The weather was perfect for us (late September), with a crisp breeze blowing the whole day, the hot sun to keep us warm, and the most beautiful blue sky.
All images by Alex Aitkenhead.
Click on images for larger views or go to Alex's blog for desktop sizes.
Immediately as we came out of the cracks, we could see the Wolfberg Arch in far the distance. This was the last time we saw it, for about another 45min of walking.
To get to this point, (The Sign Wolfberg Arch), we hiked up the mountain, then chose to go through the very scenic Cracks. After a short coffee break at the top of the cracks, we walked in the direction of the Wolfberg Arch, down towards the end of the small valley that we found ourselves in. We were told by our virtual guide (Gerrit) that this is the exact point that we have to mark very clearly. He said the following:
When you get to the end of the valley and see the sign, immediately turn left and go around the rocks. Notice a path going down the mountain again. Clearly make a marker here for yourself, so that upon your return from the Wolfberg Arch, you will know exactly where to go down. This will be your down route, also known as the easy way up and down. He said: "be sure to take the easy way down, because you will need it and there will not be time for you to try and find it when you come back to this point".
So we made our mark. And then turned towards the sign and the obvious path going towards the Wolfberg Arch.
This route was very easy to follow as all you needed to do was keep your eye on the cairns built by the thousands of hikers who have made this route before us. Thanks to those who have contributed to making this route such a pleasure to follow!
All that you can hear is the sounds of nature, and sometimes you are reminded about the beauty of silence too.
It would be sin to not notice these giants molded to perfection by time :)
This must be the first hike I have ever been on, where I can see our destination for almost the entire way.
It felt like it was never getting any closer!
Aaaaahhhh, the end is near... (eh, well, this end)
Jeay! We made it. Easy peasy.
Alex taking all sorts of weird pictures, while Im doing what normal people do when they get to their destination: chill and enjoy the view.
He took so many nice pictures, I decided to load them all! Thanks Al :)
Due to time constraints, we could not stay too long. 30mins was our mark. Its 15h30 and time to head back to make our way back down the mountain. We have enough time, but we are scraping it fine.
After walking at a pace, it took us about 1h00 to get back. We hardly stopped for photo's to catch up on some time and reached the cracks at 16h00. Both of us were exhausted but pushed on to commit to our final stage of our fabulous journey.
Read on about how we made it down the mountain ...
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