The Top of Table Mountain

I have hiked multiple times in South Africa, but never made it to the top of Table Mountain until November. Matt, Jenna, and I set out around noon planning to hike up Platteklip Gorge, traverse the top of Table Mountain, and then down Skeleton Gorge into Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. That hike can take over six hours, which we prepared for with food and water, but we were not prepared for the weather. When we started out the skies were blue and it was already pretty warm. All three of us were wearing shorts and light shirts, with lots of sunscreen. I was mostly worried about being hot and running out of water, but then we started passing groups on their way down with bad news. Every group warned us that it was cold, windy, and rainy at the top, but because we were so intent on reaching the top, we decided to forge ahead despite our obvious lack of appropriate clothing. 

We have to make it to the top!

This rock told us where we were going. I had always imagined Candy Mountain as warmer...

The weather reports did not disappoint. The higher we climbed the windier, colder, and rainier it got. At some points it felt like we were going to be blown off the trail.

The view back down Platteklip Gorge.

Matt and I enjoying a brief moment in the sun.

 When we reached the visitor center at the top, not only was the cable car shut down due to the wind, but we were the only people there. We ran around screaming in the high winds to every viewing platform trying to catch a view between clouds.

Jenna peaking over the ledge.

This is the view that we mostly got.

Matt bracing himself against the wind.

Trying to get some shelter from the cold.

A three second breathtaking view of Cape Town and the water.

We ate our lunch at the top and then thought about hiking to Skeleton Gorge. After about a minute of running through the cloud we decided that it was so cold and visibility was so low that it would be easy to get lost and in trouble. So, we turned around and headed back down Platteklip. It turned out to be a blessing that we couldn't finish the hike because right after we got back I was hit with food poisoning and spent the rest of the day running to the bathroom. If we had kept going I would have been caught on the side of a mountain instead of in the comfort of my house. Even with the less than ideal conditions and food poisoning, it was still a really fun day and beautiful hike.