I had been waiting for a nice day for a real hike, a clamber up a mountain to a high point that would offer views and hammer some fitness into winter-weary legs.
But the cold fronts kept roaring in.
Then finally a day dawned with clear blue skies, light breezes and a hint of spring warmth in the air. With perhaps just a tad too much enthusiasm, I planned a route up Table Mountain to the highest point – Maclear’s Beacon, some 1 086m above sea level and, I thought, a suitable goal for such a glorious day.
This is where I became a little too enthusiastic. I decided to head up via Nursery Ravine and return via Skeleton Gorge along Smuts’s Track. Generally you go up Skeleton and down Nursery. Both are perilously steep but Nursery, despite its name, is the more vicious of the two and it can give you rubber legs just coming down. Going up was likely to be even more taxing.
I headed off from the Cecilia Forest car park. When your goal is the top of the mountain, that first look up at the massive rock walls always seems a little intimidating. The forest floor, or more aptly what is left of it, was showing hints of a comeback after the devastation of logging operations, and among the felled branches and leaf litter grew numerous early spring flowers. It was the prettiest I have seen the place looking in several years, with bright daisies scattered like confetti among the remaining stumps.
The hike up to the contour path provided a moderate warm-up before I hit the ravine, and from then on it was a steep and seemingly endless slog. I took a little comfort in the fact that it must have been worse for those who built all the wooden steps – and there are hundreds of them. They stretch up through the forest in a seemingly neverending zig-zag and there was a point where I really began to wonder if I had bitten off more than I could chew.
The forest, though, was gloriously peaceful, with massive indigenous trees virtually blotting out the sunshine, trunks covered with Old Man’s Beard lichen and the air filled with that curiously musty scent of quiet, damp decay. The stream gurgled constantly in the background, providing nature’s equivalent of mood music. In short, it was lovely to be out.
After some toil I reached the top of the tree line and the sunshine seemed glaring after the muted shade of the forest. Here I started to pass several other hikers on their way down, all cheerful and full of greetings. Most were well-equipped and obviously seasoned hikers, their backpacks, water bottles and whistles indicating that they understood that the mountain can turn unfriendly.
Having attained the plateau, I set forth towards the top of Skeleton Gorge and the long traverse to reach the beacon. I was rather torn and could easily have skipped back down into Skeleton Gorge without visiting the highest point, which was at least a good hour’s walking further, but I knew I would be disappointed with myself if I took the easy option
The path here is still inclined but not so steeply, mostly made up of large stone flags and, although a little damp and sandy, the going was reasonably easy. Eventually, I climbed over the last outcrop and reached the summit. It provides one of the most amazing views in the whole of Cape Town. You can see all the way around the peninsula with glimpses of Simon’s Town, Hout Bay, Seal and Robben islands and almost any other landmark you care to mention.
The beacon was originally built by Sir Thomas Maclear, who was appointed Royal Astronomer of the Cape of Good Hope in 1833 as part of a geodesic survey to try to figure out the size and shape of Earth. The beacon was restored in 1979.
I headed back along Smuts’s Track and down Skeleton Gorge and by now my legs were feeling more than a little stiff.
It proved to be a tiring clamber but well worth it. The spring flowers included beautiful red ericas, daisies, lobelias, pelargoniums, and some yellow proteas brightened the trail. And the views from the top were well worth the sore limbs.
There are easier ways to reach Maclear’s Beacon, such as hiking up Platteklip Gorge or even taking the cableway to the top, leaving a fairly flat walk from there. But a visit to the summit should be on your calendar and, given the steepness of the climbs, it’s one best not left to the hottest months. - Sunday Argus