Hogsback

            Hogsback was our destination of choice for the long weekend. The town is sweet and sleepy with a fantastic view of mountains which are said to resemble the backs of hogs. We began our sojourn early Saturday morning and drove the 3.5 hours there without a hitch (minus being a bit nervous about winding mountain roads). I must say, driving on the left side of the road is entertaining. After checking into the first backpacker, Terra Khaya, and dropping our things off we decided to jump right in with a hike. The forest was breathtaking, albeit quite muddy, and the hike was even more fun with our added hiking companion, Trensin (I have no idea how to spell her name). We crossed a creek and ducked under trees and spider webs. When we came upon the first waterfall, Madonna and Child, we took a much needed breather and picture taking break. The rest of the hike was still beautiful as well as tiring with its 3.5 hour length. We got back to Away with the Fairies (the second backpacker we stayed at that also had the best hiking trails) and the keys managed to get locked in the trunk (I will mention that it wasn’t my typically clumsy self to blame). Almost all our money and all but one phone was locked away for the evening. We got a ride back to Terra Khaya and a locksmith came in the morning from 280 km away to help. We spent a relaxing morning at Terra Khaya after waking up for a mountain sunrise and proceeded to pack up and explore the town with its quaint artist shops, planning to come back and take a horseback ride through the mountain. However, an afternoon as relaxing as our morning wasn’t in store. A bump in the gravel road broke off a plastic cover underneath the car. Thankfully we were by a pottery studio/farm and the farmers helped us get the car on jacks and retrieve the dangling cover. Then a rock hit something else that proceeded to leak. The tires also ended up being low. We still went to two pottery stops and I got a great souvenir for my mom and Zach’s mom, which was an exciting find. Once we got to Away with the Fairies, we started to sort out car trouble. A group of siblings ended up having a miniature compressor to pump our tires at least a little and another couple who we’d met the night before helped inspect the leakage, which turned out to be nothing.  We had a relaxing evening after we stopped worrying about the car. We ate some of the best pizza ever and played six-person cribbage with the family who had helped with the tires (they were way faster learners than I was).

             We woke up bright and early to watch the sunrise again and embarked on a “2 hour” hike. We made our way back to Madonna and Child and on our way back decided to explore Bridal Veil Falls. When the sign said “rock scramble, 20 mins” it really wasn’t lying. The strenuous and steep climb was entirely worth it when we came upon the middle of the fall and ventured out to take pictures. On our way down, Heather slipped but we thought nothing of it till her toe was all of a sudden quite bloody. We carefully and precariously plopped down on a rock to inspect the slice that ended up being halfway around her toe. Thankfully she had brought her first aid kit and I fixed her up well enough to make it back and re-bandage it. I hate to say that such a mishap was fun, but it was a little exhilarating to be doctoring in the middle of a rock scramble. Cut feet and all, the hike ended up being over 4.5 hours and boy do we feel it. The scenery, which there will be a lot of on Facebook, was simply gorgeous and made the work well worth it. The drive back was uneventful, thankfully and Avis didn’t charge us for the broken cover. So despite the quite stressful (at the time) car troubles and slight injury, the weekend could legitimately be called a success. Being in the mountains is always so refreshing and hiking through nature’s beauty was a blessing in muddy tennis shoes.