Brandberg 2009 Day 3

Today was Summit Day and we knew that a long day lay ahead. We were up early and started the mostly flat walk further up the ravine towards our citadel, Konigstein Peak at 2578m.

From Obere Kaskaden we walked on through boulders and large rocks for a while before reaching a really welcome flat section of the mountain. The soil was visibly moist and the birds in this area was more present. I was really impressed with the diverse fauna and flora in this 'desert'.

We saw fresh leopard tracks at the first water and there were a couple of Klipspringer making their way up the ridges as we approached.

The flat sections did not last too long and we reached a particular steep section of the ravine where the only option was to scramble up across the boulders. We ascended 100m over 650m in distance.

At the top of this ravine you are quite close to the base of Konigstein where we left our backpacks to climb the peak with less weight. Reaching Konigstein is not challenging at all, a walk up the mountain. This is also the first time we encountered foot paths and the going was a lot easier than the previous two days.

However reaching the summit of any mountain remains a personal and sacred experience. Everyone clearly had some of their own thoughts on their minds and for the first time I acknowledged how screwed up we became from working too much for too long. It has been 15 years since I reached the peak of any meaningful mountain. Yes sure, we summited many challenges and we have conquered our fears of becoming husbands and fathers, employees , MD's and business owners, but as they say: "When last did you do something for the first time?" I felt selfish on the mountain thinking I owe it to myself, also thankful that we actually took the time out to do this trip vowing to start planning the next one as soon as we get home.

From Konigstein it was an easy walk towards Wasserfal Flache where we would be looking for a place to camp. On the way we visited the Slangholle, a cave with some magnificent rock art. The name comes from a large snake painted on the outside of the cave.

To the western edge of the Wasserfal Flache there is another cave with some flat rock infront of it where we setup camp. The cave entrance is complete with a waterfall which was by this time reduced to a fast drip. The little water probably traveled a couple of hundred meters over a large rock which meant it was just a good temperature for a shower. We welcomed the warm shower and secret bars of soap made its appearance.

It was long day. We covered almost 16km over 7 hours. A couple of us were really glad to have made it to the summit. On day 1 there were a couple of worried faces, but now we have done the hardest part and were looking forward to a rest day before leaving this magnificent place.