TRAIL

You may have been a TRAIL reader or advertiser for a while now. You’ve made this magazine possible for 10 years. It’s been a journey and an adventure that I look back at amazed. Thank you. This a bitter-sweet moment, a turn in the trail. Yes, this issue is the last of the magazine – at least while I manage it. If you’re a newsletter reader, you’ll already know why I decided to end the publication. But this is not the end of TRAIL. For the near future, I’ll focus on improving our emailer, website, and social media until I hand them over to a successor. So if you don’t yet read the emailer, you’re invited to sign up to ensure that you keep getting updates. And please also connect through social media…

ONE WITH NATURE It’s sunset at Ngubu huts on day one of the Otter Trail. “September is a beautiful time of year to hike the Otter Trail – the weather is balmy and the whales are on the move. Sitting on the rocks in the bay, watching the sunset as the waves thunder, is about as meditative as it gets,” says Darren. Darren Smith, Johannesburg FREE AS A BIRD “I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery – air, mountains, trees, people. “I thought, ‘This is what it is to be happy’”. Sylvia Plath Caroline stands atop Table Mountain after doing the hard work to overcome the 1,026m elevation gain up Platteklip Gorge. She did the 8km power hike with ‘fabulous fitness lady Ncuncu’. She said afterwards “It was more like a leg and glutes…

KINGFISHER TEA, ANYONE? Bianca Engelbrecht celebrates the beauty of the Brownhooded Kingfisher Trail in the Garden Route National Park in Wilderness. The trail is a gentle loop of 4km from start to finish, following the fynbos-stained Duiwerivier all the way to the waterfall turnaround. Clare Mouton, George GOOD OLD H2O! Terance Winson savours the water from one of the many clean streams found along the Redberry Farm Loop outside George. Britt Milne and Dennis Marshal joined him on the 24km trail loop in preparation for Dryland Traverse. Stefan Du Plessis, George FALLING OUT OF FRAME Kelly and hubby Paul run in the Ttsitsikamma mountains regularly but had never seen as much water as they did this day. Kelly: “It was incredible to witness. I managed to navigate the slippery moss-covered rocks right up until Paul stopped taking…

HEROES TO LEGENDS I may be in my mid-forties, but I am still a great believer in having heroes who inspire you. I had the great privilege of meeting one of mine at a 2021 social presented by Hangklip Athletics Club. That a giant of the trail running world would take time in the middle of the week to trek from Melkbos to Kleinmond to chat to a small group of eager runners speaks volumes for the character of the man. After finding sobriety almost 10 years ago, I found trail running to be a key ingredient to my physical, mental and spiritual well-being. I began to admire the hardy bunch of SA trail runners who were blazing the trails not only here, but at various events abroad. However, in 2017 it was…

I’ve always loved to run. To me, there is no sport more rewarding than running. After I finished my Chemistry BSc degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2011, I would run in the streets of Hilton wearing cotton t-shirts and Gilbert rugby shorts, and became known as The Guy with the Orange Running Bag. Every day I would slip on my running shoes, grab my (very basic by today’s standards) hydration bag and dance with the souls of my feet for the afternoon. However, my running career started long before my university days. At nine, I was running at Saint Charles in Pietermaritzburg in 1999, racking up the 100km term badges as fast as my little legs would carry me on crosscountry days. I was so excited to sew the badges…

Tim’s first symptom was a hard lump in the middle third of his lower shin. With continued running, it was soon joined by significant pain and swelling. Diagnosis after his return: possible muscle herniation of the tibialis anterior muscle through the fascia. Cause: Extreme load on the muscles during steep mountain paths caused increased swelling in the lower leg, progressively worsening. Treatment: Rigid strapping in a neutral foot position helped support and manage the symptoms. Jaclyn Marr Physiotherapy, Hilton 0829241253, jax.marr@gmail.com…