Friday, 31 January 2025

My Rusty dog is getting older

My Rusty girl has given me two scares this year. 

First, suddenly weakened back legs for, fortunately, only a day - on New Year's Day. I suspect this was from a bit of strain on the trail the day before when she stepped over a log (maybe caught a back leg). We started on meds that help with arthritis (she has had joint supplements for a few years). We did four weeks of weekly shots and we are now on monthly. 

About three weeks ago, the vet recommended that Rusty has anti-inflammatory daily, not just as and when needed, which is what I had been doing for years if I saw she was looking a bit stiff. 

Last Saturday night Rusty was restless. We were up multiple times in the night and her poops we dark and liquid. I knew what near-black faeces meant: blood and a possible bleeding ulcer. This is exactly what my mom xprienced last year - also as a result of anti-inflammatories. 

I phoned the emergency vet on Sunday morning. As Rusts was eating, drinking and not vomiting, we were not at emergency stage. 

Rusts was improved Sunday night but lacked her sparkle and was very down. She didn't eat her breakfast on Monday morning. Rusty never says no to a meal, and as she never complains she must have been feeling terrible. 

We saw our vet on Monday morning and started on stomach and gut protecting and healing meds. By Tuesday afternoon, my girl had some sparkle and appetite back. We even went to the Botanical Gardens for a short walk. 


Feeling better. Visit to the Botanical Gardens on Tuesday afternoon.


We've had some beautiful late evenings this week. We've been chilling on the lawn or doing gardening. I enjoy this as an opportunity to do stuff outside with the dogs. Rusty loves to watch Rosy catching the ball and even does her herding thing. She also made a lot of faces for me (the puffed out upper lips / cheeks is part of her smile).

Miss Silly Face (her, not me)

Rusty is going on towards 14 years of ages. We've been together for almost eight years. My special girl is no longer young and while I will never be ready to let go, that day will come. She has rarely been ill and I find it very distressing to feel unable to help my girl. She is through this and I am thankful to have a well dog by my side. I treasure every day with her. My heart almost bursts with love and adoration just to look at her. Rusty changed my life, that's for sure.

I am very much a one-dog-person, but as luck would have it, I have three dogs. There is Rusty, Rosy (sorta shared with my mom as Rosy was her dog, but Rosy is very much my special girl and trail companion), and there is Cani, my foster turned adopted child.

Rosy and her ball. She is a silly monkey. Lots of attitude but actually a softie.

Purple flecks on her tongue. Chows are the breed known for an all-purple tongue, but many other breeds can have spots. Rosy is certainly a genetic mix that arrived at a 'small black dog'. She is the splitting image of the Dutch Markiesje breed.

A common Rosy look - ball in mouth

My love dog, Cani. We still have reactivity issues with strangers. Some days good, other days not as good. Slow improvement. She is a super loving and sweet girl. She was concerned about her Rusty.


Cani is such a pretty girl. She has a little white under her chin, a small flash on her chest, another on her belly and bits on her paws. Otherwise she is an almost-all-black border collie. She is actually a browny-black. Rosy is properly black.


Tuesday, 21 January 2025

Kloofing Kaaimans (the tame section)

 A local hiking group coordinated a group outing to follow a section of the Kaaimans River. 

When kloofing (aka canyoneering/canyoning), you follow a river course by hiking, scrambling over rocks, sliding down rocks, beating through vegetation, and swimming through pools of water as you make your way downstream. In technical sections, you may need ropes to rappel down cliffs or, if you have explored a pool and know that there are no submerged rocks, you can jump into deep pools.

On Saturday, we met at the Kaaimans Bridge on the Seven Passes Road to enter the river course. This is a non-technical section with no big drops. Risks are low. For the most part, you just need to watch your footing stepping from rock to rock, and be cautious stepping on rocks in the water as they can be slippery. Vegetation was not a problem.

I was there with a group of friends, in addition to people from the hiking group. We must have been about 35 people. The trip, which was in no way rushed, with stops, took us around 4 to 4.5hrs.

I did a more technical section higher upstream with Marthinus from Paradise Adventures (highly recommended) a bit more than a year ago. Marthinus is a superb guide with excellent rope skills and safety. There were three rappels and a number of low-height jumps. It was a brilliant experience.

This lower section is low-risk and it was absolutely spectacular in sections. 

I will definitely do this again and it may turn into a must-do with any friends that come visit.

Can you believe this place!


In reality, the water is cola coloured and you can't see rocks as clearly as in this photo. Amazing what my phone camera picked up. Maybe a light thing like those photos of the aurora vs naked eye. This is why you don't jump into murky pools.

We were not the only people that have been through here. Loved this, balanced by someone for all to enjoy.

The couple of long pools with cliffs on both sides are spectacular.

The rocky cliffs on either side leave you marveling at the shapes and patterns of the rocks.

