Right, so as I was saying about Cape Town, I really enjoy that place. Looking at the pictures reminded me I never finished talking too much about it. The Lion's Head hike was really just a warm up for the larger and far more daunting Table Mountain hike. Here we go.
Even though I felt the pictures of Table Mountain made it pretty clear I was at Table Mountain, this sign should allay all doubt. It is a small part on this particular sign but fires are particularly troublesome in the area because of the intense winds. On the bus home, I saw a controlled fire on a mountain as I was coming out of Cape Town and in that short time I could see how quickly it was spreading.
After the first climb we traveled along the side of the mountain to get to the pass. We choose to do this part at noon since we didn't think it would be hard enough unless the sun was also trying to kill us. Devil's Peak is on the left there and that one is for the next visit to Cape Town.
That little gap was our route to the top. It was at this point that things started to get especially hard. The switchbacks helped chop the climb up into manageable chunks but frequent breaks were still necessary. Everyone that passed us was very supportive.
It is difficult to tell but there is a critter (klipspringer I think) in the middle of the picture. This would have to be the steepest and most dangerous place I have seen a four-legged animal casually grazing. The grass there must be particularly delicious or that animal is just a show-off or both.
The top was a beautiful thing visually and because it meant we were done climbing. Among the first views was this one towards Cape Point. Those that take the cable car up enjoy the same view but they don't get to be all exhausted and covered in sweat once they get there. Suckers.
Some might think that the eatery and gift shop at the top of Table Mountain to be a gross display of commercialism defacing natural beauty. I can understand that argument but I see the appeal of hot pizza and cold beer at the top of the mountain too. Ultimately, I fall into the "likes to stuff his face after a long hike" camp so I say it's a good thing especially since it's not that big of an eatery/gift shop. That was my consideration after we ate lunch and saw this view.
The crowd that gathered to watch this guy bike off the side of the mountain was disappointed when they found out he was only posing like he was about to bike off the side of the mountain. It was a pretty big letdown. If he was posing to look like a madman then why even bother with the helmet and why not use a motorcycle and have a flaming chainsaw too? That would be crazy!
Lion's Head looks like child's play from the top of Table Mountain. I never saw how Lion's Head is supposed to look like an actual lion's head. It just looks like a pointy mountain right? "Lion's Head" is a better name than "Pointy Mountain" though.
This was taken some time after the hike but it shows the "12 Apostles" section of the mountain which offers other ways to get up to the top. Yet another confusingly named mountain because there are more then 12 little peaks (not all in picture). Clearly the people in charge of naming landforms in Cape Town weren't too concerned with accuracy.
