It gave me nothing I expected, but it gave me everything I needed
It gave me nothing I expected,
but it gave me everything I needed.
Hiking the Fish River Canyon in 4 nights and 5 days
Text Stephanie Mohrmann | Photographs Stephanie Mohrmann
From the Spring 2021 issue
DAY 1: THE DESCENT
How does one describe that moment when you shoulder your backpack with everything you think you need for the next 4 nights and 5 days? And the feeling when taking that first step into the awe-inspiring Fish River Canyon. A step into an unfamiliar world. Is it fear, excitement, anxiety, eagerness, adrenaline, or just blank emotion? The best description I can relate this feeling to is when I did my first bungee jump off Bloukrans Bridge back in 2007. I felt everything and nothing.
With less than 7 weeks to plan before the descent on 29 May 2021, I was happy to find a reliable and true-hearted companion to accompany me on my dream journey. I was surprised by how many people around me have hiked it several times before, leaving me questioning my life choices and wondering if I have worked hard enough to fulfil my dreams? I guess sometimes things just work out when they are meant to. Perhaps in the past, I would not have appreciated this hike as much as I do now? Does my guardian angel allow my dreams to become reality once I reach a certain mental and physical maturity? Whatever it may be, today I bathe in my happiness and indescribable emotions. But let me show you this magnificent place. It was the time of my life!
As I took the first step into the descent of the second largest canyon in the world, I had no idea what to expect. From the start, I thanked my body’s flexible and mobile capabilities, as well as the strength I had in my “stokkie” legs. Training and staying fit surely does come in handy. The geography and beautiful flowers made me think of specific individuals back home. But as I took the time to stare at their beauty, I was also in the present moment.
I was astonished when we reached ground zero and I could fill my water bottle with fresh water from the river. Here I am, drinking fresh river water in the harsh desert. Around 4 PM, after hiking for 3 km, we settled down in a lovely river bend, First Rest Pools. The adrenalin, the heat and the energy spent on the first day were glorious reasons to celebrate with a swim in the river pools. We set up camp in a crawly-proof sleep space and felt how each vertebra cracked as we lay down to sleep under the Milky Way.
DAY 2: THE UNEXPECTED DISTANCE
Luckily, no critters! Our makeshift camp worked. Our Mr Price -5° sleeping bags kept us warm and my Little Mermaid sleep mask kept the moonlight out. I woke up as the sun gently touched the ridges of the 500 metre-high canyon walls. My normal day starts at 5 AM, so to wake up at 7 AM “canyon time” is a massive sleep-in achievement for me. Still snuggled in my sleeping bag, I took the opportunity to thank my body, my energy and my safety, absorbing everything around me.
As we sip our coffee, enthusiastic “good morning” cheers are exchanged with fellow hikers walking past our camp. We took it slow this morning, assuming we did a good stretch the day before and relaxed for lunch at the famous Vespa bike. We soon realised that we barely completed 3 km on the first day. Eish, my mind started racing as I calculated the kilometres for the coming days.
Because we had to climb over several Middle-earth Mordor-type rocks, traverse giant Ghibli-shaped boulders on all fours and trudge along beaches through soft dune sand, we averaged a mere 1 km per 45 minutes. Are we walking backwards in time? Chatting to a legendary hiker who has done this hike eight times, we were reassured that the first two days are slow and challenging, both mentally and physically.
Two hours before sunset I got a blast of energy as we missioned through this merciless yet magical scenery before reaching our target camp, Sulphur Springs, shortly after sunset. Drained by the 8 km day, we were too tired to explore the springs. We focused only on building our critter-proof shelter and having a warm astronaut dinner around my green fairy lights for a makeshift “campfire”. The manic solifugae that raced past our bare feet sent us to bed straight after dinner.
