The Hiking Hag

In some roundabout way, the "Lutima Kitchen Hike" landed on my list. My hiking partner was Rosemary, who is usually our Chief Navigator, but this time her services were not required. This was a guided hike leaving from Lutima Kitchen, the most unpretentious, relaxed little suburb in Waverley in Pretoria. A Warm Community Vibe What first hooked  me about this hike was the whole sense of community vibe. When I first called, I learned the hike used to be hosted by "Respek" Coffe

Trail Markings: That Elephant in the Woods If you’re new here, I am spectacularly horrendous with directions. I’m not “takes a wrong turn occasionally” bad -I’m “could be walked down a trail on a leash with glowing arrows and still end up on a completely different mountain” bad. I’ve made peace with this. Truly. It’s core to my identity at this point. But there’s a difference  between being directionally challenged and navigating a trail system that feels like it was designed

Hiking at Mosamane Guest Farm So yes, it’s me again - the chronic over-romanticizer of every Small Town SA has ever sprinkled across the map. This time, my hiking weekend took me to Mosamane Guest Farm, a self-catering, eco-friendly hideaway tucked into the foothills of the Maluti Mountains near Rosendal in the Free State. An absolutely stunning farm with all the essentials for a hiking weekend: clean rooms, well-equipped kitchens, and communal spaces perfect for collapsing a

Big, Bold, and Iconic Some hikes test your endurance. Some test your resilience. And then there’s this hike - the full-blown overachiever, that tested endurance, resilience, competence and patience… and still had the audacity to be iconic We had a bee sting (not mine), a tumble (also not mine), a snake sighting (again, not mine- are you sensing a theme?), and one grumpy old hag attempting a technical trail a week after twisting her ankle. That one was  mine. But minor issue.

Let’s begin with a confession: I am fully aware that I am the architect of my own chaos. Truly. I design the disaster, install the windows, add the throw pillows - and then stand back in awe, wondering why everything is suddenly on fire. If you read about my Wonderboom Hike , you’ll remember that I " slightly" (read fairly violently)  turned my ankle last week.  I immediately unleashed every expletive I know and then declared, loudly, that it better  be healed by the followin

Salt-Hag-Pepper The Early Days: How It All Started Back in the day, I used to hike a lot with my sons, Salt 'n Pepper, which is actually how my journey started. Now, because no one (especially me) was entirely sure of my athletic capabilities, every time the trail required a hop, skip, or jump, one of them would automatically reach out a hand. Not because I asked. Oh no. Because they assumed I couldn’t handle whatever “treacherous” obstacle lay ahead: a rock, a puddle, or a s