop and smile and wave as we went by… because it was done and dusted beforehand…
Oh my goodness how beautiful is this corner of the Table Mountain Mountain Range… and why have I not explored it more before.
How beautiful is this…
Judas Peak, the Traitor
And on we went to the little hill that is Judas Peak… really?!? Once you are on the top of Table Mountain, Judas Peak is surely the easiest peak to get too. Honestly, it is a little 100m side-step off the main path… and no wonder we missed it the first time.
And then, with Thirteen Peaks there is always a twist in the tail… ummmm. Overhang, to get to the top…
Always look on the bright side… at least it was shady!!!
This was more than a clamber… but I did it!!!
Sigh… getting up on to the peak to tag is was one of those: “I can’t possibly do this moments.” “What am I doing here moments?” And with the help of my teens, “Oh I have done it!!!”
And since then, whatever Thirteen Peaks has thrown at me, I have been fine… I know I can do seemingly impossible things, I know there are difficulties along the way and I just face them as they arise. I really just stopped worrying about “could I or couldn’t I” do this challenge… and learned then and there… deal with the challenges when you get to them and plod along between them.
Views for miles… especially next week’s peak…
And then down again…
Llundudno Ravine Again…
From Judas Peak we popped down Llundudno Ravine again… from never ever having done this route before… to the second time in a week. It was a whole lot easier in the daylight. In fact, I honestly cannot believe we did it in the pitch dark the week before. The Hike to end all Hikes will definitely be going down in family lore as one of our adventures of all time.
There is only one way to go… and that’s down… Down or all the way back to the start, at this stage in the day, down is good!!!
Just want to say… it didn’t look nearly so impressive when I did it… but down I went. And I am so much braver for it!!!
Down and down…
And back to reality…
Boom done, in the pouring rain… and you see that smile.
After this hike I knew that I would finish this challenge and that I wanted to do it all over again… now that we were learning from our mistakes and getting things right.
And of course we were powered by the best Balega socks…
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