Leader: Trevor Stacey
This is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful routes up the mountain and for the time being at least, is devoid of people. We had an interesting diverse group of participants on the hike which included a violist and a visitor from Switzerland. The profile of the Thursday group is changing quite rapidly with a lot of new members. In fact I had never met seven of the twelve participants and I was one of the twelve.
We set off on a lovely day from the Newlands Forest car park. After negotiating the maze of paths in the forest with a few wrong turns along the way, we reached the octagonal table at the bottom of Newlands Ravine. Shortly after the beginning of the route up Dark Gorge one runs into an impenetrable tangle of uprooted trees, vines and bush. A very strong wind must have ripped through there at some point. I had done a recce the week before so was prepared for this. To avoid this a bypass up the watercourse is the most suitable option. Once past the debris one can climb up and join the path and after that it is relatively plain sailing.
For many in the group this was their first climb up the gorge and from the comments it was clear that most were blown away by the scenery. The scramble at the top was fun. The remarks from the group as they emerged from the top of the gorge reaffirmed their enjoyment of the climb. One member looked at the “Extremely Dangerous” sign and said with satisfaction that this was the first time she had seen it from the other side. One of the younger participants popped out the top, clenched her fists and shouted exuberantly, “That was awesome!”. As a leader it really is rewarding to get such positive feedback.
It was quite windy at the top so we headed for Newlands Ravine for tea. We had to climb down some way before the wind reduced. We settled on a comfortable grassy bank. I do not enjoy climbing down ravines but engaging with someone in conversation takes your mind of the tedium and makes a huge difference. In this case I must than Heleen for a very enjoyable chat and before I knew it we were at the contour path. We had another snack at the octagonal table and then made our way back to the cars. Thanks to all the participants for making it such an enjoyable outing.
