We pulled into Lady Grey on Friday afternoon, got our race packs and then sorted out all our gear at the backpackers, before heading back to the country club for dinner and briefing. Adrian gave us a run-down of what to expect- the mud, possible rain storms, washed out roads and a very fast flowing river and with a record number of participants (+- 80) the excitement was palpable!! It was great to catch up with old AR friends whom I haven't seen in a while:)
4am Saturday 19 March - standing outside Mountain View Inn and rearing to go. We know we have a river crossing within the first 1km but with the amount of water up on the mountain our feet are going to be wet all day anyway so it doesn't really matter. The climb to the first CP at the radio tower looks stiff, but we're soon off in a blitz of camera flashes and cheers.
Once on the Lammergeier Trail we slotted into a group moving at a fast hiking pace- all the front guys were off at speed and we got into a nice rhythm. On the 2 hour mark we passed CP 1 and the sun was rising. These amazing vistas of massive valleys streaked with ribbons of water opened up on either side of us as we headed along the ridge to CP 2 at Olympus. It was hard to judge how hard we should be pushing ourselves and we didn't know the exact route, but we were armed with a Garmin GPS with the track on so we kept moving. Somewhere along this section we hooked up with Adrian, Laura & co and soon we were a group of about 13 moving along steadily and having the benefit of all the best sneaky routes thanks to Adrian who has done this route about 16 times over the past 7 years for Wartrail and Skyrun.
I can't remember our timings but soon CP 2-Olympus came into view and the friendly marshals in their 4x4 had brought water up the mountain for us to re-fill before we pushed on. I tied my camera onto my shoulder strap and clicked away happily- the views were just so beautiful, range after range of moutains and waterfalls in virtually every crevice- just stunning. The ground was saturated and most of the time we were walking in mud, but we were wearing our new Salomon S-Labs and our feet stayed comfy the whole way, I didn't get 1 blister or hot spot so am very chuffed with them!!
Cp 3 is Snowdon and the marshals made their way up there on quad bikes- thanks guys! We also received an easter egg in memory of Paul Mitchell and were reminded of other adventure friends we've lost along the way. We took a lekker break at a crystal clear river about 1km past Snowdon, before tackling the next section. Feeling refreshed we pushed on and were treated to the graceful display of Lammergeiers in flight. These Bearded Vultures glided around on the thermals showing off their 2.5-3m wingspan- beautiful!
Heading into the afternoon some rain showers developed in the valleys around us, but we luckily only encountered a light drizzle. It was quite surreal to watch the showers move around but not get wet. We were even treated to a few rainbows. We were greeted by very friendly marshals who had hiked up to CP 4- Avoca very early that morning and had been waiting for us to arrive all day. With most of the ridge line hugging done we all put on a warmer layer in preparation for dropping down the mountain. I wore my new Salomon EXO 3/4 tights the whole day and can highly recommend them for comfort and certainly for their compression and recovery benefits. We moved on and tackled some interesting rock scrambling and the awesome "Dragon's Back" which is a narrow rocky ridge which drops off into valleys on either side. Adrian was like a sheperd herding his flock carefully along, making sure no tired bodies took a tumble- thanks Ad:)
CP 5- Skiddaw seemed to come along very quickly and the marshals had their dogs with them on the mountain- their energy was amazing and after a quick snack th
ey bounded along with us as we pushed on wanting to use the remaining daylight to get off the moutain. The last part of the hike is quite frustrating as once down and onto Balloch farm you still have about 7kms to go to get to the end. We took out our headtorches and due to the flooded river decided to stick to the jeep track and road all the way to the end. The group spread out a bit as tired bodies and feet took their toll and after what seemed like an age we could see the lights at Balloch cave and hear the cheering of the crowd at the finish. 16.5 hours later and we had reached the finish and quickly headed up to the cave to tuck into the delicious meal prepared by the farm owners- yum, that meal went down so well!! Thanks to Adrian and Laura for showing us the most efficient route- as a first-timer this is the ideal way to tackle the distance- now I just have to remember it next time:)Mandy- our great second- had her own adventure during the day with the drive to Balloch and negotiating the mud and hills- thanks for helping us out Mands and for putting up our tent- it was a welcome sight for tired bodies.
6:30am Sunday 20th March- After a good meal, shower and sleep we crept out of our tent the next morning to tackle day 2, the 135km mountain bike leg to Mdlokovane Village. Having done this day before I knew what to expect but also knew that the road condition would be a bit more challenging after all the rain. That first climb after turning out of Balloch Farm got the heart rate going and legs pumping, but unfortunately Kev's chain broke right at the bottom, so after waiting for a while up the hill I rode back down to see what was happening. A few quick links later we got going as the ambulance and Adrian had caught us and we needed to make up some lost time. It was a beautful calm morning and we pushed to catch the others which we soon did as the climb up Lundean's Nek started. It wasn't as bad as I remember it being and after a quick snack and photo at the top we started the awesome 10km of downhill on the other side. Half way down there were 2 boulders across the road and I'm still not sure how the ambulance and Landies got past there!
