Last Saturday, four of us decided to hike up Table Mountain, despite visiting the top via cable car the prior day.
After researching various trails, we came across Skeleton Gorge, which had pathways through the forest on the eastern side of the mountain. Skeleton Gorge would also lead us to Maclear’s Beacon, the highest point on Table Mountain. It was an added bonus that it had steep climbs, wooden ladders up the mountain, and minor scrambles (when a hiker has to use their hands in order to climb up steep sections of the path).
We left the hotel at 9 am and made our way to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. The garden was enchanting and beautiful, and we wandered around it’s paths for about an hour before beginning our assent up the mountain.
After about an hour minutes of walking up the mountain I started wondering how we would ever make it to the summit, some 1,086 meters above sea level. Finally, after about another 30 minutes, we discovered the wooden ladders and the area of the trail that required scrambling. After tackling the ladders, we started to climb almost vertically through the gorge. When we got to the top, we turned around and were completely blown away by the beautiful view we could see of Cape Town below. Plus, we had tackled the eastern side of Table Mountain!
After making it to the top of Skeleton Gorge, we headed towards Maclear’s Beacon so that we could make sure that we had climbed the entirety of the mountain. While we were hiking to the summit, we met an older man who was hiking the trail so quickly that we almost had to run to keep up with him. He told is that he has hiked Table Mountain 3 times a week for the past 34 years. He encouraged us to keep heading to the summit and mentioned how excited he was to see young people hiking before he turned around and headed back down Skeleton Gorge.
After another climb that took just over an hour, we found ourselves on the highest point of Table Mountain. We ate lunch over a beautiful view of the city below. After resting for about 45 minutes and exploring the summit, the four of us continued toward the Western side of the mountain in order to begin our descent.
Walking from Maclear’s Beacon to Platteklip Gorge was unlike any other experience. The top of Table Mountain is flat, so it was as if we were talking on any other road, just thousands of feet in the sky. We walked on the edge of the mountain, in awe of the cliff just to the right of us. Looking down at the city below was absolutely crazy. Never had I hiked so high in my life, and everything seemed so small down below. The clouds moved quickly up the mountain and as we hiked, the view of the city was completely covered by white.
When we made it to Platteklip Gorge, there were more people on the mountain than we had seen all day since Platteklip is the most popular hike on Table Mountain. Platteklip Gorge was rock steps the entire duration of the mountain and after almost an hour of walking down steep rock steps snaking back and forth, our legs were shaking when we stopped at the bottom. But we did it! From the Eastern side to the Western, from the bottom to the summit, we hiked Table Mountain. High-fiving all around, we were ecstatic (and exhausted) as we headed home.
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