My trekk up Table Mountain

Two words: Table Mountain

Yesterday was a day of excitement, spectacular views, and extreme physical strain. Today is a day of sore legs! Table Mountain is one of the most spectacular views ever. Table mountain is this amazing mountain in the middle of Cape Town with a flat top, which makes it look like a table, thus the name: Table Mountain. (google it!)

Yesterday was our turn up the mountain, and although Helena, our professor, warned us that it was not just a leisurely stroll up but an arduous walk, over half of the group decided to take the climb, including another professor who is, lets just say, mature. If you’re freaking out thinking you would never do it, it’s okay because it is possible to take a trolley both up and down the mountain instead of hiking, but only the losers do that (ha!).

Me, before I knew how hard this hike would be, a.k.a ignorant!

When started off we said, “oh this isn’t so bad,” but once we got around the bend and started ascending up the gorge we were utterly stunned. The first one of our group was Muneer, my friend from back home in Minneapolis; he was up in one hour and forty-five minutes. The last one to get up was Daryl, our friend from “the Caribbean, Antigua to be more precise,” who took 3 hours and 15 minutes. I took 2:30 hours to get up, but before you get all rowdy on my long time you have to know that I was walking with my friend Stacy most of the time. Although I would have loved to be on the “fast” team, as I told Stacy, “my loyalty is more important than my ego.” Too bad I ditched her after 2 hours and practically ran up the last quarter of the mountain. I guess my patients are much thinner than my loyalty, ha!

A view from one of my many places of solace on the hike up

But you guys wouldn’t believe this climb. Damn! The mountain is 1,3500 (around) meters, that’s 3,000 feet. I climbed that! eek. First, it starts off as foot hills then a long horizontal stretch, and then: Oh. My. God! Once you leave the horizontal stretch that follows the foot hills you begin to ascend the gorge. You have to hike along a narrow, sometimes disappearing trail that is only inches (inches!) from hundred meter vertical drops and traverse huge(!) vertical ascensions in freezing temperature, all the while being keenly aware of (potentially) poisonous snakes waiting to attack any meandering tourist. To make it worse, it was slippery. It has been raining a lot in Cape Town, so there were plenty of little waterfalls and makeshift creeks which made it all the more beautiful, but also dangerous; one false move and its TKO!

Once I got to the top, I was so ecstatic, not only because the damn hike was over, but also at the fact that I had done it! I was now at the top of Table Mountain, something I had wanted to do since we got off the plane. At the top you see this flat grassy and shrubby area with cliffs on all sides. You can see clouds coming at you from behind and rolling over neighboring mountains like an eerie mist. Looking at the horizon the sky and the sea become one. All you can see is a large gradient of blue turning from a sky blue to a dark marine blue, making it impossible to distinguish where the ocean meets the sky. It is stunning! Pictures:

Me, basking in my own awesomeness for finishing the climb

.. oh yeah, the view was cool too!

View from the top of Table Mountain

My friend Nate snapping a shot

There were views all the way up and down the mountain. Everywhere you stopped for a rest you stumbled upon a breathtaking expanse of natural beauty; it really was incredible. Enjoy the pictures, and remember if you find yourself in South Africa, you MUST climb Table Mountain, because as much as I enjoyed the trolley down the mountain it in no way compared to the trekk up!

(p.s. trek has an extra k on purpose. Ask me later, it is a long story)