Friends of Stellenbosch Mountain

Upcoming hacks

16 November	7:00	Early starting time to avoid summer heat. Bring sunglasses and sunblock
December		No official hacks in December; informal ones may be arranged
18 January	7:00	Probably Upper Hack; to be finalised early in January
25 January	7:00	TBA Special celebration of Hack 200
15 February	7:00	TBA

We usually meet at the main gate to the Paradyskloof nature area, also known as Eden Forest. Here is a street map to the meet-up location.

FSM holds Lower hacks and Upper hacks as described below. Hacks are our core activity. "Lower" means "low-lying nature area"; "Upper" means "somewhere higher up the mountain". All hacks are announced on the FSM email list.

We decide on hack dates, times and locations based on this reasoning.

Recent hack activity

Lower hacks

A hack is typically easier, suitable for any stage of fitness. It would normally take around two hours; together with getting organised, reaching the hack site and the social afterwards, the entire hack event usually takes 3.5 hours.

What to bring (Lower hacks)

Conditions change, but in general you want to bring along:

Old but durable clothing, solid shoes or boots. Leave your plakkies at home.
Sunglasses, hat, sun lotion. You need some kind of protective glasses or goggles, even in cloudy weather, in order to protect your eyes from the undergrowth.
Cell phone, turned on. The mountain is large and people spread out.
Very durable gloves if you have some; we do supply gloves if you have none. Welders gloves are great.
Water bottle for the hack itself, plus a snack and coffee mug for the party afterwards.
Garden shears or weeding trowel, if you have one. This is not all that important.
FSM provides other necessary tools and equipment: bowsaws, poppers, loppers, spray bottles with herbicide.

What to expect (Lower hacks)

We walk or drive in convoy from the gate to some corner of the fynbos or renosterveld nature area of Stellenbosch Mountain, hike the last part of the way, and then saw, cut or pull the alien invasive plant species which occur. Afterwards, we have a social with tea, cool drink, cookies, whatever is brought along.

The terrain varies widely. Sometimes we work in low-lying territory close to the cars; at other times a bit of walking is needed. Upper hacks can imply going up onto the higher mountain slopes. The vegetation can vary from small shrubs on open terrain to dense river thicket. You can expect to have need of all your muscles and even your brain. This is much better than gym training, and it's free.

You can expect to meet good people: professionals, retirees, students, parents, children, all sorts. Ages vary from 6 to 84. They all care deeply about our nature heritage and its future and about Stellenbosch. They don't brag or build brand, but they are worth their weight in gold.

Last but not least: the Cape fynbos is unique, and it is beautiful. Expect to be surprised by the large variety of shapes, sizes, colours and the sheer diversity and inventiveness of the fynbos ecosystem. There is always something in flower, but August, September and October are the best. If you are lucky, you may find yourself on a tour of the morning's discoveries led by an attending botanist.

Attendance register and indemnity

If you want to participate in a hack, you are required to sign the attendance register and indemnity form at the start of the hack. No exceptions can be made.

Upper hacks

Purpose and conditions of Upper hacks

The purpose of Upper hacks is to hunt and eradicate invasives growing on the mid- and upper-level parts of the mountain. This is hugely important and valuable work because even single plants left unattended will eventually multiply to re-infest the entire mountainside.

Upper hacks are arranged on an ad hoc basis and then announced on the FSM email list. They are more demanding physically as we hike up the mountain to reach the invasives growing up there (see also Safety and Responsibility below). The terrain varies from near-level to fairly steep slopes, but we do not do rock-climbing. Loose rocks are common. There are no footpaths. The vegetation varies from easily traversed knee-deep fynbos to dense thickets.

The unique attraction of Upper hacks is that you get to discover hidden places and rare plants which you would never reach otherwise. You are rewarded with magnificent views. And you are making a very valuable contribution to our nature areas.

Because of these conditions and the extra hiking times, a Upper hack often takes six hours; seven-hour tours do happen.

What to bring (Upper hacks)

For Upper hacks, we pay even more attention to the weather, to safety and to good preparation than for regular ones. The following equipment and preparation is essential. The hack leader is authorised to refuse participation of anyone who is not properly equipped.

