COCKSCOMB JULY 2011

AGIES AGONY

COCKSCOMB JULY 2011

Fred Kohler & Penny
Mike and Barbie Perks and Mandy.

Having just returned from Israel I was not sure if I would be able to climb the Cockscomb with Fred this weekend. I had picked up a cold while in Israel and was still not 100% cured. We arrive from Israel on Thursday 14th at 18.00. I was at work all day on Friday 16th -- trying to catch up. Barbara left for Cape Town on Friday afternoon. Ally stayed over at Lara O. Michael and family were at home.


LOOKING UPWARDS

Friday 15th.
I really did not have much time to do the phoning that I should have done to confirm; Ron and Ben had both said that they were keen to climb but I only contacted them later in the afternoon and by that time both had previous committments. I went home and after talking to Ally and to Michael I decided that I would continue with my plans for the climb. Our hiking kit had been put away and I did not have time to look for all our stuff so I used the first bag that I could find which was Barbara's bag. I could not find the gas cooker nor the Dixies. But I had a sleeping bag, Pillow and my hiking boots and could put together the rest of the stuff.


MANDY ON AGIES AGONY

I dropped Ally off and stopped at the Spar for provisions. Not sure what to take: I am not used to catering for just myself. Met up with Nicky Roote who gave me some advice: take a bit of everything and leave at home what you dont want.


PENNY AND BARBIE FIGHT THEIR WAY UP

I made ready at home; I was sure that I was overcatering for just one person but it still seemed so little stuff. My bag was so light. I packed in additional charcoal. There is no firewood and you have to take your own charcoal. I slept well and was up early to get ready. Michael had a bit of bad luck; I had put some fencing to stop the ducks from sleeping on the stoep. They make a huge mess if they are on the back stoep. He went out in the night to see what was going on when some police came to our neighbours and tripped on the fence and took a nasty fall.


YELLOW FLOWERS MAKE JULY LOOK LIKE SPRING TIME AFTER THE RAINS

I did the final packing and left for Fred at 7am. It was Penny's very first hike ever. we loaded their stuff into my car. Mike, Barbie and Mandy went in his car. Having experienced a flat tyre the last time that we went i decided to drive reasonably slowly. I think that the group may have been a little frustrated. We left from Fred's home at 7.30am and arrived at Hannes Rudman's farm at 9.30. Parked the cars. Paid the R20 each and set off on our hike.


MAUVE FLOWERS -- IT WAS VERY COLOURFUL AND MORE GRASS THAN PREVIOUS HIKE

While we were in Israel there had been really very heavy rains. This after a two year drought. The rains must have come down the valley as we found a marked difference in the trail. The rains had brought debris down and had moved the pathways. The first section of the trail takes the climber through the valley along the stream. We pass the overnight huts, the windmill and then cross the stream twice before coming to the pipes lying on the side. From here it is a short walk to the Big Rock.


LOOKS EASY FROM HERE

Here walk straight up what is known as Aggies Agony. This first section of the hike is tough. Fortunately for us we walked most of it in shade. Mike and Fred went on ahead, got to the top and then came back to help. As I came to the first (False) top I saw a buck run across the track. I climbed on upwards to where the chaps had left their packs. This was our first of many stops. It took all of us 90 minutes to reach this point. We all took a bit of a breather of around 30 minutes each time we stopped.


LOOTS CAVE - TABLE -- A HAVEN AFTER A LONG CLIMB

From here the trail is not as tough; we walked another hour and regrouped again. At this stage we had seen a number of hikers behind us. It turned out that the Voetsek Hiking Club were also climbing and would be sleeping at the mountain club cave. As they caught up with us I recognised Tom Proudlock, Trevor Lloyd and Ruth. Trevor and Ruth had been with us on the Whale Trail with the late Bill Corkhill many years ago. I used to Walk/run with Tom at 6th avenue. Tony was the leader of this group.


ON THE WAY DOWN

The third section was also a toughie with a number of climbs. We again stopped for something to eat and a bit of a recovery. Then pressed on for the final ascent. From below it does not look as tough as it turned out to be. I had forgotten how difficult and tiring the rock climbing up to the fence would be. It is a long trek and requires a lot of stamina and strength. Mike passed me on the way up. He would leave his pack at the gate / fence and go back to give a hand to Barbie.


