We had been talking about doing it for a couple months and now finally Julian and I did the three peaks in one day. The three peaks include Devil’s peak, Table Mountain, and Lions head. We left the house at 6 AM and started hiking while it was still dark out. Conditions were not great. It had been raining the past couple days as it is now starting to become winter so the path was pretty slick. At the top of the mountains there was no view. Actually if we had not done the mountains before I don’t think we would have found the summit of Devils since we could only see about 20 feet in front of us through the fog and the paths are thin and disappear at times. We didn’t care about the views though, that is not why we were doing it. We were doing it for the challenge. By the time we started the second mountain (Table) my legs were already cramping. Going down the backside of Table we were running in order to save time and I took a pretty bad spill where I landed in two trees that saved me from a cliff. Also on the way down it started raining which made us a little nervous because it is not good to hike in the rain especially because we didn’t know how bad it was going to get. At this point there was no stopping. We had already done the two hardest ones and we were not going to stop with just Lions Head left. The way up Lions Head was hard. My legs cramped with every step. The chains that brought us up the rock wall were slippery. By the end my legs had locked and it was hard to bend them. Luckily Julian was able to help me reach the top. Touching the pole that signified the summit and the end of our challenge was euphoric. I got such a high from completing the Table Mountain Range. It had taken us nine hours of hiking at a very fast pace, running down mountains, and jogging some of the flat parts. We were finally done. Never has a peanut butter and jelly tasted so damn good.
The Table Mountain range is very important to Cape Town. To many it is a symbol of Cape Town and is used as a logo for many businesses. It can be seen from pretty much anywhere in the city. It is the mountain that Nelson Mandela viewed every day during his imprisonment at Robin Island. It is sad that many people living in Cape Town have never had the privilege to climb it or even know that you could climb it. This is a privilege I have since I have the time and money to engage in this leisure activity.
Table Mountain range is also very important to me. When we came back from excursion seeing it was a sign that I was home again. The multiple times I hiked the different mountains are memories I will never forget, even if I did have a few people who wanted to kill me. Hiking and mountains also remind me of my childhood and I always feel closer to my mom when I am hiking. This specific experience of hiking the three mountains in one day was also very important to me. First of all I was with Julian someone who has really been there for me and taking on a challenge like this only brings us closer. I am so fortunate I gained him as a friend and that we could experience this hike together. Also I always get the most thinking done when I am hiking. There is something spiritual about being tired and hungry in nature that allows me to think clearly. I have a lot to think about with my experiences the past few months and there is no better way to grasp my thoughts and feelings than on a 9 hour hike. Table Mountain range will always be one of the first things I think of when I think of my new home in Cape Town. This is why I decided to get the range tattooed onto my back. It is so important to me in so many ways.
No comments:
Post a Comment