Cathedral Hiking Adventure

After a long absence I am blogging again. This last weekend Elaine and myself went to Cathedral Peak for a hike, still looking for photos to put in the Spirit of the Drakensberg book. We have climbed Cathedral Peak before but this hike was a photographic hike and an escape into the wilderness for a much needed refueling. The day began at Didima Resort where we signed in the Mountain Register and began walking from the Cathedral Peak Hotel Golf Course. We had walk over the bridge here because the river had too much water in it to cross over higher at the normal crossing place which is situated higher up the river.

It was a very hot day and we suffered in the humid heat which was very draining on the body. Walking up to our overnight tent spot was uphill the whole way along a long ridge that drops steeply on both sides. By lunch time clouds had accumulated on the mountains which made for a cooler walk and Cathedral Peak was hidden in the clouds. The ground was very wet from rain the night before and one had to be careful of slipping especially on the steeper slopes. Our plan was to tent at the base of Cathedral which is the start of the Bell Traverse.

We found a nice flat tenting spot on a high point but after we saw where lightning had recently ripped the ground up we then walked to a safer place into a valley and eventually found the only place for a tent. Not the perfect spot as we later discovered with sore backs the next morning! It does not look like it in the photo but the ground was rocky, uneven and full of lumps.

This hike was a good introduction into 2018 as we have many places to hike this year. The highlight of  this adventure were all the wild flowers growing abundantly because of the good rains. Please click on this link to see the rest of our photos.............     http://richardhuntphotographer.blogspot.co.za/p/ca.html