Day 1: The first day (Friday) we started at about 4pm and walked through the gardens to the contour path and then to Nursery Ravine. As we climbed higher up the path we started walking into the cloud that had cover the mountain. With the slight win it was a little cold but not enough to dampen the spirits. By the time we had reached the top of the Nursery it was getting dark so the rest of the way we walked by torch light on the clear path. The scout hut was a happy sight where we could get out of the wind and into dryer clothes. The scouts made supper (Pasta and sauce) and played cards in the candle light. By about 10pm we were all exhausted from the steep climb up and retired to bed after some time spent by the fire.
Day 2: Today we planned to do a circular route from the hut to the cable station via the Valley of the Red Gods, to Maclears beacon and then back via the aqueduct. Naturally we had to make an early start and Conner decided to wake everyone at 7:30am and depart by 9am. Breakfast of Oats and coffee was a good start to the day! We packed some day packed and headed off. One of the objectives of the hike was to do some geocaches along the way. Geocaching is like treasure hunting with a GPS. The cloud was again on the mountain today and the wind was also up so the places we visited lacked the spectacular views. So we headed off to the Old cable station and then through the Rendez-vous cave which is a small tunnel through a rock not far from the old cable station. From hear we proceeded through the valley of the Red Gods and the Valley of Isolation and into Echoes valley. Obviously as soon as the young scouts realised this was a valley where echoes could be made they didn't hold back echoing every possible noise they could think of. Once the revelry was over we continued up the ladders and steep path to the top of Platteklip gourge and then to the cable station for lunch.
We spent a good deal of time at the cable station, enjoying a lunch of crackers and various spreads. The weather at the cable station was clear but the wind was still a factor so we could at least see the beautiful Cape Town. After lunch we proceeded to the cloudy Maclears beacon which is the highest point on the mountain.
From there we went down to Carrel's ledge to find a goecache. This turned out to be quite an adventure. After finding the cache we proceeded on the ledge on a path that was on the edge of a sheer drop. Very exciting but we were glad to get back to the main path. We continued on the Smuts track, eager to get back to the hut out of the wind. The plan was to follow the aqueduct back to the hut but I couldn't find the start of the track so we ended up walking to the top of Skeleton gorge and then past the Helly-Hutcheson dam back to the hut.Glad to be back at the hut we made a fire and the scouts cooked supper. After supper we played poker and had caramel pudding.
Day 3: The day was clear! We walked down woody ravine which was rather steep down to he pipe track where we had lunch. The last stretch to the finish was hot and a nice change from the cloudy times spent on the mountain.
All in all the weekend was a great (possibly tiring) way to spend the last days of the holiday. Many laughs and memories will be made and it's always a pleasure staying at the scout hut.
Yours in scouting
Alex
