Ian the one-armed hiking guru at the the Summit of Devils Peak
I’ve hiked many parts of the Table Mountain range and Nature Reserve over the years, but I am constantly surprised by the new views that arise from a new path.
This time we joined a long time hiking group called The Cape Ramblers and endeavoured to conquer Devils Peak.
I have wanted to hike Devils Peak for a couple years, but the nature of hiking our mountains means you don’t hike alone, you don’t hike in wet weather and you definitely don’t hike when the gale force South Easter is blowing. Unfortunately every time I’ve been invited to do it, the weather has turned nasty and the hike has been cancelled.
When we saw the weather forecast we knew that this would be a perfect day to take on Devils Peak. And to top it off we would be starting in Newlands and heading up Newlands Ravine towards the saddle between Table Mountain and Devils Peak and then continue our ascent to the summit of Devils Peak.
Our motley crew gather at 7.30am at Newlands Forest to commence the hike. We were kitted with decent hiking boots, hats and plenty water and snacks for the days expedition.
Off we set up the lower slopes of Newlands Forest. The path immediately heads uphill. There is very little relief for the legs when the path only goes up! There’s no zig zagging or contours to follow, just up.
We followed the spiderwebbed Woodcutter’s path through the forest until we finally reached the first rest stop high up in the trees. It’s a picnic table set into a wooden deck and we took advantage of it while our heart rates slowly dropped back to a normal zone.
5 minutes later we were back on our feet and headed up stage 2 of the climb. The next section was steeper and consisted mainly of big, rocky steps. The higher we climbed the thinner the forest got and we knew that the various flora belts were changing.
Soon we suddenly stepped into a belt of hip height grasses and shrubs as the Ravine opened up before us with sky high cliffs on either wide. I can imagine rock climbers having a field day out here, but at this point I was grateful for the cloud cover keeping the sun off our shoulders and seeing the Saddle in sight.
We eventually stopped for break number 2 at the top of the saddle perfectly perched between Table Mountain and Devils Peak. I had been to this point before, but from the opposite side of the slope near Table Mountain road where there is access from the Devils Peak Steps.
The views from here are already spectacular as we can see Table Mountain, Lions Head Peak and it’s back called Signal Hill, with Robben Island and the whole of The City and Table Bay in the background.
We gathered ourselves again and started the next section of the hike towards the top of Devils Peak. The path wasn’t too busy as most folk start at 6am and our late start from Newlands meant it had taken us longer to get to this point than those starting from Table Mountain road.
The path became sandy with loose rocks and stones so we walked it carefully with eyes down most of the time. We stopped every now and then for a “photo” break - my way of catching a breather.
Then up we went to the next little outcrop. The higher we climbed the more beautiful the views got.
The False Peak
Until finally we reached the peak! There’s a bit of a false peak with a beacon just before the actually peak so you need to walk and extra 50 meters or so towards the upper Beacon where there is a complete 360 degree view of the city, ocean and mountain slopes sprawling below.
Others that had beaten us up made space for us to take our celebratory pictures because after all, of it hasn’t been recorded then did it really happen? I love documenting my hikes and finish a year in absolute wonder at how many peaks I’ve climbed and kilometres walked.
We sat and enjoyed our lunch and hot tea surrounded by splendour.
Finally ready, we started the careful descent of the peak down the same way we had come up. It was steep and slippery with the fine sand often covering the rocks. I would not want to try this route in winter.
Back down at the saddle we headed down the opposite side of the saddle towards the city and Table Mountain road. We had left a car there earlier in the morning to make the trek easier. Down, down, down the rocky steps as the sun came out from the clouds and beat down on my shoulders.
Eventually this familiar part of the path ended at the road and we had a last celebration of our days accomplishment. We had summated Devils Peak on an absolutely perfect day in good time and don’t 1054 meters of elevation. The highest point of Table Mountain at Maclears Beacon is 1084 meters so this was no small feat.
Back down we headed for the car and made our way back to the start to collect my car before heading home. What a day!
I took one last photo of Devils Peak from our starting point at Newlands before heading home. The light had changed and the peak looked even more imposing than it had that morning.
Here are some stats and map of our route:
Give me a shout if you’re ever in Cape Town and want to take a hike. I’m always up for an adventure and have covered most of the Table Mountain range in the last few years.
Take a hike!
