Uncommon Sense

The Boy Scout motto says, “Be prepared.” It’s a logical piece of advice that you don’t even need to be a scout to adhere to. But it apparently never occurs to many of the tourists who attempt to walk up Cape Town’s Table Mountain. Officials of Table Mountain National Park do issue stern warnings of the dangers, but trouble still happens on a regular basis.

After hiking up and down the 3,600-foot mountain on Saturday, I can see why. I was astounded by some of the unprepared people I passed. Apparently they think because Table Mountain is in the middle of a city, it’s a walk in the park. The reality is that it’s a relentless uphill march that requires, at minimum, several bottles of water, solid footwear, sunscreen and a determined attitude.

Yet I saw people wearing sandals, sneakers with no laces, jeans and bathing suits. I saw people carrying single 16-ounce bottles of water and nothing else. On an 90-degree day, a hiker will exhaust that amount of water well before reaching the top. One clearly exhausted woman asked me, “Is this is the mountain that never ends?”

The best, or I should probably say worst, example was the two men (pictured above) wearing dress clothes and carrying briefcases. Perhaps they had an important business meeting at the top. Meanwhile, the woman accompanying them had apparently just rolled out of bed – she was wearing, and I am not making this up, bedroom slippers.