How to get there:
This peak is located quite close to Cape Town, about 1.5 hours drive.
Route description:
From the trailhead, cross the (locked) gate, continue up the rough road a short
distance to the hut owned by the Mountaineering Club of South Africa (MCSA).
Leave the hut, going right and pass right next to a circular pool, then head directly
into dense bush. You should see the trail by looking at the ground. This trail should
be cleared out by using a machete, it is totally overgrown. Follow this trail until
you get to a creek running on your right hand side. Cross it, here the bush is worse
than ever, 5-star bushwack. Locate the trail on the opposite side, it ascends directly
up the hill. After a bit more you will reach a paved road.
Turn left (uphill) and follow this road to a large gate. This gate opens at 0730. If you
arrive earlier, turn right well before the gate, it is equipped with a camera. Bushwack uphill and
towards the gate. The fence extends about 100 meter uphill. Turn the fence and return to the road on the
upper side of the (closed) gate. It might be advisable to just start your hike around 0700 and avoid
the hassle with this gate.
Continue up the road until you reach a local hilltop with a dirt road forking left. Take this, then take the
first big trail that forks left from this road. You will now see an area cleared for bigger vegetation (sort
of a fire gate?) that extends ahead and uphill towards the base of the peak ahead. Follow this (smaller trails)
until you are fairly high and it is easy to go more left, you will then intersect a very visible trail that
ascends the broad ridge directly towards the base of the vertical cliff above.
Follow this trail to the cliff then contour right around and ascend to the locaal col between this stand alone
tower rock and the higher mountain behind. This col has location
S33.74742, E019.15336, elevation near 1200 meter.
From here, follow cairns and the visible path zig-zaging uphill. There are a few easy scramble sections. Anything
hard may be avoided by looking for an easier passage left or right. This steeper section ends with a short
(YDS class 3) scramble up a V-shaped passage,
climbing left at the top is the easiest. This is the crux of
the entire route.
Follow the path, marked with cairns, up the ridge, the route crosses over a local top, the descends and starts
traversing on the (climbers) left side. This traverse stays pretty high (below steeper terrain) most of the way.
You will next get into a pretty significant uphill, full of vegetation. The trail zig-zags uphhill while
tending left. At the very top, proceed directly up some minor cliffs,
easy (YDS) class 3, to gain the ridge.
From here, the route is generally easy to follow as it continues along the most natural line to gain a small
col, where you see a higher peak behind. Acsend towards this peak, then contour left, following a ledge that
will get you to the proper peak, hidden behind the first (false) summit that was visible first. A short,
final walk and an easy scramble up a narrow passage leads to the summit plateau.
Several antennas, solar panels a couple of small (white) huts
as well as similar garbage clutters this fine summit - too bad.
There is a nicely built summit cairn. Comments:
We stayed in the very nice and quite inexpensive Du Kloof Lodge. Hendrik (a member of the MCSA), came as agreed
at 0500. He gave us a ride to the trailhead as well as the key to the gate.
We had tried to secure the required hiking permits, but without success. The bank returned my payment.
Hendrik had then tried to get the permits, but he also failed.
He also showed us the way to the
MCSA hut. We said goodbye and started to bushwack the really badly overgrown trail.
The time was around 0530.
We connected to the paved road and arrived at the gate shortly after 0600. We had been told that the gate
opened at 0600, however, a big sign on the gate itself announced 0730.
We had little choice, but to bushwack along the fence. Fortunately, the fence ended after about 100 meter. From there
we could traverse back down on the road.
We continued until right below the very big rock pillar, then a short break and a first
cache of some water.