As the sweet relief of the Tiger Balm started working its magic on my tired shoulders, I chuckled silently thinking back on the comments from my hiker mates who wondered how I still managed to squat down in Malasana pose to take photos of the flowers on this laborious day. Let’s not picture how I got out of the yoga squat position, though…
DAY 3: STUNNING RIVER, HORRIBLE WEATHER
Waking up to the sound of the Sulphur Springs’ stream is surreal. Again I slept until 7 AM – I must have been tired. It is bizarre to find a stream here that is a hot 57 °C! A few pools down, where hot and cold water mix, I managed to reward my feet with a warm bath.
Today’s weather was inhospitable, with cold windy flushes. Think of the worst coastal east wind conditions, but at freezing temperatures. I got a good face scrub today and I ate more sand than food. Dramatic dust swivelled around us as the wind cleared our footsteps instantly after each step – but there was magic everywhere. The beauty of today’s rivers, boulders, the wide stretches of water and ever-changing scenery took my breath away.
Beaten by the harsh weather, we camped at Sand Against Slopes. I had a moment of panic, thinking a dune might cover me by the morning. How could I sleep in this weather? I trudged on with nervous yet hopeful energy to see what the Mordor rocks around the bend had in store, hoping for better shelter against the wind. I made my friends move – I couldn’t sleep in the dunes and sand after our 16 km day. We settled in a small curved “hole” between the bigger rocks. Heating dinner with our gas cooker became creative too, but we managed between narrow crevasses (again, me doing yoga squats). Curled around rocks, all you could see was an S-shaped sleeping bag, a green beanie, a Little Mermaid face mask, and a mummified face wrapped with my blue sarong. To my surprise, it was the best sleep I had during the entire hike.
DAY 4: UP AND DOWN
“We made it through the night!” was my first thought. And, surprisingly, I felt refreshed and ready for the slog along the river. Perhaps the wind blew away what I had to let go of in my mind? Our mission was to start at 8 AM and reach Cornelius Camp before sunset. A 19 km hike over boulders and mountains.
Today I had long moments of a peaceful mind and clear headspace. Everyone had a survival mantra, a song, a word, a phrase, and a camp goal. I found a Converse All Stars shoeprint on our path and was amazed that this hiker is walking with sneakers. Finding this shoeprint gave me a sense of direction and I was comforted by our shared goals. Now I grin when thinking back. This shoeprint became my mantra, encouraging me to walk stronger every time I found it.
The shortcuts we took gave us gorgeous mountain views and rewarded us with a real sense of achievement. Every climb tested my single leg lunge strength. We hiked ahead of the group with tenacious energy, looking for paths and safe boulder crossings and possible camp spots. Hopefully, I inspired my companions, as my perseverance to reach our target kilometres was in full stride.
We reached our target camp two hours earlier than expected and decided to trudge on and smash some extra kilometres whilst the sun and our energy still held up. Not confident about how much further we could go and if we would find a satisfactory camp, we settled on one of the most beautiful beaches right at the river with clean water. Pink Palace after a 22 km day. Our second relaxed evening meant we had daylight to set up camp, bath and make food without a rush or challenging weather. Whilst sipping on hot chai chocolate tea, I showed my mates the Southern Cross, Orion’s Belt, and we watched how the enormous Scorpio rose higher in the night sky.
DAY 5: AM I “GATVOL” OR DO I WANT MORE?
“Life is getting up an hour early to live an hour more.” – Unknown
At 5:30 AM, before the birds started chirping, we got ready. This was the coldest morning of all. I kept my thermo wear on until about 9 AM, just after we crossed the river after Bandage Pass. To our surprise, we had one more Middle-earth Mordor boulder challenge in front of us. Thankfully, the rock formations distracted me from my mood – maybe I was hungry? I was also wondering if my left pinkie toe was starting to chafe.
The last few kilometres were paved with signs, random words written with rocks and then a smiley face. Before we tackled the last 5 km, we parked under a big tree and emotionally prepared ourselves for the end. The end of nature, the end of silence, the end of a simple day where the most important thing was food and shelter.
