Holiday Hike up the Mountain - Adventure in the clouds
On Friday the 14th of April, twelve 1st Muizenberg Sea Scouts put their sea legs to land and hiked up to the Scout Mountain Club Hut. We set off early from the parking lot at Constantia Nek.
We enjoyed a cool day on our way up the Jeep Track. Many scouts were hiking for the first time so this experience, although tough, was the substance that memories of a lifetime are made of.
The temperature went from cool to chilly at the top, but being Scouts, we were well prepared and in no way deterred by a bit of wind and cloud. The top of the Jeep Track is planted with black berries along the way, these offer juicy treats for scouts eager to forage and live off the land.
We made it to the hut in good time, had lunch and a brief rest then set out for Tranquility Cracks.
Tranquility Cracks is a well kept secret at the Top of the Mountain, so SHHH! A naturally occurring maze of rock formations that offer panoramic views from Camps Bay to Strand Beach.
Later on in the afternoon, as the cloud came over the mountain we headed back to the hut, stopping to enjoy the scenery along the way.
During the evening before supper, the Scouts had the run of the land and area around the hut. They made caves and hide outs, climbing and playing around as carefree as can be.
Supper was a humble dinner of noodles and tuna with hot chocolate and cookies as a treat before bed time.
We wound down in the candlelight and enjoyed a heart to heart about the privilege of enjoying the Mountain and the respect and care that needs to be remembered as Table Mountain is a vast and beautiful landscape, not to be underestimated nor taken for granted.
The wind and cold weather rapped hard at the door all night long, come morning, some seriously chilly Scouters looked dubiously out the windows, wondering how this day would pan out.
But the Scouts, ever cheerful and eager to explore, could not be held back behind closed doors, so they set out in the chilly morning to resume the business of making caves and hideouts, while I stayed in the hut to get the water going for tea.
After breakfast and a clean out, we set off to follow a stream up to a waterfall and explore the area above the dams. By this time the sun had come to our defence against the wind, which was still quite breezy.
The most amazing experience for me was hiking to the waterfall, because the peaks that one passes through to get there offer an effective windbreak from the South Easter, and we were soon taking off jackets and hoodies and enjoying the inviting warmth of the sun.
Frogs, sunbirds, grasshoppers, butterflies and lizards are some of the animals we saw along the way. We made a pact to come back again soon to visit to the Mountain which puts ‘Mother’ in the Mother City.
Our trip down was again via the Jeep Track, and we had nothing serious to report. Some very tired scouts were collected by their parents at the parking from whence we set off for an adventure in the clouds.
Thank you Scouts for an amazing hike, I am looking forward to many many many more.
