As promised
last week I ran the Eastern side of the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve this past weekend and took some photos to share with you.
It was a beautiful morning with open skies and the temperature was very pleasant for running. As always I was very happy to be out on the trails. The climb to the Eastern side of the reserve goes higher than the Western side but it is not as steep.
Start of the Eastern trail...up & up...
It is a hard climb and feels really long. I was happy to take some short breaks to take photos for the blog! :) Anette came with me this time and took a 6km walk while I did my run. She is the tiny white spot at the bottom in the picture below.
The trail goes through grass and then some trees and finally through more grass as you get closer to the top. The climb is full of rocks and you have to pick your foot placement carefully all the way. The grass can be tick heaven so I always check myself for the little pests after a run here.
Going East with the sun from the front.
The climb is hard and long and there are a few false summits along the way. There is a pile of stones placed by hikers at one of the false summits and I've seen many hikers turn around here instead of carrying on all the way to the top. Yes, I did place a stone on the pile when I passed here the first time.
After the pile of stones it is a short run to the top although this is still not the highest point of the trail. It is lovely here and there are always some game to spot. On Saturday I saw a Blesbuck and a Springbuck here but they ran off as I came closer.
Lots of evidence that Springbuck love this spot :)
I ran all the way to the top until I reached the Legae Trail. The views from the top are really beautiful.
View to the East.
View to the North with Johannesburg skyline.
Most of the Legae Trail from this side is a descent that gets quite technical in some places...
Once the descent was done I ran until I reached the Wildebeest Trail. I turned left onto the Wildebeest Trail, running further East. This is a very "runable" trail.
Wildebeest Trail
The trail goes all the way to the North-Eastern corner of the reserve. You get a clear view of a Virgin Active gym while running there. I'm always glad I can view it from the trail instead of me viewing someone on the trail from inside the gym...
View of the Virgin Active gym. Glad I'm out here and not inside there :)
The Wildebeest trail turns South and runs to the South-Eastern corner of the reserve. It is a lovely trail to run and one of my favorite trails in the reserve.
Lovely trail!
No human prints! Love it!
From here it follows the Southern boarder of the reserve for a while, running West. This is one of the best places in the reserve for viewing game. There are always Wildebeest and Blesbuck around here.
Southern boarder of the reserve.
Black Wildebeest, Blesbuck, Zebra & Springbuck on this photo...far away unfortunately!
The trail then joins the Kiepersol trail. Kiepersol are some of the indigenous trees found around here. This is the trail where I fell two years ago and cracked my sternum on a rock. Saturday I was very careful and ran without any stumbles or tumbles.
Kiepersol Trail.
Back to the car via Bloubos Trail.
I ran the whole Kiepersol trail and then turned back on the Bloubos trail that I also ran last week. This is the main trail that runs through the middle of the reserve. The views are also great on this trail.
Back at the entrance I found this lovely lady waiting. She did a good 6km walk and after I chatted her up we went home together for a lovely weekend...
Thanks for reading everyone! This Saturday I will run both the Eastern and Western sides in one go for some good training.
Stay positive!
22 comments:
Love the photo-log of the trails! That looks like a gnarly descent - I always find tough downs so much harder than tough ups.
And it's always fun to have a friendly facing waiting for you at the finish :)
Nothing like a run in nature!
So many different soil surfaces, very cool!
That is a very nice preserve - you are quite fortunate to have such awesome trails to run Johann! Have a great week!
wonderful views and trails! great technical training mixed in too! Such open views! Enjoy your runs there!
Another beautiful trail race. Great photos!
That must have been a long run - especially with stopping so many times to take photos! I'd rather be on the mountain looking at the gym too...
Interesting scenery and nice running paths!
Great report, Johann! I love reading about Nature Reserves. I consider them as important environmental footprints of the world.
Enjoy your runs!
Looks like a great run. I have only been able to trail run a couple of times but nothing like that.
There are definitely some tricky bits that you have to get through. I think the views are incredible,though and worth the tough sections. And all those animals - it's such a joy to run outside in the open.
Wow...and I think seeing a squirrel is cool. You live in such a wonderful place
This looks awesome. It might even get me running trails. I can't remember if I asked you this. Are ticks that carry disease a problem? It is a HUGE problem here this year with such a mild winter.
Thank you for this report and lovely pictures. Some look as if they were taken in California and then there are some that look totally different.
I find running in nature a lot more rewarding than pounding pavement.
wow, I don't know how you can top that trail!
Beautiful run. Love the pictures. Tick heaven -- yikes! Glad to read you get to get back on the trails. What a true delight!!
Even I, the non trail runner, loves this!
Except for the lack of shade on a hot day, I'd love to run there. Coming across animals on the run would be really fun!
Wildebeest...aren't those thing things that killed Simba's dad in the Lion King??? Yikes! :)
The trail is really beautiful. It really reminds me a lot of the trails around me in Colorado, the trails in the foothills. One day you will be here to see and compare :). Fun that your wife went with you also...love that you are making some of these family affairs!
Almost the weekend...does that mean you have a race? If so, do well and if not, have another fantastic trail run!!
Wow. Those trails look so, so incredible. I am jealous!
It's so funny that you welcome some short picture breaks to catch your breath. I do the exact same thing.
A few times I have run with pretty fast guys and told them the scenery was so beautiful that I had to stop to take a picture. While that was true, the bigger reason was that I couldn't breathe. Thank goodness for the camera!
Never a dull moment on your trail runs. There is so much to see and experience!
Awesome pics! That was a lot of poop :-p
I would like to run in a place like that.
I am learning to love the trails.
Post a Comment