“And it’s a wrap!” read a post on Friends of Table Mountain’s Facebook (FOTM) page last week shortly after the last of the 250 logs were placed on the upper Devil’s Peak and Newlands Ravine trails.
In February, FOTM took on the initiative to rehabilitate a section of the Devil’s Peak path as a community project with the assistance of the South African National Parks (SANParks) Honorary Rangers.
The project entailed the procurement of materials, two volunteer days – Saturday 5 March and Saturday 12 March, respectively – to transport the materials to the site and to complete some basic rehabilitation and two weeks of work for a professional trail-building team.
On Tuesday 22 March, Andy Davies, chair of FOTM, wrote on their Facebook page that the work on the Devil’s Peak trail was complete. Besides placing the logs, the entire trail was also cleared of vegetation from the trailhead. The rocky section through the saddle riverbed was also fixed.
“It was incredibly great to do something constructive and tangible on our beautiful mountain. And equally great was the support we received from the many hikers, trail runners, mountain bikers and other donors,” wrote Davies.
He gave a special shout-out to Maarten Turkstra “for being a great catalyst and hands-on director”, and for sponsoring about R25 000 worth of materials through his company Axess. In addition, thanks went to Table Mountain Bikers, Robert Vogel, Tuesday Trails, Batrun, and the SANParks Honorary Rangers for their support and contributions. Frank Dwyer and Blake Dyason also got a special mention for their initial trail assessment.
He also acknowledged the individual sponsors who contributed financially via FOTM’s Quicket fundraiser and “all the beautiful people who pitched up and hauled those logs up that hill”.
He encourages hikers to go and experience the revitalised trails for themselves.
“We really enjoyed this project and will be doing more of the same soon. FOTM is already planning on a number of further projects based on the feedback they receive from the Table Mountain users,” he said.
- Those wishing to get involved can follow FOTM’s Facebook page or email team@friendsoftablemountain.org
