One of the things I love about Table Mountain is the sheer number of routes you can take to get to the top. Just on Camp's Bay side there are a dozen, and recently we decided to take the one called Diagonal Path. Most of these paths going up Table Mountain have a good level of difficulty, and this was no different. With very fit and not so fit friends in tow, we made our way up the path.
Soon the moderately steep path became more challenging, and my very fit friend powered forward as we pushed to keep up. It was quite late in the afternoon by this stage, around five pm, but was still incredibly hot. The heat only added to the difficulty, but the promise of a late afternoon sun and the accompanying views from the summit made up for it. We forged forward until we got to the real hiking/climbing path. The path went from challenging to outright difficult. The entire section was filled with climbing up rock faces, most of them vertical. There wasn't much of a danger element as the most you could fall was a meter or two, but our legs got on hell of a workout.
We made it to the top and the views were breathtaking. I'd never ventured to this part of the mountain, not quite on the top flat of the Table, and it is fantastic. Views of Camps Bay and the Twelve Apostles for days, backed by massive, glorious mountain.
As usual going down was significantly easier, although still a workout, and when we got to the bottom of the vertical inclination section we managed to run all the way back to the pipe track. We were up and down in just under two hours and hit the pipe track just as the sun was setting, and promptly ran into a scorpion (?!) as we made our way to the car. This is an amazing hike and run, especially if you're keen for a good workout.
