GEORGE NEWS - Charles Boltar, a resident of Leisure Isle in Knysna who started hiking for the first time in 2017, has conquered George Peak twice within the space of only three weeks, once from the north, and on 5 June the almost vertical climb from the south.
This peak (1 336m) was one of the remaining challenges he set himself since the hiking bug bit.
Boltar joined The Ramblers (now The Clodhoppers), a small group of retirees from George, Sedgefield, Brenton and Rheenendal, who hike on Thursdays.
Today he light-heartedly speaks of the first hike he undertook with the group on invitation from a friend in Brenton. Unbeknown to Brenton at the time, the hike was the challenging Pass-to-Pass trail - from the Montagu Pass to the Outeniqua Pass.
With a wry smile he mentions the fact that he was mistakenly under the impression that the hike would be preceded by a hearty breakfast at the Garden Route Botanical Garden, the group’s rendezvous for that hike, to be followed by a leisurely ramble somewhere in the mountains.
As a novice hiker it was clear that Charles was wholly unprepared for what lay ahead. But being the fighter he is, he survived this first hike and came back the following week, all fired up and ready to prove a point.
Since then, he has not only completed the day hikes in the Garden Route numerous times, but also various multiday hikes such as Eden-to-Addo, Leopard Trail, Pondo Land Trail, Kunene Camino, Kaokoveld Camino and Antjie se Pad in the Baviaanskloof.
As the most senior member of The Clodhoppers, we salute you, Charles! May you enjoy many more hikes with us in the idyllic Garden Route.
On his way up the vertical climb.
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