Cathedral Peak - Monk's Cowl link-up via escarpment

Thanks Jeremy! Yes with a headtorch and the stupid assumption that it simply goes down I never knew until a few days later when I logged back onto this forum! I will post a few cell phone video clips and slap them together for Vimeo. We also had a Whatsapp group to which I updated every day to friends and family via voice message which has made for some humorous feedback although my sometimes potty mouth may not be suitable for all I'll try crack out an article with pics by Sunday. Although this hike has caused loss of motivation for work so I have decided to go hiking on Monday into the Cederberg!

And as per the caption on the video:

Clip 1: up the Mlambonja River Pass.
Clip 2: just passed the Tlanyaku Pass, heading up past the Didima Buttress.
Clip 3: Vulture's Retreat. The video does it no justice. A mind blowingly beautiful place.
Clip 4: Our mission into Grays Pass which resulted in failure. You're supposed to descend 50 metres then get out of the gulley on the right. We missed that part and continued down until a huge boulder choke stopped as, forcing retreat. We emerged at 22:00 that night. Idiots!
Clip 5: Down Ships Prow Pass. That jungle bush whacking I spoke of, that was terrible.

I finally wrote an article on our 7 day hike. With more than 11 000 words I may have gotten a bit carried away, but there are some great photos, a couple of voice clips from a Whatsapp group I was updating which you may enjoy (if not don't bother ) and a few video clips slapped together which you may have seen in the post above. Hope you enjoy We certainly did.

adriantregoning.wordpress.com/2016/06/01/7-day-central-drakensberg-traverse-2016/

EDIT: I do apologise for the odd cuss words on the voice clips

Thanks for sharing

I'm happy the Thlanyako Top camp worked out alright, but that is quite a popular spot for local traffic - probably mostly because it is the lowest point on the SA/Lesotho border between Metjhantijane in the Free State and either somewhere around North Mzimkhulu Pass or Saddle Nek Pass in the Southern Berg (nonetheless North Mzimkhulu Pass is similarly low), and partly because it ends up in Didima Gorge, allowing one to head to the nearest town without going anywhere near KZN Wildlife.

Also good to see you got the views between Didima Dome and Buttress. The Yodelers Cascades route seems to be far more popular, but since TonyM put me onto that route, I can't see myself using the cascades route any time soon.

Glad you enjoyed it
Yeah I wasn't thrilled to camp in that valley after what I was told, and because of the high concentration of people around just before that. But it was fine, and we had little choice that day I guess. Getting past Yodellers definitely added to the strain taking the high route, but great views!

@ Adrian T: Great write up at Wordpress and fab photos...enjoyed your writing style

Thanks for a very entertaining write-up and some brilliant photos, Adrian.

What stands out for me; and I think this would hold for most people on this forum; is how the Berg is able to make you question the adequacy of language to convey its impact on your emotions, your psyche and your body. For me, that is the true wonder of this treasure that we all love so much.

Thanks Biomech and Richard!

I was thinking I may return next year. But before life gets too complicated, I may have to go back in a few months! Wish I lived closer to the Berg, it is such a magic place.

Oh, I forgot to add screenshots of our routes. Tracked every route with a Suunto Ambit Peak 3 so I have the tracks too. But I doubt anyone wants to see zigging and serious zagging through bush and rocks

Hi. I am planning to do this route in December. I would like to stay as close to the escarpment as possible so that I can enjoy the views from there. If anybody has a GPS track that could help me avoid walking into dead ends I would really appreciate it if you could send it to me or post it somewhere on this site. I have the Grand Traverse GPS track from this site but it seems to stay down in the valleys around this part of the berg.

In his one post ghaznavid mentioned the following points as places that one should see.
Spots/sections that are "compulsory" on a Didima/Monks traverse:
- Elephant Gully, slightly more difficult that Mahout Ridge, but I rate it as possibly the single most scenic spot in the entire Drakensberg.
- Cleft Peak, you have to go over it anyway, looking down the cleft is always awesome.
- Vultures Retreat (the spot by the top of Nkosasana Falls), it is a bit of a detour, but has one of the most expansive views you will find in the Berg. Well worth the effort!

I know where Cleft Peak and Vultures Retreat is but I can not find Elephant Gully on my maps. Can somebody please indicate it to me?

Ghaz has a nice picture of it somewhere on this site, will check on my laptop as he sent me a pica as well. PM me then I'll send you what I have.
Basically, Elephant or mahout is right next to the top of Cockade pass.
So, from Cleft peak travelling North you will walk down into a valley (Tseketseke on your right) and then you have two options to go towards Mlambonja area. You can either drop down into the Elephant (nasty but short climb at the end) or go over mahout on your left. They are about equal in height (Elephant looks lower but once you top out at the end there is still a bit of ascent to negotiate, although at a much easier angle).

The view from the top of Mahout towards Cleft is very, very scenic.