Re: Snowdonia, Wales

Hi all!

Well, it's 4 weeks today until I arrive in the valley for my summer holiday, so I thought I had better get some more training in for my 6 day hike I plan to do when I get there.

As such, on top of the increased amount of day hikes I have been doing, this weekend I spent three days exploring the more remote parts of Wales, here in the UK.

I thought I would share a few pics from my trip, to show you what the terrain is like over here.

I hope the pictue links work ok...

Starting out, looks like great weather



Heading up into the hills



Aber Falls





Looking back towards the sea



No shortage of water to filter here



Some wild ponies





First summit of the day



Wales has an annoying amount of large boulder fields



As the cloud descends, making navigation difficult, I am luck enough to find the mountain shelter, and sit down for a rest out of the weather







Just a hairy scramble down the mountain side to reach the first nights camp spot, by the side of this high mountain lake. 21km covered with a 12kg (26lb) pack.



That is the end of day one. I hope you like the pics. I will post days 2 and 3 later tonight

Steve

Did you see Tom Jones? It's not unusual.

Shesh. Thats terrible, lol.

No, pretty much didn't see anyone on this first day, but at one point the fog was so thick I wouldn't have known if somebody was stood more than about 20 meters away.

Steve

If you think that was terrible....


Tom Jones has been hit by more pairs of panties than Hugh Hefner's bedroom floor.

I don't know if anyone is finding these interesting, but I am going to post days two and three...

Campsite


Sunrise by the lake


The north face of Tryfan - this mornings first target


A great, fairly easy scramble up to a resting point




Some slightly more exposed scrambling


Almost to the top. This was a significant challenge with a heavy pack on my back!


Great views from the top, while enjoying a second breakfast


These boulder fields slowed my progress significantly, and were really tough to negotiate. High concentration for long periods of time to prevent rolling an ankle, miles from the closest help


A long, tough, 14 hours of hiking since breakfast, I run out of energy and light. Missed my planned camsite by half hour, but it wasn't wise to continue the steep climb with such low light, and energy levels.

Steve

Day three...

As I didn't hit my planned camping area the night before, I had to be up very early, so as to reamin out of sight of the day hikers who may start out early, so, a 5am breakfast was called for...





This beautiful spot was where I intended to spend the night. It was a fantastic place. Stopped her for second breakfast, and a well deserved "wilderness wash"


This mornings second target - the north ridge of Crib Goch. Exposed, loose, and very steep.




A stunning view from the top


Meeting a bit of traffic on the single file ridge


Couldn't go around this, so had to climb over


Showing the way I have just come


Fantastic weather to enjoy the great views at the summit. Been here three times now, and this is the first time that visibility has been any better than about 10 feet.


Curry Village may have the buffet, and Pizza deck, but after three hard days of hiking, I descended back into civillization, and found a great cafe.
Jalapeno Burger.


Thanks for looking guys. I have enjoyed the fantastic pictures you all post from Yosemtie, and now I hope you enjoyed some of mine, taken from my "back yard" (Well, a two hour train journey away)

Steve

I enjoyed them. Thanks for taking the time and effort to put them up.
Much appreciated.
Why is it necessary to "reamin" out of view of dayhikers?
Are you camping illegally?

btw... def. brings back some memories... lived in Southsea for 6 months
working for IBM in Havant. Never did make it to Wales but did visit and
hike in places like Lake District, Lands End, Isle of Wight, and Isle of Skye.
I wanna say we climbed Ben Nevis... but I don't think we really made it
all the way to the top... hehehe... back then... yikes... that was a while ago...
didn't need a trail either... I'm pretty sure we passed some goats on the
way up.
In the Lake District did some knife edge stuff like you showed... no one
on the edge... and we get to the top o da mountain... and there's a zillion
peeps... we a bit confused... obliviously we went up the fun way.

Anywho. Tanks for Sharon.

