Impressive Peaks
Route: From Cathedral Peak Hotel up the Tseketseke Valley to the mountain hut.
Distance: 19 km
Duration: 7 to 8 hours (preferably 2 days)
Grade: Strenuous to severe
General: This hike is one of those intravenous walks where over a shortish, almost direct route you get high really quickly; not so much in total altitude as in the feeling of being among the high peaks. In this case the impressive free-standing peaks of Pyramid (2 914 m) and Column (2 926 m) which rise up higher in the Tseketseke Pass, and the bonus of Cleft Peak looming over you. At one time Cleft Peak (3 281 m) was thought to be the highest in the Berg, so imposing is its bearing.
Choice of Paths to Start
You can take either the Mushroom Rock and Tarn Hill or the Tryme Hill paths from the hotel car park, as they are much the same. If you plan to overnight then I recommend Tryme Hill because it gives you the chance and the time, if waterfalls are your thing, to visit Albert and Doreen falls, as well as Ribbon. These are wonderful places. It's 5 km to where the waters meet at the base of a ridge at the foot of the Camel.
The path heads up the left-hand side of the Camel for about 500 m in distance (and 50 m in height) to meet the Contour Path. The Organ Pipes/Camel Pass carries on straight up, but turn right along the Contour Path for 2 km, into and out of a deep stream gully, finally going steeply down an eroded path on a grassy spur into the Tseketseke Valley and to the campsite. The old mountain club hut can be seen a little way above the Contour Path, with its distinctive barrel-vaulted corrugated iron roof.
Check the Hut Before You Go
At the time of writing I was told by a senior conservator for the Northern Drakensberg that the hut was in poor condition and might well be removed. That is how I found it, not removed but in poor condition. However, a ranger at Cathedral Peak told me when I phoned that the hut was in fine nick and could be booked for overnight accommodation. It would be better to double check before you set out.