Breakdown of route choices:

As we arrived at Constantia Neck at 8:30 it was raining quite heavily. We contacted a representative for Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) and the Mountain Club of South Africa (MCSA) and were advised that we can continue hiking but should head directly to the Scout Hut making use of the planned Bad Weather route, hiking along Clayton's Road and see what the weather was like the next morning. Just as we started hiking , around 09:05, the rain stopped so we took the opportunity and got moving.  The weather was quite nice on the ascent. There were thick clouds above us but visibility was good at our altitude. Forecasts said that it would start raining heavily at 14:00 so our goal was to reach the hut before then. We were making good time, and were on track to reaching our goal. As we turned the corner towards Overseer's Cottage, just past the metal bridge on the road, the weather changed a lot. It suddenly became very cold and windy as we walked into the clouds. This confirmed our choice to stick to the bad weather route. The next section felt a little longer than I remembered, probably because our pace was slowed due to the low temperatures. We eventually made it to Woodhead Reservoir. Around this time the rain had started again, although it was light. We didn't mind though because we  were really close to the hut. By the time we arrived the rain had become more heavy. We were all glad to find a few pieces of firewood in the hut, though the smoke filled it. Day 1 went really well despite all the challenges. It rained the whole night. Probably around 20 hours.

 When we woke up in the morning it was still raining. The weather forecasts for the second day predicted much better weather so we decided to wait the rain out. After a nice breakfast consisting of Oats and hot coffee we started packing our bags and cleaning up. Most dishes were done the night prior because Daniel liked the hot water in the cold so cleanup was quick. We were out of the hut by 09:40. I'd locked everything up when I remembered that I left my beanie on my bed so I ran in to fetch it. Our hike the second day officially started at 09:45. The weather was significantly better than the previous day so I decided that we would finish the hike the way I had planned it. After a light drizzle 5 minutes in, we were dry... other than the wet plants on our legs. The beginning of day 2 was quite easy. Everybody was in good spirits which helped us move at a decent pace. I think I annoyed everybody with constant instructions to drink more water because the sun was out, but it was worth not having to deal with dehydration. Echo valley was damp. My socks had gotten wet which was annoying but I had to deal with it. I was honest with the amount of uphill we were doing because a scout's honor is to be trusted so Aaron was a bit nervous for the ascent to Platteklip Gorge, but by the time we had arrived at that section he dealt with it better than he was expecting to, so the ascent was actually quite quick. We hiked along to the Upper Cable Station for lunch.  After lunch we completed the circle around that area and started the descent via Platteklip Gorge. This took much longer than I was expecting. Rephael struggled with the steepness so we went slowly. It probably took 45 minutes longer than planned.  Platteklip it seems is also one of the routes that is quicker to hike up than to hike down. It consists entirely of steep, uneven stairs that zig zag for kilometers. That being said, the feeling of reaching the contour path was incredible.  We headed left towards India Venster. This section was relatively quick. The weather was great and the path was flat. We wanted to get to the end as soon as possible because Rephael had to  go to Hermanus after the hike with his friends. We made it to the start of India Venster, took some photos and started the final stretch.  As we hiked down we soon noticed that we were directly under the cable cars. We decided to have some fun and wave to the tourists. The first few groups waved back but then they stopped. Eventually we got bored and  stopped waving too. At this point though we were basically at the bottom. We were met by my parents who brought us each an ice cold Coke which we had definitely earned. It was a good hike with some hiccups at the beginning but it ultimately went really well.