One of my favorite activities is hiking Table Mountain, the defining geographical feature of Cape Town. Living in Stellenbosch affords the opportuinty to do so, being only 45 minutes away. A good walk takes all day, and the weather needs to be right: warm and clear with little wind. Capetonians would call it “fine.” If one actually works for a living, a gorgeous weekend day is required, a winter rarity. But today was just such a day. Predicted highs were 27 °C (80 °F), with winds 1-2 m/s and no clouds. Yes!
My favorite route is called Smuts Track, which ascends through Skeleton Gorge, one of many river-bearing ravines on the back side of the mountain. The trail head is within Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, and after paying our entrance fee we began the climb.
There are five distinct sections of this hike. The first is a climb through the forest that hugs the low slopes of the eastern side of the mountain. Fortunately, Table Mountain National Park does a spectacular job of maintaining the many, many log steps cut into the side of the gorge. They wind past waterfalls and gnarled stumps. The steps are brutal on the quads, and we took several breaks.
The second section of Smuts Track involves five ladders of varying length. These ladders are expertly placed, solidly attached, and well maintained, making the ascent here almost a pleasure. At least it is a welcome change from the first section in which you are always climbing stairs but never reaching a second floor!
The third portion is an unassisted scramble over large boulders in the river. Recent rains filled the river as full as I have seen it, making for slippery footing. We were careful and emerged out of the gorge where spectacular views of False Bay and the Cape Flats can be had. At the top, we took a short detour over a dune to a the Haley-Hutchinson reservoir that supplies fresh water to Cape Town.
Next is an exposed ascent up the back table toward Maclear’s Beacon. Signs clearly mark the way, and a few wild flowers are blooming at this time of year. The novelty was gone, and frequent breaks were needed. But 360° views of the Cape Peninsula and, indeed, the whole of the Western Cape are available on a day as clear as today.
We soldiered toward Castle Rock, my favorite place for lunch, for its shade and for its quiet. We were observed by a crow who craved our scraps. It considered becoming aggressive but waited until we departed before rummaging at our picnic site. The food rejuvenated the less-than-twenty members of our party, and we carried on past Castle Rock for one additional climb to Maclear’s Beacon which we reached in about fifteen minutes. A nice midwesterner from Cincinnati, Ohio took a family photo.
Maclear’s Beacon is both the highest elevation on Table Mountain and the demarcation between the fourth and last portions of the hike. From the pinnacle, we followed the yellow footprints across rock and footbridges for more than a mile on the flat top of the mountain to the upper cableway station. From the station, Mark looked down into Camps Bay.
We took a cable car down the front of the mountain where the stunning, sheer rock wall of Table Mountain is so close you feel as though you could touch it. When safely to the bottom, I hailed my first Uber whose quiet driver (an immigrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo) took us back to Kirstenbosch where we jumped in our car and drove to Stellenbosch. We left home at 8 AM and returned at 4 PM, just about as I expected.
Both kids were stretched a bit by the hike: Mark by the physical demands and Catherine by the length. Aside from sibling squabbles, they both did well. Mark and Tracy said they could do the hike again in six months. Catherine and I would do it again tomorrow. Regardless, it was a great family outing.
—Matt
