DETAILS
Location: Hermanus mountains Distance: 13km
Terrain: Trail, mix of singletrack and jeep track
Best time: Late afternoon in Summer
I do this route whenever I'm in Hermanus, and I almost always tackle it at sunset during golden hour, simply because the views over Walker Bay are just so amazing.
I ran it again this past weekend, in cool, overcast conditions and it was epic. The route starts off with about three kilometres of climbing up the very scenic 'Adder Ladder' route which takes you up to around 350m (above mean sea level) elevation. This is by far my favourite actual running section of the trail - as it's tough, scenic and very rewarding when you hit the top.
From there, it traverses along the top of the mountain which sees you run almost the length of Hermanus. It is here were the views of the town and bay and, across the ocean, are just crazy.
Finally, it cuts down to a lower contour path and from there it's a fun, fast singletrack back to the start point.
Here you have the option of a few side trails to extend the loop, but usually I keep it to around a 13km roundtrip.
Ideally you want to take it easy up the initial climb. After this section, it's mostly flat and downhill so you want to have fresh legs to push the pace. Be sure to breathe in the views from the top though (and stop for that ever-important Social Media shot), with Hermanus on one side and the Hemel en Aarde valley on the other. It’s pretty spectacular.
I used the ASICS GEL-Fujirado shoes for this run, but since it's not too technical you can use any trail shoes and you'd be absolutely fine. If you're doing it fast, you want a fairly lightweight trail shoe for the jeep track sections. Enjoy!
Follow @Jonomarcblack on instagram as he tackles more trails.
