“Never again!” That seems to be the solemn pledge after a five-day stint of hiking the Fish River Canyon. That’s what Eric McLaren thought to himself upon completing the extraordinarily challenging Fish River for the first time. For me, this was the prevailing thought that occupied my thinking as I attempted to focus on “just one more step and then another”.

Eric McLaren was my guide when I hiked the Fish River this year. Along with 25 other pilgrims, some of them expert hikers, some beginners and a few in the middle, we descended into the mighty Fish in mid-August.

In simmering heat it was a slow descent, much slower than what Eric is used to, but true to form this seasoned guide led his flock down a treacherous route. A motley crew scrambling downhill – some of them racing as if they were attempting a Guinness World Record while others are there to slay their fear of heights, and then the soulful ones who want to find themselves away from the clamour of city life.

Eric joined his first guided hike in May 2014 on a whim. “A friend asked me to come, so I borrowed a backpack and off we went on an excursion of four nights and five days, crossing a pulsating river, bursting at its seams. I have never seen the river that full since,” he recalls.

In contrast, 2023 was a year of extreme drought in the canyon, and I must admit that suited me just fine. Not famous for my love of wet feet, I was grateful more often than not for traversing dry river beds. I am Namibian after all, and we have grown accustomed to flourishing even in dry places.

Without any doubt, our group of South African, Dutch, Slovakian and American participants was very well prepared. For weeks before our descent we had exchanged tips on the ideal hiking boots, how much food to carry and how to make that backpack lighter.

“Years of careful research on the route, diligent note taking and memorising landmarks became second nature to me,” Eric says. “I wanted to curate an experience for hikers, one that would be most memorable and fulfilling.”

The Fish River experience stretches over a distance of 160 kilometres. We, as Group 230, were able to complete it in 4 nights and 5 days. Every day the troupe set off before the crack of dawn, with Eric’s morning whistle sounding the alarm, and by 06h50 the walk started. At around 11h00 it was time for breakfast and a welcome relief for our weary feet to escape from the imprisonment of our boots.

The canyon is difficult to hike and Day 2 proved to be the most challenging. Because that is when the boulders start, interspersed with mountains of white beach sand.

The route varies and there are days on which you do 14 km, while on another day you set out to conquer a shorter distance which includes boulder hopping.

Eric has now completed 22 guided hikes in the world’s second largest canyon. ”I simply can’t describe the pleasure I get from it, it’s something I can’t get enough of. The tranquillity, the ability to switch off and to disappear,” says the clearly mesmerised guide who turned sixty this year.

The best part of the canyon was the end of every day. After pitching your tent for the night, getting a warm meal into your body and then the deafening sound of silence under a dazzling constellation of stars. With water flowing close by, some of us would gather around the fire and compare our battle scars of the day.

Would I do it again? An unequivocal yes! I parted with Eric, so grateful for his guidance and leadership. In February I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and on Summit Night I was carried down the mountain on a stretcher with my world spinning.

Unable to sleep on my last night in the canyon, I worried whether I would make it or whether vertigo would again thwart my dreams. But luckily, 89 kilometres later, I had conquered – thanks to an exceptionally talented guide.

“On the last night of each hike I make a notch in my walking pole. This is the same pole that I first used in 2014, so it has a lot of sentimental value to me,” Eric remarks.

The Fish River Canyon will definitely see me again. And, of course, with ‘the McLaren’ as guide! TNN