Great Hikes in 2000

Ian Webb, Cape Town, South Africa

A list of my hikes in 2000

2000

• 23 December: A quick jaunt from Constantia Nek up the jeep track to the dams on the back table, together with several Cape Town visitors.
• 8-10 December: I've done too little hiking recently! With Frank and Verena (two German visitors) we did the Cederberg 101 course: Wolfberg Cracks, Arch and Maltese Cross. Photos courtesy of Frank.
• 19-20 August: Back on Table Mountain, I took a group of Scouts up Kasteelspoort to the Scout Hut, which has just been well renovated. On Sunday we hiked up to Carrell's Ledge and Maclear's Beacon, and came down Skeleton Gorge.
• I tested my new Epson scanner with these photos from Tafelberg, including one of myself, Dave, Lynette, Bruce, Bruce, Bruce and Bruce.
• 5-6 August: Back to the Cederberg for a great hike up Tafelberg. We hiked up Welbedacht on a clear winter day, and found the first snow just before the shale band. By the time we got to our overnight stop in Spout Cave (about 1900m) there was plenty more. Unfortunately we couldn't make it to the summit of Tafelberg as the gully was blocked by snow and ice, but it was still well worth the trip.Incidentally, frisbees make excellent toboggans.
• 27 June: Arriving in Cape Town after 8 months away, I got a sudden urge to go hiking at 11 p.m. on a cold winter's night, so I wrapped up in my Swiss winter gear and went exploring on the slopes of Devils Peak, between Rhodes Mem and the blockhouse. Solo night hiking is a very personal experience, and on a quiet cold night you can have the whole mountain to yourself. If you're lucky, you might even see a porcupine - I did.
• 3 June: A short walk in the foothills of the Andes at Picarquin, near Santiago. I was in on a working visit to the Interamerican Scout Office in Chile, and had a chance to revisit the site of the 1998 World Scout Jamboree.
• 2 April: A spring walk in the snow on the top of the Saléve, with a view of Geneva on one side and Mont Blanc on the other. Stunning, but I'm looking forward to being back on Table Mountain...
• 5-8 February: A visit to Alp Flix, a small farm high in the Alps in the East of Switzerland. Lots of hikes with snow shoes, and some high-speed downhill sled rides, in more snow than I could ever imagine. I also practiced falling over wearing cross country skis.

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