TRAIL RUNNING
On the way up to Murch Point
Ice and snow on Seweweekspoort
An Icy Cold Start
Day one began in the Western Cape on Seweweekspoort . This was my toughest peak by far , both mentally and physically . As we began to climb in the wind , our team was finding a rhythm , but I was sweating myself silly trying to keep up . My base layer and T-shirt were wet within the first hour of climbing , and I realised I was wearing one too many layers . This usually wouldn ’ t be too much of a problem , but we hit ice , which turned into snow , which turned into a snow blizzard . Before I knew it , I was adding a rain jacket to keep myself ‘ dry ,’ only to find myself with a case of mild hypothermia .
Noddy thinks he merely distracted me with brandy , but I can vouch that he saved my life . As I gulped it down , I felt my insides warm up and my personality come back to life . This allowed me to move faster and warm my core temperature . I took off my layers under my rain jacket and continued to be navigated up , around , down and back up to the peak of the mountain . We were living life by a compass and not just the clock . I can certainly say that I was most relieved seeing our summit point , but nervous going down again in the ice and freezing snow .
My feet were unstable in wet , cold socks , and I felt like I was falling all over the place . I had one rather bad fall when hopping from one large rock to the next , as the snow was deceiving , and a leg went straight down , and then so did my body . I lay there , convinced that if I owned a pair of fake boobs , they would have
On top of Seweweekspoort exploded in my face . When we got to the bottom , Jack Attack and Mother Mary had prepared hot chocolate , and I told them I only drink about three cups a year … but I can tell you that I used two out of three cups in that one day !
Navigational Challenges
Murch Point was the second day ’ s peak , after a beautiful drive to the Northern Cape that Jack Attack recalls as a highlight . The vast land , rolling hills and space is like nowhere else in the world . It was a chilled run in , up and back out . I had the route set on my watch and made a point to learn some navigation skills after the gruelling route the day before . I had quickly come to terms with the fact that these mountains were to be taken seriously , because like life , you just never know what is around the next corner .
On the drive out we spotted some tortoises while enjoying Sandra ’ s amazing , amazing , amazing baked goods . Us ladies were all in our complete element , chatting away over cookies and coffee !
Next we drove to the Eastern Cape , parked at a local police station , got a couple of hours of shut-eye and then began Kwaduma before first light on the third day . We climbed through the clouds , so we couldn ’ t see where we were going , and as we got higher , the clouds were flirting with the mountain tops as the snow peered through . Then the clouds shifted , letting us get a glimpse of the snow we were about to walk through . It was snow above and crystal rocks below us , and I felt like a Winter Wonder Woman in this mystical mountain , with rocks shining , clouds moving and snow surrounding .
We summited and then began our walk home . Unfortunately , when we got to the bottom , our lift was no longer available to collect us , so we had to trek an extra 4km . Noddy did not appreciate this walk back to our camper home … it was now boiling hot , and we had been on our feet for 10 hours . Then it was back on the road for the drive to Mafadi on the KZN-Lesotho border .
Above the clouds on Kwaduma
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