---

Snowdonia is nice, thanks for posting. Only been there once, day-hiked Snowdon in March, had a clear view for approximately ten minutes before fog descended. When I got back to a pub in Caernarvon I met a group from Manchester who simply wouldn't stop buying me pints and wouldn't let me buy a round. Nice place.

Sorry, "remain" out of view lol

Yes, camping illegally.

'Wildcamping' is legal in Scotland, but in England and Wales it is indeed illegal. In the Peak District, it is generally not tolerated, and the rangers will move you on if they find you. The lake district tends to allow it, as long as certain conditions are met.

The rules of wildcamping illegally, are generally to setup above the highest wall, less than an hour before sunset, leave no more than an hour after sunrise, and leave no trace.

I think to be honest, wildcamping isn't considered a problem if done right, but if they made it legal, then everyone would be doing it, and then it would become a problem.

Anybody else out on a mountain at the same time, is likely to be doing the same thing.


Snowdonia now has a railway to the top, with a visitors centre, which does spoil the experience somewhat, but does allow many people to see something they might not otherwise get to experience. There are plently of other mountains with out railways nearby anyway.

Steve

Really cool. Great place to train. Looks like you got lucky with the weather.

yup, I was very lucky with the weather. To get three days with not one drop if rain, in Wales is very impressive.

After tackling the scary Crib Goch ridge, I am now fancying a go at the Snowdon Horseshoe route, which is about 8 hours worth of high, knife edge ridge walking.

It was good training thanks, and showed me the value of a lightweight pack. I can still save more weight by removing my Bridge camera and mini tripod, (which I never used once) and carrying less water, but filling up more often. I just get lazy, because I hate having to stop, take my pack off, and pump water.

Steve

Thanks Steve!

Living vicariously through others' adventures is what makes this site so wonderful!

Everything's so greeeeen!

---

"It is all very beautiful and magical here - a quality which cannot be described. You have to live it and breath it., let the sun bake it into you" - Ansel Adams

Quote
Jayabrams


Everything's so greeeeen!

Yes, it's almost constanly raining in Wales (or usually is when I go), and there are lots of sheep roaming around trimming the grass and fertilizing it, So quite lush. Seems to drain well though, which is nice.

Steve

Loved this! Thank you! Also love love love your tent color!!! Lucky you!

Have a great trip out to and in Yosemite!!

Quote
JustKeepWalking

Loved this! Thank you! Also love love love your tent color!!! Lucky you!

It's a Vango Force 10 Helium Carbon 100 ultralight tent. (Yes, it uses a carbon-fiber poles. It also uses titanium stakes.)

It weighs only 800 grams (about 29 ounces):

SurfMountain.com: Vango Force 10 Helium Carbon 100 Tent

Yup, that's exactly the one.

It's been pretty good so far. It's pretty much the lightest double skin tent I could find. Just about big enough, and you can sit up in the middle.

My only criticism would be that the porch is a little on the small side, and when I put my pack in it, my sleeping area is cut down a little, but you gotta make some sacrifices if you wanna save the weight.

They don't come cheap, but I did manage to get a very good deal on mine, which made the carbon fiber version the same price as the regular one.

The green does merge into the grassy hillsides quite well in Wales, not sure how wellit will fit in over here in Yosemite this week though. If you see one out on the trails this week between bloody canyon and glacier point, then it's probably me, come say hi.

Steve



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2013 06:12AM by TechieSteve.

Sorry we missed you in Yosemite... we hiked out Saturday at the Mono Meadow TH.

I do love the color, but I've had claustrophobia problems in so many small tents, so I go for shelters now and only when forced to... we are waiting on our MLD Trailstar to arrive. The 8-week don't-hold-your-breath window ends on Friday and I'll start fidgeting. And if the Trailstar doesn't work out, we're getting another full size mid. In Yellow.

Hope your trip went well and if I missed the TR, let me know. Otherwise, I'll keep an eye out for it!