We kept up a good pace along the border in the valley below and soon we arrived at CP 7- Telle Junction and the 50km mark. The time seemed to have flown and the marshals told us the previous group were 15-20mins ahead of us so we hit the small climb at pace and continued on our way. Unfortunately Kev started feeling nauseous a bit further on so we dropped the pace and took advantage of the spaza shop at CP 8- Majuba Nek (70km) to have an ice cold coke and a short break. Despite all the warnings of washed out roads I was pleasantly surprised and although rutted and rocky in areas the roads are still great riding roads! After a bit of confusion about distance and how far Sterkspruit was we realised the sign we'd seen earlier for Sterkspruit was out by 20kms, and after negotiating the chaos in town we made our way along the tar road to the turn off at 90km and CP 9. It was good to see Mands here- she had been waiting patiently for us for a while and Kev decided to catch a lift as he still hadn't recovered from feeling sick. Mark also joined him after having experiencing some mechanical issues with his bike and the 3 of them headed to the shoe drop at a local rural school for the Bobs For Good Foundation while I quickly re-filled my water and set off on the last 45km.
I knew the +- 25km next loop back to the tar was a slog, having experienced strong head winds last time I rode this section- well this time was no different, but
just for character building this time there was a head wind, 3 rain storms and a hail storm for good measure. Luckily each shower was very quick and the hail stones small so I managed to maintain a good average and was surprised to reach CP 10- Herschel in about 1.5 hours. The marshals were keeping dry in their car but were very encouraging and reminded me that I only had about 15km's to go. I hit the turn to Mdlokovane and pushed as hard as I could. At some point I rode past the school where the shoe drop was happening but didn't see a thing as I had spotted 2 guys ahead of me and was determined to catch them:) The Garmin banners at the end were a welcome sight and on 9hrs 55 I rode through the finish, chuffed with time that I had made up on the last 45km!The others arrived back a few minutes later and after having a quick look at the fast flowing Orange we headed back to the backpackers in Lady Grey for a good meal at Mountain View Inn and a super 8 hour sleep. Adrian let us know that only the top guys would be doing the first section of the paddle due to the high water level so we would put in at Cp 12- Fish Eagle Spa and paddle the 30 odd km to Aliwal North. This just means I'll have to come back and do Wartrail again as I have now done the 2 "halves" of the paddle but not the whole distance in 1 go!
7am Monday 21 March- After hooking up
with the convoy we made our way down to the river along a road that wasn't even on the GPS, Mands had good fun later driving out of the area, playing in 4x4! The water level was so high and the plan was to put in once the first guys came past so as not to get in their way. Tweet and Clint reached us in just over 1.5 hrs and we set off behind them. I couldn't believe how fast we were moving, even when you stopped paddling the trees on the banks seemed to be flying past us- what fun!! We didn't push too hard, just consistently as we stopped paddling every now and then to have a good look around and appreciate the surroundings.It was quite bizarre paddling with whirl pools and waves that
seemed to appear out of nowhere and grabbed at your paddle. We spotted 2 Marshal Eagles and an African Harrier Hawk (Gymnogene)- just beautiful! Before we knew it (after about 2.5 hours I think) the banners and bridge came into view and we had to concentrate for a few minutes to make sure we made the take out before the weir. Adrian in true "sheperd" style was in the water with a safety rope, shivering uncontrollably and making sure there were no incidents. Thanks to all the marshals who helped out there, I know Jacques also stood in the water for 6 hours helping out- we really appreciate it!With a great feeling of accomplishment for 3 super days of competing we arrived at the Riverside Lodge in Aliwal North and treated ourselves to a swim in the pool and a meal. After all the thanks and a good prize giving and lots of spot prizes we made the long slog back to Joburg. Thank you so much to Adrian and your whole team of marshals and Pure Adventures crew and Garmin for allowing us the priviledge to experience one of the most beautiful, untouched areas of SA!!
The main aim of taking part in Wartrail besides wanting to experience the amazing surroundings was to get good solid training in for Expedition Africa in May. I was very happy with how I felt and with 6 weeks to go, can't wait to line up on that start line to tackle the next adventure. Thanks to Mark and Kev for another adventure, it's always a pleasure racing with you both- and special thanks to Mands for helping us out we appreciate it alot!
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