Backpacking the Drakensbergs!

Hey peeps –

So I’ll spare the whole “funnel” introduction and get right to it. Backpacking in the Drakensberg Mountains (!!!):

The whole thing was called a “Global Youth Summit”, put on by the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation in South Africa. They do summits like this every year and all over the world – it’s self-described as an event which “promotes peace and cooperation between countries” thorough outdoor expeditions. I went with a slew of other people to represent Swaziland in the Summit (even though it wasn’t really necessary to ‘represent’, per say, we still brought a flag and broke it out for every picture). The group from Swaziland included Anne Caroline (New Mexico), Lykke (Denmark), Dane (Swaziland, leader of the Waterford climbing department), Baba (Swaziland), Mdu (Swaziland), and myself. We set out on a Friday morning for Johannesburg, where we would meet a group of 18 other individuals (most South Africans) that would be our backpacking partners for the week. After a night in Joburg, we took a bus to the foot of the Drakensberg, where we stayed another night in a hostel and were treated by the Federation to dinner and goodies. By Saturday night, our bags were filled with a week’s worth of food, sleeping bags, warm clothes, and dangerously few changes of underwear. We set out on Sunday morning for one of the most astounding and challenging trips I’ve ever been on.

And along these lines, I must say, backpacking is a great way to deflate the tough-guy ego. Because when you’re going between 10 and 18 km (~6 and 11 miles) a day, up and down huge hills, with 30-40 kgs (65-85 lbs) on your back, you start to realize how incredibly UN-tough you really are. The first few days were filled with me huffing and puffing up to the top, face tomato-red, usually somewhere in the back of the line. It became really fulfilling though, around the fourth day, because my backpack soon started to feel less like a burden, and more like an extension of my body. Perhaps it was the fact that we had less weight due to food, or that I had dumped the tent off on another one of my group members – whatever the case, I began to feel stronger and lighter by the third or fourth day. And after a few days of complete exhaustion, this was a phenomenal feeling.

So after “phenomenal”, the first word I would use to describe the trip to the Drakensberg would be “really freaking cold” (yes, I know that’s not one word). And if you ever decide to travel to Southern Africa in the winter and backpack in the Drakensbergs, please, do not assume that it will just be ‘a little chilly’. Some examples:

-       The first night we were camping the temperature got down to -18 C (that’s -0.4 F).

-       The first night I collected water from the river to cook our food. By the time I got back to the campsite (~half a football field away) it had already frozen a little.

-       We would sleep with our water bottles in our tents and would wake up to find the water in them frozen completely

-       We woke up almost every morning with frost on our sleeping bags and inside of our tents.

-       We were traveling with a person who had summitted Everest twice – he said that certain nights were colder than Everest base camp.

-       We hiked through snow five of the seven days of the excursion, sometimes knee deep.

-       The second highest waterfall in Africa is in the Drakensbergs. We went to see it – it was frozen. 

I put this warning out to the Internet community just because a few weeks ago we had a group of visitors from Malboro College at our school that planned on heading out to the Drakensbergs after our group. They packed light jackets and shorts. Aish. I was luckily quite prepared so I didn’t freeze my pants off, although there was a time that I decided to wash my hair in the river (snowmelt water) that ended with a very painful scalp.

But anyways, enough about the cold (I’m pretty sure I’ve beat the whole point to death).

One of my favorite aspects of the hike was how incredibly natural the whole thing was. I know this seems kind of obvious (mountains are nature, duh), but still… drinking straight from any stream we came across (the BEST water I’ve ever had), being able to pack my whole life in one bag, using the john with the best view imaginable, walking along and just listening to the sound of nothing… it’s very Romantic of me, but connecting to nature, even for a short time, helped me to organize my thoughts and become grounded. The thing about Waterford and IB is that there’s SO MUCH going on, all the time – on top of all the homework, there’s always weekend and after school events, plus all the social pressures that come with living with so many people, plus sleep (not always applicable). The bookshelf of the mind becomes cluttered by the IB tornado – getting away from it, to a place where you only need to keep track of is a few items conveniently located on your back, helps to get the mind re-centered.

I know, very ‘zen’ of me, eh?

I was so pleased on the trip to develop such close relationships with the other 18 backpackers – considering that we all spent 24 hours a day with each other, it’s no surprise that we quickly grew close. Everyone was incredibly interesting to talk to, totally receptive to others’ input and completely unafraid of diving into friendships. Looking back, one of the things I’m most grateful for was the group of intelligent, determined, sociable, friendly people that were on the trip. It’s also worth mentioning that we had Sibusiso Vilane, the first black African to summit Everest, on the excursion with us. I was so pleased to find how incredibly un-pompous he was – he was a joy to talk to, and always had something insightful to say about the trip. He was also filled with a wealth of stories (only person I’ll ever meet to start his sentences “When I was on top of Everest…” in such a casual manner) that helped to make everyone a bit more determined in those moments of exhaustion.

So even though I talk as though I was constantly cheerful throughout the whole trip, ogling at amazing views and walking around with a big watermelon smile on my face, I had my set of frustrations as well. There were times that I became frustrated with the other members of my group (Baba and Mdu, as there were three to a tent) or began to question what the hell point there was in walking around all day with a oversized bag on my back. But every time I got to that next amazing view (frozen waterfall, field covered in snow, endangered vulture colony in flight, incredible drops and passes) I knew that the trials were easily worth the magnificent experience of nature.

Here are some of my best pictures from the trip. As I’m sure you know, there’s no way in a million years that these photos could ever do the real thing justice. Nevertheless:

Extending my deepest thanks to Jenny and the Mountain Club of South Africa, as well as Dane, for providing this outstanding experience – I know I’ll remember it for years and years to come as a beautiful excursion and a great personal achievement. Thanks also to the others on the trail, who encouraged me when the times were tough and provided great friendship and endless laughs. (NO) thanks to my teachers, who have bombarded me with homework upon my return to school. Guess I should have had more foresight when I decided to skip a week of school, eh?

And with that, I bid my Internet homies adieu. Soon enough you all will be hearing of these experiences as I sit next to you on a sofa… hope you all are as excited as me (flying out in 17 days :)

Cheers

Eli