Karen and I awoke on our first morning in South Africa with a healthy dose of good, old-fashioned jet lag—that classic mix of sedentary air-travel hangover and time-zone disorientation (seven hours, in this case). We were at the Ashanti Lodge Gardens, one of the first backpacker hostels to open in Cape Town. Despite beginning the day on the woozy side, we opted to get right on the horse and take a hike (or “walk” as they are universally understated in South Africa). The two most popular hiking destinations around Cape Town are Table Mountain and Lion’s Head; we chose Lion’s Head because the character of its steep cliffs and rocky terrain seemed right up my alley, but believe me, if we had more time, we definitely would have hiked Table Mountain, too.

We began from a different trailhead than we had planned, and thus had a longer hike than we’d expected, but that only meant we got more and more varied scenery than we’d bargained for. We were in South Africa to climb, but we were in Cape Town to experience the place—so we experienced the place.

The first thing we took in was a spectacular view of the city. Cape Town is the oldest urban area in the Republic of South Africa, and the tenth most populous city on the continent¹ (at about three and three-quarters of a million people—smaller than Los Angeles, but bigger than Chicago). It’s also home to South Africa’s parliament, and miles and miles of gorgeous, gorgeous coastline. The character of much of the cliffy coast put me in mind of Big Sur.

As an avid backpacker, I was pretty impressed by Karen’s Gregory bag. It’s actually the top of a framed backpack that detatches to become a day bag. I am definitely seeking this feature in a future purchase.

The weather was perfect. It’s technically winter in July in South Africa, and although Cape Town is only two degrees closer to the Equator than Durham, some meteorological miracle makes it mild. The contrast with the Nasty North Carolina Summer Swampstravaganza could not have been sharper (or more pleasant).

We ambled in a leisurely clockwise spiral (see map below), breathing the healthy sea air. We took our time and watched the sun sink low over both the city and its inhabitants—many of whom were up here with us, also watching. I enjoyed watching (and photographing) them in turn. We even saw a couple of whales breaching out in the ocean!² Had we more time (or been less leisurely), we would have jaunted the mile and a half or so to the northeast to enjoy the view from Signal Hill.

At the very foot of Lion’s Head, the stroll became a proper climb. Karen peeled off to go grocery shopping, and I proceeded up solo. This is not a hike for those unable or unprepared to take the proper precautions. Physically, this schlep reminded me of the ascent to Angel’s Landing in Zion Nat’l Park: It’s steep and sheer in many places, and only made possible by the provided climbing aids (some chain railings and runglike grips installed in the living rock—in at least one place there’s a straight-up ladder). If you’re not paying attention, you could easily suffer a disastrous fall. But in addition to the physical danger, there’s also the danger of being in a remote location in a foreign country, particularly as the sun set. Theft is common on both Table Mountain and Lion’s Head, and all of the sources of advice insist that a woman never be alone after dark anywhere in South Africa. This late in the day, most of the traffic on the climb was in the downward direction, and I made sure to ask each group that I passed how many people remained at the summit when they’d started down; if the count had gotten low enough, I would have turned around myself.

Fortunately, I made it to the top, where I met (in addition to spec-freaking-tacular views of the city and its surroundings) a young, well-heeled Thai gentleman named Pgunch and his mother (pictured, looking like they’re about to drop a track of hot Siamese rhymes, in front of the sprawling glow of blue-hour Cape Town). We talked for quite some time and became more or less instant friends. It was so nice to meet such well-traveled, kind, thoughtful people. It reinforced my belief that travel is important, and justified the spur-of-the-moment, semi-expensive plans that I made to travel halfway across the globe to climb with someone that I had met one time. Travel can be a difficult undertaking to shoehorn into the life of a responsible, working adult; when you get the chance to travel, take it. Grab it with both hands, sink your fingers into it, and hang on until you get there, because it is so, so worth it. Thank you, Pgunch (and, uh, Mrs. Pgunch, Sr.), for this transcendent moment. My readers will read more about you later.

My two fresh Thai companions waited with me while it got dark and everyone else vacated the summit of Lion’s Head. I hadn’t planned on being up here in the dark, so I didn’t have all of the photographic equipment that I wish I’d had, but Pgunch and Mom were very patient with me as I repeatedly stopped to set up shots on the hike down. The final image here shows Lion’s Head with Table Mountain in the distance, illuminated by the nighttime brilliance of Cape Town.

¹ After Lagos, Kinshasa, Cairo, Riyadh, Abidjan, Alexandria, Johannesburg, Dar es Salaam, and Giza.
² Sadly, not pictured.

—narrative assistance by Dan