Drakensberg Grand Traverse - Training Camp 2
The sun sets as we dropped into the valley above Cockade Pass. © Matt Bouch
There is no replacement for time spent in the mountain.
And the organisers of the DGT Run know this, which is why they mandate that all participants of the race attend at least one of their four training camps. These camps allow athletes to spend time on a section of the Grand Traverse route, while their fitness, navigation skills, gear, and nutrition plans. I attended a camp in late September, and with Pierre from Mountain Abandon at the helm, we headed out into the Mnweni.
The plan was to ascend Rockeries Pass, join the DGT route, and follow it southward before descending Greys Pass to our finish at Monk’s Cowl Campsite. This is approximately 80km, but the duration was a bigger focus than the distance. Our aim was to spend 24 hours in the mountain, including a quick sleep to test dial in our bivvy skills. A hungry bunch, we stopped for dinner at 20h00 in Ndumeni cave. With tummies full of Forever Fresh meals, we dozed off for a quick sleep here too.
As far as fastpacking missions go, this was by far one of the smoothest and a far cry from the frigid sufferfest that Colin and I endured in May. At the end of winter, the terrain was dry making underfoot conditions a pleasure. No wind, no rain, no problems. The cherry on top was the clear skies and full moon, which meant we could run through the night with limited use of headlamps. At an easy pace, with a great group, I thoroughly enjoyed this little adventure.
Thank you to Spurge and Graham for organising this, and to Pierre (Mountain Abandon), for your expert guiding skills. As a guide myself, I find it nice to sit back and let someone else take the reigns from time to time, and there are few people I’d trust more than Pierre.
In chronological order, here is a selection of images from the DGT Training Camp. All images were shot on my Sony Rx100vii.
Thanks for reading. Drop me a comment with any questions about this route.