You MUST bring along:

Your own backpack, not only for your own stuff, but to carry equipment.
Solid shoes or boots; no sandals.
Either long pants (not too tight) or short pants with leggins (gaithers).
Hat.
Sun lotion in sunny weather.
Rain guard in rainy weather.
Warm jacket in wintertime.
Sunglasses. Even in cloudy weather, bring glasses of some kind in order to protect your eyes from the undergrowth.
Cell phone, turned on. The mountain is large and people spread out.
At least one litre of water.
Fruit and/or snacks.
Any essential medication which you may require.

FSM will supply (or you can bring it yourself if you have):

Very durable gloves; welder's gloves are great.
Bush saw and/or bowsaw.
1-metre Loppers.
Spray bottles with herbicide.

Optional items

Do not bring too much else. Try to keep your backpack light.
Camera, binoculars, GPS equipment.
Whistle, pocket knife, nylon rope.
Extra batteries, shoelaces.
Survival blanket, First Aid basics.
Axe.

Safety and responsibility

Upper hack participants must let the hack leader know beforehand that they want to come.
Obviously you need to be reasonably fit. You do not have to be an athlete but should not be scared of going on a hot day-hike and handling a saw under all sorts of conditions and body postures.
Stellenbosch Mountain is a wilderness area. Respect the mountain: it is beautiful, physically demanding and rewarding, but it can also be dangerous. The mountain is not a place for big egos and wannabe heros. We do not take chances and we are not interested in your physique, but whether you know your limits and have a sense of responsibility.
Naturally every participant must sign the usual FSM indemnity and attendance form beforehand. The hack leader may refuse participation if in his or her judgement the aspiring participant does not meet the above criteria.

Choosing dates, times and locations for hacks

Choice of dates and times: We hold our Lower hacks once a month, normally on the third Saturday of the month, with exceptions. Starting times for lower hacks depend on season and weather: In summer, starting times are usually as early as possible in the morning. The reason is threefold: Hacking can be hard work, and the hard physical work is best carried out in the coolness of the morning. It also allows hackers to do their Saturday shopping. And early mornings with sun flooding the dewy valley, the Cape Flats and Table Mountain in the distance are spectacular. In winter, on the other hand, afternoons are good alternatives. Final decisions are typically made 4-5 days beforehand based on the weather forecast, public holidays and vacations, and availability of hack leaders. Upper hack dates and times are arranged by their participants and can change at short notice.

Choice of locations: Lower hack locations are chosen with a view to relatively easy access, while Upper hack locations can range all over the mountain. The focus is always on areas which are either very valuable, such as Critical Biodiversity Areas, or locations which have a low density of invasives in difficult-to-reach places. Our approach and focus complements the work of hired contractors, who will normally work in flat areas with high densities of invasives.

Some past hacks

19 October 24	13:30	198	Central Schuilplaats: Black Wattle
21 September 24	13:30	197	Central Schuilplaats: Wattle
17 August 24	8:00	196	Lower Schuilplaats: Bugweed, Pittosporum
15 June 24	8:00	195	Source: Black Wattle, Port Jackson
18 May 24	8:00	194	Bowl: Port Jackson follow-up; Hakea
20 April 24	8:00	193	Bowl: Port Jackson follow-up
16 March 24	7:00	192	Lower Schuilplaats: Finished blackwoods
17 February 24	7:00	191	Lower Schuilplaats: Blackwood
20 January 24	7:00	190	Lower Schuilplaats: Blackwood
26 November 23	8:00	189	Upper Hack, Hakea in Bowl northern slopes, 4 hours
17 September 23	13:30	188	Lower Schuilplaats: Blackwood
1 September 23	14:45	187	Rhenish Primary outing: Introduction to FSM work
19 August 23	13:30	186	Upper Hack, Hakea in Bowl northern slopes, 4 hours
30 July 23	13:30	185	Lower Hack, Lower Schuilplaats: wattle, pittosporum, pine
24 Jun 23	13:30	184	Lower hack, Lower Schuilplaats: thistle
20 May 23	8:00	183	Upper hack on Pyramid slopes and upper Schuilplaats: hakea
15 Apr 23	8:00	182	Lower Schuilplaats: thistle, wattle (A. mearnsii), Port Jackson (A. saligna), bugweed (Solanum)
1 Apr 23	8:00	181	Upper hack, Sheepwalk and cliffs above. Large Hakeas.
18 Feb 23	7:00	180	Lower Schuilplaats: wattle, pittosporum, A saligna, bugweed
21 Jan 23	7:00	179	Upper hack in upper kloof of Schuilplaats (large hakeas)
17 Dec 22	13:00	178	Inside the waterworks dam enclosure (brambles, wattles, A saligna)