LOOKING DOWN TO AGIES AGONY

I followed him up and was exhausted when we reached the gate. I offered to guard the packs while he went back to give assistance. But shortly after he left Tony and the front runners of his group came up. I followed them around the rocks to the cave. I am not sure that I would have found the trail if it had not been for them. I off loaded my pack and went back to see if I could be of help. Fred had doubled up as he climbed the rocks and I think that he was glad that I was able to help over the final section. I also gave a hand to Barbie as we rounded the rocky part of the climb.

Finally it was 3pm and we were all settled in our cave. It had taken us around five and a half hours of steady walking; we were tired but had made it. I felt really sorry for the Voetsek Group as they still had at least an hour of hiking.

Mike, Fred and I had brought up three matresses donated by Anthony (who was overseas at the time -- Fred told me he was surfing at some remote Island). These matresses would stay up here for future hikers. We made ourselves comfortable and then the shower brigade started. The shower is just below the cave and is located under a rock and overlooking the valley and mountains on the other side. The icy cold water is so refreshing. A bar of soap and a good clean makes you feel fantastic after a hard climb like this afternoon.


STREAM AT THE BOTTOM

I had not brought a book or any other reading matter. Everyone else was either reading or doing crosswords. Mike said that I looked quite lost. It was too early for the fire so I ended up having an afternoon nap. Later I started the fire, took out my lonesome beer and we sat at Anthony's table for evening snacks provided by Barbie. I am not sure why, but I had even forgotten to bring any pre-dinner snacks.

BAT
Can you believe that we saw a bat in the cave? I dont remember any other time where a bat had been mentioned. We saw no droppings or any sign of this being a bat cave.

As the sun set it became chilly. I was glad that I had brought an extra tracksuite top. The coals were soon ready and we braaied our supper. Barbie had precooked porkers and had this with some Kus Kus. Fred had his porkers with pre cooked rice mix which I know is a really tasty meal. I had some wors with veg and braai rolls. We sat at the candle lit table for supper.

As soon as supper was over I climbed into my sleeping back, put on my Eye Pads and fell asleep. The matresses were worth the effort. You never sleep through the night when camping but overall I had a good sleep. The cave is so cosy and the moon on the rock face across the valley made a perfect setting.

Sunday 17th morning.
I decided to stay in the sleeping bag later than I would normally. I did not have a cooker to make myself coffee and waited for Fred to heat up some water. So there was really nothing for me to do when I was up. So this morning I had a late lie in.

A little later when everyone was up; Fred boiled some water and I had coffee, rusks and oats for breakfast. I was stiff and a little sore but not too bad. Mike and Fred had decided to climb the adjacent mountain. Mandy had made the comment: I can climb the mountain or climb back down to the cars but not both. I agreed with this statement and stayed to "guard the packs".


ROCKY CLIMBS

Mike and Fred left and shortly after that we were ready to set off. I climbed around the rock face up to the gate and left my pack there. I walked back to the cave intending to assist anyone who needed help. I was surprised to see that Mandy was already over the rocky section and on her way. From here I could see that Mike and Fred were already nearing the top of the mountain.


PENNY, MANDY AND BARBIE ON ONE OF OUR MANY RESTS ON THE WAY DOWN; Barbies words: "Peter's Hareem"

As I reached the cave, Barbie was setting off and it was only Penny who needed help around the rocks. We all reached the gate together and set off down the tough rocky section. We climbed slowly but still it is a really tough climb and our legs and limbs were quite shakey by the time we had completed this section of the descent.


GORGE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CLIMB

We wanted to have done a reasonable amount of walking by the time that Fred and Mike caught us up. But we could already see them coming down the mountain at a rapid rate. We stopped for a rest to recover some strength and then pressed on again. But we were hardly over the next rocky ridge when we heard their voices. They had come fast and had caught us up within an hour of us going through the fence. We had two more stops on the way down. Descending is very tiring on the legs, knees and thighs. We took it slowly and finally found ourselves down at the stream.


REACHED THE STREAM

LOOKING DOWN

As I reached the bottom, Mike had passed me and was preparing to go back up to assist where required. I was exhausted and decided that a swim and a wash in the cold stream would do me good. There is a little pool as you reach the bottom which I used to cool down and to wash all over. Incredibly refreshing. When the rest of the team came down it was time for a quick snack / soup / tea before we left for the final short stretch to the where we had parked the cars. We took a slow drive home.

As Fred says: "Mission Accomplished". It had been a stunning weekend. Perfect weather for hiking. The mountain was looking fantastic after all of the recent rains. Penny says never again but I remember saying that after my first attempt to finish a Comrades.

Thanks Fred for arranging the climb. Thanks to Anthony for the Matresses. They will stand us all in good stead for the future.