We finished the 16 km for the day walking into Ai-Ais at exactly 13:33 PM on 2 June 2021. My first words to my family and friends were: “Made it. #timeofmylife. Only broke 2 plastic spoons.”
I expected a bunch of emotions to flush over me and imagined breaking down in tears as I entered Ai-Ais. However, only adrenaline rushed through me as we “cheersed” our beers with each other. Heck, walking barefoot on cold tiles feels amazing!
But behold, waking up the next morning in clean white sheets, my emotions took full control of me. I wanted silence, I wanted no haste, I needed solitude to digest and process this experience. Some say this hike is an achievement, an accomplishment. I am still unsure what it did for me. It is amazing to realise what your capabilities are and to appreciate the little things you need in a day.
How do I feel now? Reflection and writing helped to process the journey. I have taken two solitude days in my flat to write everything down and to keep the memory alive. You are reading the short version. I would recommend others to explore themselves in this pristine desert canyon in Namibia, or anywhere else in the world. I am amped knowing more adventures are waiting for me and eager to learn what every journey will teach me. There is a lesson in everything.
No doubt, I would do this hike again in a heartbeat.
Serious suggestion: Walk with someone who has done it before.
Best decision: Borrowing a First Ascent thermal liner (weight: 200g).
Snack tip: Grenade protein bar (20g protein per serving, sugar-free and healthy carbs from rice and oats).
Highly recommended: Electrolytes, at least two a day.
CAMPING GEAR
The -5°C sleeping bag plus lightweight bag liner from Mr Price for N$500 worked perfectly fine. Our tent was a mozzie net. We dug our walking sticks into the ground at the top end and collected two shorter sticks for the lower end to create a structure.
COOKING EQUIPMENT
We only had a gas cooker, kettle and two cups. Our plastic yoghurt Tupperware served as packaging for our food and as bowls to eat from. Packing multi-purpose items makes a lot of sense.
WALKING STICK
I never imagined how handy this third leg would be! Wooden sticks available from truck port woodworkers for N$50.
SHOES
I struggle to rate specialised hiking boots which gave some hikers blisters on day 2, whereas I had my oldest Altra runners on and William his Rocky Phoenix hiking sandals with zero problems up to day 5. So, what is your most comfortable walking shoe? Sneakers, maybe?
FITNESS
Anyone can do this hike, but do you want to enjoy it? I recommend working on endurance, a bit of mobility and balance. Our diverse group was evidence that age means nothing. I valued my all-round fitness, as I could balance longer, reach further, step harder, and had no aches or pains in my legs for the entire journey. This is not to say that an unfit person will not be able to finish the hike, but I am looking from a perspective of how a hiker can enjoy the experience more by preventing aches and injuries.
FOOD SUMMARY
Breakfast: Quick oats, almond butter, granola bar, whey protein and an instant cappuccino.
Lunch: Tuna, rice cakes and biltong.
Dinner: The first dinner was roasted potato, butternut and boiled eggs (prepared at home). Two dinners consisted of Trek’n Eat powder food, lots of quick rice noodles and Rauchfleisch. The last dinner was Cup-A-Soup, quick rice noodles and Rauchfleisch. For dessert, I had a Grenade protein bar.
Snacks: Hammer Gel (two per day), apple, Salticrax, biltong and two electrolyte sachets per day.
Lunch: Tuna, rice cakes and biltong.
Dinner: The first dinner was roasted potato, butternut and boiled eggs (prepared at home). Two dinners consisted of Trek’n Eat powder food, lots of quick rice noodles and Rauchfleisch. The last dinner was Cup-A-Soup, quick rice noodles and Rauchfleisch. For dessert, I had a Grenade protein bar.
Snacks: Hammer Gel (two per day), apple, Salticrax, biltong and two electrolyte sachets per day.
WHAT I WOULD CHANGE NEXT TIME
More protein bars (not granola bars, as this is sugar). Protein helps with muscle recovery and fills the belly for longer. And a ground sheet for a bigger sand-free surface to sleep on. TNN
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