Hiking the Relentless Table Mountain

So on what was officially Day 2, we hiked Table Mountain.  The plan was to hike to the top and take the gondola down.   The Traveling Hillbilly spent the summer hiking in New Mexico and Colorado, so a hike that promised amazing views of Cape Town seemed like a must do.    Well let me say, this hike is not for the faint of heart!   It was a consistent incline up rocky steep terrain.  There were NO flat parts. There was no trail.  It was nothing but climbing up rocks, with no railing to hold onto to pull yourself up.  More than once I had to get on all fours to “scale” some of the steep rocks.  One wrong slip and you could easily break an arm or leg, crack your skull or fall over the edge.  I slipped more than once so had to look straight down the entire time to find the best footing!  Plus it was quite crowded with people going up and down, with very little room for passing.  It was truly daunting and nerve-racking.  While the hike offered amazing views, you have to stop and move aside to the edge to enjoy the views on the way up.  I was too concerned about tripping so there wasn’t much enjoying the views during the hike itself.

We were challenged and just about at our limits after going through what they call “the punisher” part of the hike.   We were feeling better knowing we had gotten through the toughest part and were getting close to the top.  But then we were told we still had another 50 minutes to go!  What how could this be?  We’d been hiking already for what seemed like forever!  Honestly the “punisher part” wasn’t the worst of it.  There were far more challenging climbs ahead.       

All in all it took us 3 hours and it was just relentless!   When we finally got to the top, we all agreed that had we been warned about how challenging the terrain and climb would be, we may not have opted to hike up.   But now that we were done, we were all glad we had conquered Table Mountain.   We all got in our steps for the day!

Table Mountain is worth your time.  For the adventurous followers, I say go for hiking it!   This would be a great challenge to cross off your list.   For the rest of you, I say take the gondola up and enjoy the amazing views while sipping a cold beer or glass of wine.  It would be a much more civilized way to enjoy Table Mountain.