Rocklands Day 11, 12

Posted on 05. Aug, 2009 by B3 in Rocklands

The 11th day we went to Roadside, I explored in the morning, this time hiking about 30 min from the boulders, which put me at an hour from the car. I then bushwacked up a steep drainage, accessed the top of the ridge, followed the ridge back to Roadside, and bushwacked my way down another steep gulley.

There is exposed rock everywhere. Unfortunately, it was about 3 hours of hiking and I didn’t see a single problem worth going back for.

The South African Veld

Roadside

The thought crept in that the potential in Rocklands I had heard so much about was not there. This was the third day of hiking and I hadn’t seen anything yet. The Cederberg is a gigantic range. I imagine other parts of the range are rife with good bouldering, however the area around Pakhuis maybe mostly tapped.

Anyways, I was tired and should have rested. Back at Roadside I tried Nutsa briefly and again fell off the last move. I knew all of this climbing was catching up and it was time to take time off and rebuild some skin and energy.
I decided to take two days off, which was a tough decision but one that ended up being a good one. One of the most important aspects of climbing well on a road trip is time management. When the weather is good its hard to say no, but I knew if I wanted to gain some momentum, time off was imperative. My first rest day was spent at the Sassies.

I read my book, took pictures and spotted. It was just three of us, and a nice break to pull away from the group. Steph crushed Petit Hueco, a great V8 with a slopey top-out.

Wildflowers at the Sassies