Such a pretty section.

In reality, the water looks cola brown and dark but my phone camera picked up this interesting green in a couple of photos. Pretty.

Kloofing in my old trail shoes with my AR Gaiters. Yes friends, even in water, AR Gaiters stop sand from getting into your socks and shoes. Try it.

Crossing rocks to get into another pool.

Zelda, Talita and pretty Watsonia.

Photo from Zelda of me striding away. My red backpack drybag was a win.

Photo with Otto and Talita. Magnificent morning with that blue sky and warm temps - in and out of the water.

Big group today. Really nice bunch of people. Start at the Kaaimans bridge.

A snap with Otto. Photo from Zelda.

Our group of friends today for the kloofing. Liz kindly dropped us at the start.

Zelda and I almost at the end. That's the N2 bridge in the background.




Thursday, 2 January 2025

KnysnaX Summer Trail Run 19km

The KnysnaX Trail Run is held seasonally - spring, summer, autumn and winter, organised by Peter Szeili. The route is the same each time but he does alternate the direction with each event. The summer running took place on 29 December 2024.

I met Peter two years ago when I did his Oyster Festival Amazing Race with my friend Rob, who knows Peter. We did the Amazing Race again this year. I've also been at the same event as Peter with product stands - him with his KnysnaX run shorts and tees, and me with AR Gaiters

I've missed a bunch of Peter's events. I've either had something else on or the muscle-related (lower back, tight quad and glute) knee niggle that I've had on and off this year.

While I'm not completely clear of current left-knee flare, I've been running well, feeling good, doing well at crossfit and working my biokineticist exercises. After a solid 10km run on our local December FKT route in the days before the summer sun, I confirmed my entry for the 18km event.

The weather forecast was for hot and humid - and it was. Rob recommended that I wear my AR Adventure Gaiters against the overgrown grasses and plants along the railway line, and he had also sent me the altitude profile (flat, up, up, up and then down, down, down).

My mom Liz came through with me, dropping me at the start in Knysna. This is an A-to-B route and while there is a shuttle at the finish to get you back to your car at the start, the finish was at Blackwater Lodge which is on my way home. Liz headed through to the finish for breakfast and to wait for me in the shade of their beautiful big trees on the Goukamma River.

The route started off on the old railway line crossing the Knysna lagoon. That was pretty cool to run along there. 






We stuck on the railway track through the Belvidere area to where the railway line meets the Brenton road - approx 6km. While flat terrain, it was actually hard going because of the baking heat, even early in the morning before 8am. 


This is actually overgrown railway - you can make out some sleepers. Very sandy. I was glad for my gaiters.


I was really feeling the heat when I got to the first waterpoint. I drank some water and put some ice down the back of my tee.

Walking into the waterpoint.

The route then went up the road and across to the other side to hook up on forestry roads. I was looking forward to the uphill ahead to walk a bit.

First, a hello to Peter around a bend.

The wide forestry roads were mostly contouring with a few steep climbs. I used the ups to walk, stretch my legs, drink and snack, and to cool down. I was feeling good on these middle kilometres and enjoyed the running.

The last few kilometres were hot again and on the railway line, which takes focus and concentration. It was fun overtaking a few people.


A really lovely section with smatterings of shade. It was hot though. I had a few little walkies.

Lots of festivities coming into the finish at Blackwater Lodge. Such a beautiful venue.

I logged 19.2km and a run time of 2h24. Fair. It was great to be out there. I had a bit of left upper calf stiffness that worked itself out after a few days. Left knee mostly fine.

I don't feel quite that I'm 'back' - not the return of the invincibility feeling of old that I felt in July, but I'm feeling mostly good and strong. Aside from being hot, the run was smooth.

Tuesday, 31 December 2024

Books I read in 2024

 As I look through the books that I read in 2024, there are always those that stand out and others that I barely remember, even though I certainly enjoyed reading it.

As with most years, there have been a good dozen books that I started but didn't finish. Some I lingered over for two or three weeks, barely making it through a few pages each night and unable to remember the story or characters from one night to the next. I had a good dose of these mid-year, which detrimentally affected my annual tally and left me in a literary limbo for months.

Let's see what I had:

I started the year out strong with the audio version of 'Life Lived Wild' an autobiography of Rick Ridgeway's life of adventures and expeditions. Absolutely fascinating and captivating. It was because of this book that I then listened to 'The Responsible Company' by Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia company) and Vincent Stanley. Very interesting and one that I would like to listen to again as there is a lot to absorb.

The Michael Crichton was a good fiction read (people got micro sized), and 'Chickens Mules and Two Old Fools' is a real story about a couple that moved to a small Spanish town. 

