ASICS FrontRunner Quaniet Jakoet recently joined a group for a three-day epic trail running and mountain scrambling mission in the Cederberg. Before getting stuck back into work-and-everyday-life routine, we got him to relive the epic experience:
Just three hours away from Cape Town lies a vast mountain range. The way it looked to me, was a sea of trail running, as far as the eye can see! Who knew? I certainly didn’t.
This was my first adventure to the Cederberg mountains and what a memorable adventure it was...
3 days, 4 mountain guides, 18 trail runners, 43km and 14hrs of trail
Day 1:
We arrived and settled in but eight guys were keen to tackle the trails, while the rest chose to relax and prepare for the next day. So at 9pm we headed out for a night ‘tasting’ of the trails near our base.
The 5km shakedown loop in the darkness with our headlamps featured a mild 'wake-up' as we caught up with some baboons on the rock faces around the trails. After a good look at each other we continued the run and what was evident was the very dry, rocky terrain in the area. It was of course no match for the maiden voyage of my ASICS Trabuco Pro’s. Even though it was cold and raining the days before, this section of the mountain seemed to have dried out already.
Our guide from Find Ventures (also responsible for the epic imagery in this post) needed to navigate using his watch compass a few times but we were all for the exploration in the dark.
Day 2:
So this started off at 6:30am and an estimation of six hours out on the trails. With everyone excited, endurance bars and hydration liquids filled up with a note that we would catch a few rivers on the way up to our summit of the highest peak in the Cederberg, Sneeuwberg Peak.
It was properly cold at 6:30am but the sun soon began to rise and while we ventured upward the air slowly warmed.
This was the first glimpse of those indescribable mountain ranges I noted in the beginning. All the way to the horizon where the sun started to appear. It was an incredible sight.
It was now starting to get warmer and guys started to peel away some layers as we began our ascent to the peak.
Reaching the halfway mark, we hit cellphone reception. That was the first time in the previous 24 hours any of us had any contact outside the mountain range. Everyone sent a few messages or made a call to loved ones letting them know all was okay and that we were about to make our way up for the hardest part of the day.
As we ventured up, the temperature dropped once again. I then we realised why… SNOW! Yet another very special sight: sprawled across the mountain in vast amounts that was, in some sections, more than ankle deep. We needed to tread carefully as the snow was covering rock as well as the actual trail. This is where my ASICS Trabuco Pros came into their own – fully capable with the grip sole and solid lugs to dig deep and provide traction.
We obviously indulged in throwing a few snowballs before we went on our way further up again.
After the snow enjoyment, it started to get a bit ‘hairy’ as they say – climbing and scrambling over rocks with drops of more than 100m, as well as squeezing through cracks and over cliffs where in places we needed to remove our packs and help each other out.
We made it to the highest point in the Cederberg at over 1060m of climbing where we stood over 2000m above sea level. A whole 4hr 45min from our starting point at 6:30am. Dare I say it again: What a sight!
On descent proved fast, the singletrack providing for some swift going. I remember hitting road-running speeds on the flats and a few of us decided to open up and sprint to our first landmark on our return to base, the Maltese Cross, a towering rock formation that could be seen for kilometres around. It’s amazing to see how nature has moulded this over time and it remains something that man can enjoy.
Once we regrouped for some photo ops and nourishment, the guides advised we could have 2 groups; one which did an extra 6km on top of 3km to where the vehicles could reach us to take us back. I obviously opted for the extra running and never regretted it. That was until the final kay. It was hot! I was running out of liquid and some of the run in sandy spots proving crappy on tired legs. But we made it. So from 6 potential hours, it turned out to be 8hrs and 3min. But would not have taken away a single minute of it!
Day 3:
My initial thoughts here were: How were we going to top the snow, scrambling crazy heights and cliffs of the previous day...
Well, it was more of a chilled trek up to Wolfberg Cracks. But, it featured some amazing scenery, a few rock art sections and another tight section where one could either crawl under a massive rock or climb over it. I chose the latter while majority opted for the crawling.
Another high point and endless views of what was different mountain ranges. This was the beautiful part; being amazed by how much unexplored terrain there was in this region of South Africa.
It made me realise that I really needed to get out more, explore more, go beyond the greater Cape Peninsula. If I do, I would love it as much as I did running the trails of the Cederberg of which I would go back too.
Highlights of the trip
- Trailing through the snow halfway up Sneeuberg Mountain and reaching the highest point in the Cederberg.
- Running and hiking the trails in the Cederberg which offered all the elements of terrain – dry rock, mud, rivers, snow, jeep track, cliff scrambling and sand. This was awesome for me as I took the newly-launched ASICS Trabuco Pro trail shoe over varying terrain over three days.
- Venturing up the Wolfberg Cracks which is a protected area where three years ago it was ravaged by a massive fire spanning days and it was amazing to see how nature has recovered the area to its beauty once again.
