What Were You Thinking?

“We did it Torie, we hiked Table Mountain!” I don’t know what I was thinking or what made me agree to something so ridiculous but all that matters is that I made it to the mountaintop. That was definitely the most difficult hike of my life but it was so worth it. Not only did we hike up one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, but we also stayed the night there. Our overnight trip to Table Mountain was definitely something I will remember for the rest of my life…

So a group of 13 of us decided to take Michael up on his offer to spend the night at Table Mountain. We borrowed huge backpacks and sleeping bags and set out around 2pm for a 3 hour hike to the hut. The backpacks we had on probably weighed about 50 pounds because they were full of food, warm clothing, and other necessities, so you can imagine what it must have been like hiking uphill, through puddles, and everything else with that on your back. The hike to the hut wasn’t too difficult but I was sweating through my shirt and pants by the time we reached the hut. Not to mention my socks and shoes were soaked with water because most of the route was through a path that ran alongside a little stream.

Once we reached the hut, a few people emptied their backpacks and set out to go find wood for the fire. We had to hurry and leave before it started to get dark. While some went for wood, a few of us climbed up some rocks and watched the sunset. It was quite a serene experience. Now that I think about it, I probably should have sat up there and thought about my life and reflected a bit, but my mind was elsewhere.

Anywho, everyone got back with the wood and we went back to the hut. We took our shoes and socks off and let them dry by the fireplace while the guys started on dinner. While we waited, we played a few games, drunk a little wine, and tried to keep warm during the cool night. Needless to mention, there was no shower, no bathroom, no sink, just a little outhouse out back that had a toilet we had to manually flush. Again I asked, who am I turning into? My family always laughs at me during our annual camping trip because I always fight to stay in a cabin instead of the tents with everyone else. They would have been so proud to see me at Table Mountain, using the outhouse!

That night was pretty cold. I slept in two pairs of pants, leggings, 2 t-shirts, 1 hoodie, and 2 pairs of socks. I was still freezing. I couldn’t fall asleep until I wrapped my extra blanket around my head so that no part of my body was left out. There were bunk beds in the cabin so luckily we weren’t sleeping on the cold floor but around 4am when the fire died, I felt like I was. I had to force myself back to sleep but around 7am when I heard the first person get out of bed I soon followed. I got dressed, went outside, climbed a rock, and watched the sunrise. I can’t even remember the last time I saw the sunrise. It was probably about 2 years ago when my sister and I drove to Mississippi for our family reunion.

After a breakfast of yogurt and banana splits (bananas over the fire, cut open, and filled with chocolate), we set out for the real hike. The one from the day before was actually up the back of Table Mountain. Now came the hard part. I can’t even describe the different parts of this hike. Bridges, ladders, crawling up rocks, slippery logs, it was all just surreal. I was sweating like a wild animal the entire time. Even though it was only about 60 degrees outside. I kept asking myself, “Brittani what the hell were you thinking?!?” It just seemed like it would never end. Our backpacks seemed like they were getting heavier the whole time. We kept climbing higher and higher but eventually we realized there was no more up left. We had made it to the top. We saw the people at the top who had taken the cable cars up and they were looking at us in disbelief when they noticed our huge backpacks. They kept asking, “You guys hiked up here with those on your back?” & “You guys slept here?” Yes and yes. We are rockstars and I hiked Table Mountain. My life is complete!

I promise I won’t wait so long to blog again. I only have 2 weeks left here and I’ll be documenting as much as I possibly can. It always means sacrificing the few hours of sleep I do get but whatever. I can sleep in the U.S… Till next time loves!

Xoxo,

Britt