Table Mountain sleep over

The mission: Run Constantia Village to the Nek, up the Hoerikwaggo Trail singletrack to the Mountain Club of SA overnight hut.

The 2nd last day of 2011 brought with it some scorching afternoon sunshine with a dose of sterk south westerly winds. Off I went, up the hill's of Constantia along Southern Cross Drive and into the lower Cecilia forest contour path. A left turn heading south allowed a gentle contour until reaching the Constantia Nek fork. From here on the path provided some up up and some more up. Having a pack in tow sure does make the legs burn and no amount of heavy breathing allows enough O2 to reach the now tired thighs and calves. Shoudl've left the 6 pack and meat at home (I'd be grateful later) cause damn it sure was heavy.

After 25 mins the top was in sight and the luxury stone cottages came into view. A much needed bottle refill at the water spout provided a moments rest before setting off once again along the single track contour. This route winds along the mountain ridge above Rhodes Drive and Kirstenbosch and provides spectacular views of the southern suburbs and the winelands. Passing Nursery Ravine a sho't left was taken bringing me along a much more overgrown foot path heading in the direction of Kasteelpoort and closer to the overnight hut. Although mid summer this area was unseasonally wet and marshy making the running through the compressed reeds and mud difficult. Up and over the final ridge I emerged and the view in front of me from this vantage was truly awesome. Henly Hutchinson dam straight ahead, Hout Bay and Orange Kloof to the left, Cape Town nature at its best!

Upon entering the mountain hut I was greeted by the trail expert Charl as well as the friendly folk who were also staying in the hut. They had all been there for the past 3 nights, braving the wind and cloudy weather. After a sunset braai on the front porch and a douse of 'spook-n-diesel' Charl and I grabbed the head torches and set out for a night hike. Charl chose the route. It looked like an 'easy' one according to the map. A cool hour and a half or so...... NOT.

We shortly found ourselves clinging to the rock face high up on one of the 12 Apostles. The glistening lights of Camps Bay flickered below. A descent or two and a 300m vertical climb had us back on a very faint trail as we tried to make our way through the shrubbery back towards Echo Valley.

Through the Valley of Isolation we went and finally popped out above the HH dam once again. the lights of the Pumphouse were off in the distance - we were coming home. Two and a half hours later we cracked open our last two remaining beers in the warmth of the mountain hut. The others had been rather worried that we had lost our way....