Hilton College Hike 10 July, 2022 - Midlands Hiking Club

Report by Rebecca Wakeford

A procession of cars passed through the gates of the illustrious Hilton College at 8.30 sharp as instructed! 26 Hikers took advantage of the location and the slightly later start time (gratefully) to join Hike Leader, Alistair Nixon for a 10km hike to the Beacons at Hilton College.

The views are the drawcard for this walk, and the pace was peacefully slow as we all took in the many different vistas that emerged from the hazy winter morning. Starting with glances across the Umgeni Valley towards the towering hills of the Karkloof shaded in hues of blue to views across the valley over towards a full Albert Falls Dam.

As we looked down into the winter shaded valley below we saw giraffe peacefully
grazing in the tree line and more giraffe gracefully drawing water from a dam in the distance.

Those who had brought binoculars shared them around so we could all take time enjoying our vantage points along the ridge.

Experienced hikers came to the rescue with emergency shoe repairs, when one of our group lost not one, but the soles of her boots! Bandages and cable ties, meant that she finished the distance without getting her socks dirty! We finally got to see what is inside some of those well-travelled and strategically packed day packs!

We were offered a short cut to the lunch spot, and as always we are game to take the paths less travelled for a little bit of adventure. A hundred metres of overgrown vegetation was an easy challenge to overcome. Only one of us had a little stumble that had all applauding at their graceful recovery. An early lunch was taken looking down into the valley where the Karkloof River confluences with the Umgeni River and contemplating the outcome of the afternoons Wimbledon finals.

Being a circular walk, the road back wound its way through the plantations whilst our ever keen group discussed hikes past and hikes future. The hike introduced some new members to our ever convivial group and we hope we enticed them enough to see them again. It’s always good to explore what is right on our doorstep in the beautiful KZN Midlands and to put this hike back on our calendar. Distance covered 10.68km. Time taken four and a half hours.