http://richardhuntphotographer.blogspot.co.za/p/upper-injashuti.html
This is Elaines write up:
We spent 5 days in the Berg over the long weekend in
September hiking up to the escarpment in the Upper Injasuti cave area. We
left from Giants Castle and our aim for the first day was to tent near the
bottom of Judges Pass. The weather did not play along and we spent the morning
trudging along in thick mist which changed to a steady drizzle by the time we
reached Bannermans Hut for lunch. We were glad to have a little shelter
for a while and met some fellow hikers who had attempted to climb Bannermans Pass
earlier and bailed, returning to the hut as conditions were so miserable.
We headed out in to the gloom and cold again and fortunately found a path
for most of the way.I had heard that it was practically non existent but it was
not too bad at all. It was growing colder and wetter and I for one was
very pleased to reach our tent site and put up our tents, and then try and get
warm. It seemed that everything was wet and damp despite rain gear and
backpack covers - that persistent drizzle gets in to everything! Poor Farouk
spent a very uncomfortable and cold night with a leak in his tent and
wisely decided to return to camp the following morning. It turned out to
be a good decision given the extreme weather conditions we were to endure
later………..
We got off to a very misty but thankfully rainless
start, and as we headed upwards, I could not help remembering our epic snow
hike up Judges Pass of some years back. Darrell and Gert-Jan, I know you have
fond memories of that one! Although visibility was poor, we could hear
the voices of another group that were slightly ahead of us - they had come up
from the Injasuti side. They were headed for the top and intended to camp at
the top of Leslies pass that night - a long way, but they were young and strong
- say no more…... We were nearing the top of the pass when the clouds started
to part and we could see blue sky - great excitement! A strong wind was
blowing on the escarpment and we had lunch behind the shelter of a rocky ridge
before heading for the long, sustained climb that is the back of the Trojan
Wall. Our intention was to try and find John Hones campsite - this is on
the cover of his well known book ‘Encounters with Dragons’. We found the
spot and set up our tents and enjoyed the magnificent view.
I have been to this area several times and never
get tired of the amazing scenery. The following day was to be spent relaxing
and taking in the sights - Richards son, Jeremy was along on the hike with us
and keen to experience the sights and sounds of the mountains. He had last
hiked with his Dad when he was 12 or so. It was still quite early when we
noticed the growing darkness of the skies to the north of us - something was
brewing and it was coming fast! Within minutes the winds hit us, accompanied
by driving rain and we all got into our tents rather hurriedly. What
happened in the next half an hour was astonishing - I have never experienced
such a storm and there were many anxious moments when I imagined our tents and
us being sent over the escarpment. We were all holding on to our tent
poles for dear life and hoping for the best. After what seemed an age the
gale force winds abated and the worst of the storm was over us and heading into
KZN. Luckily all of the tents held up but it was quite sobering to think
of what could have happened. After this bit of excitement, we thought it
would be a good idea to spend that night in Upper Injasuti Cave as the forecast
was for more bad weather and the possibility of snow. So we packed up and
collected water and went up to the cave where we settled in. I am glad to
report that the cave is clean and habitable again - the last time I was here
the locals had been burning fires and it was pretty dirty. Mind you, we
did discover some rubbish that some hikers had left behind in a heap - sad but
true. Hylton carried this out with him when we left. Thora and I went for a
walk down to the river and to the waterfall that plunges over the edge in front
of the Eastern Triplet, whilst Jeremy and Hylton set off for Mafadi and Red
Wall Peak. The wind was still gusting quite strongly and dark clouds kept
scudding across the sky so we kept an eye on the weather. I am always
surprised as to how deceptive the distance looks down to the edge of the
escarpment from the cave - a lot further and steeper than it looks. We
decided to make our way back to the cave when a few drops of rain started
falling and the skies grew darker. Fortunately the guys got back just as the
rain started again and for the remainder of the afternoon, we chilled in the
cave. Chilled is the operative word as it was pretty cold and it did not
take me long to get right in to my sleeping bag. As we settled in for an early
night, the wind became more fierce and continued to grow in strength.
After supper I awoke a few hours later ( only 9.00pm!) to find myself and
sleeping bag covered in dust and sand from the wind that came sweeping in.
It was raining hard and it sounded like we were in the middle of a
hurricane - the gusting winds were horrific accompanied by thunder and
lightning. When we shone our torches into the black gloom, we could see
that the rain was being swept sideways. We also saw snow showers coming
over the front of the cave, but these came and went due to the ferocity of that
wind. Any toilet breaks were completed in record time! All I could think
was that I was so glad we had elected to stay in the cave - had we been out
there in the elements I have no doubt that our tents would have been shredded.
But……the excitement was not over for the night. I had no sooner
settled back into my bag when I detected the sound of scrabbling nails on our
ground sheet above the noise of the storm. Up I shot and shone my head torch to
reveal a rather large rat sitting as calm as you please on my pillow - not even
a cute little mouse but a huge rodent! Richard chased him out the cave
but as you can imagine there was not much rest for me for the remainder of the
night - I was sure he ( or she) would be back! After a long night while
the wind and rain continued to rage, dawn broke to bruised skies. After taking
some photos and then breakfast, we packed up and headed back down the
Trojan Wall - there were snow drifts here and there and ice was thick against
the rocks. Mafadi was covered in some snow and the mountains further back
in Lesotho were white. The sun was out and the wind a lot less fierce so
it looked like the day was improving. We were headed in the direction of
Bannermans Pass, so went past Judges and then through the saddle of Popple Peak
before hiking down towards the Bannermans Valley campsite. There was very
little water in the river, the driest I have seen it in some years. We
set up camp in the usual GT campsite and walked downstream to find water.
We spent a leisurely afternoon and enjoyed the sight of the mass of
clouds that were pushing up against the escarpment before another early night
in the mountains. That night however was pretty freezing - we think it
must have gone down to minus 8 or 9 degrees - the water was frozen in the morning.
The wind continued to blow but as we descended Bannermans it got warmer
and more sheltered and it was not long before we were hauling off all our
layers of gear. It was a beautiful day and we completed the remainder of our
hike down the ridge in glorious sunshine enjoying the views we had been denied
on our first day.
All in all a great hike with wonderful friends
and family, a lot of weather, and yet another one for the memory books!
Elaine
Elaine