'Shoe Dog', Phil Knight's memoir was a win. Phil is the guy who started Nike. Incredibly interesting and insightful. I loved every page. What a journey! We look at these big brands now, which are not without their challenges, but to read of the start - from a garage - and the risks taken, ideas, developments, manufacturing challenges, marketing, distribution... Incredible. This was my uncle's book. My mom was in the Seychelles early in the year visiting my uncle. He had just finished it and she brought it back for me. 

'Alone on the Wall' was superb. I've followed odds and ends of Alex Honnold's career through YouTube videos, magazine articles, and Banff Film Festival movies. He is an extraordinary - and quirky - climber. This book was enthralling from start to finish, giving a lot of insight into Alex's process and the preparation that goes into projects.

'Wilder Life' by Joan Lourens was an excellent read - and I've met Joan. I had sent a note to the NuTreats sister-duo of Feige and Zissy commenting on a book that they had reviewed in a NuTreats newsletter. They mentioned Joan's book and that they would send me their copy. While the book was in the post, I went to a Dendrological Society walk, which happened to be at Joan's place in Knysna! My friend Rob met us there and mentioned that Joan was active in their running club, she was a doctor and she had written a book or two. This sounded like the book that was on its way to me. It was the same Joan. What an incredible medical career she had working as a doctor in out-of-the-way locations, like the Kruger Park and St Helena island.

'Sanguinous' is a vampire-themed fiction story written by my dearest friend Allison Glass. I thoroughly enjoyed her rich characters as well as the medical elements and South African history that she brought into the book. The best part of the story, for me, was the way that Allison dealt with the 'being a vampire' reality. As we all know, vampires drink blood but they don't have a beating heart that pumps blood around their bodies. So how do they walk, talk, think and function? Their flesh is essentially dead but they don't decompose. Allison delighted me with her rationale for their undead-ness. I wrote a review of the book, which you can read from the link above.

The Dean Koontz and Chris Whitaker were enjoyable reads. I don't remember too much now other than that I enjoyed them. 'You are here' was a story of people built around a cross-country hike in the UK. Thoroughly enjoyable read but I don't remember too much now.


I am such a Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) fan and I've read all of her books under this pseudonym. I've read a few on paper but more as audiobooks and now I only choose the audio options because the narrator is exceptional and he brings the stories to life. This was a helluva listen at around 33hrs. I blazed through it listening at any opportunity whether cooking, gardening, driving. I can highly recommend any of her investigator Cormoran Strike books but I'd suggest starting from the first one. 'The Running Grave' was excellent.

'Burnt' was another winner and another autobiography. This one about Clare Frank's career in firefighting in the USA. Her book gave a lot of insight into how the fire service works - and its heirarchy, life in a fire house, and plenty of interesting information about fires.

I've ready a lot of Amunden, Shackleton, Scott content, but while I knew the name Douglas Mawson, I had not yet read about his life and expedition. 'Alone on the Ice' is the story of Mawson's 1913 expedition. Superbly fascinating and captivating. An incredible account of Mawson's expedition as well as others in his team, the challenges, risks, logistics, overwintering, and of crevasses that can swallow man, sled and a dog team whole. Brilliant.

Middletide - entertaining fiction read.

The Naturalist was another fiction story - murder mystery.

Coming off the Mawson story, I jumped into another David Roberts with a 1930 expedition on the Greenland cap by young 23-year old adventurerer Gino Watkins. This was a free audiobook but it had an expiry date and I missed out on the last 40 minutes! Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this fascinating story about an adventurerer I'd never heard of.



'The Glitch' - thoroughly enjoyable fiction book about a woman who wakes up on the morning of her 30th birthday five years earlier (on her 25th birthday). Sweet story that makes you wonder what you would do differently if given the chance to go back five years and try again - with the insight and wisdom that you gained over the five years that passed.

'In my DNA' - another autobiography about a detective in the USA. She specialised in cold cases. Very interesting about how DNA testing has changed the game for investigations and nailing criminals. IT is incredible how things have progressed in 30 years and also the DNA databases.

I went to a talk / book launch by Ryan Sandes a few weeks ago and picked up a copy of his new book, which he signed. While I've had an eye on Ryan's racing and various expedition projects so I know in general what he has done and accomplished, I loved his book for more insight into his racing, illness, injuries, sponsor responsibilities and projects (Himalaya, Lesotho, Drakensberg etc). I can definitely recommend this one. Steve Smith

I'm a few dozen pages shy of completing Ben Fogel's book, which I borrowed from friend Graeme Addison's bookcase while he was in hospital undergoing heart surgery. He has indeed been an accidental adventurer, falling into so many expeditions, many facilitated and made possible from his tv work. What stands out is that he has been game for anything and he gives whatever he jumps into his best shot. 

Looking back, I have most enjoyed the autobiographies and biographies, not just of expeditions and adventurers but also of 'adventurous' people in career choice (firefighting, detective) and business (Rick Ridgeway, Phil Knight Yvon Chouinard).

Not a very high book count this year, but some really good reads and listens.