[23RD AUGUST 2024]
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So this is the first time I’m heading out into the wild in almost 2 years and the weather is predicted to be glorious… if you love 70mph winds, torrential rain and the country being battered by Hurricane Ernesto… so yeah, glorious! Still, I thought I’d give it a go anyway and after a not-so-useful diversion just before Harlech Castle and my car sat nav taking me through loads of farmers fields, through 100,000 gates that all needed opening and closing, I finally arrived at the campsite alongside Llyn Cwm Bychan. I set foot outside of the car into the wind and felt instantly enamoured with the area. It was remote, not a soul in sight and I had a good hike ahead of me. I was finally back in the land that I love.
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Having paid my £5 for the car to be essentially camping for the night I began my route on the Cambrian Way through the woods. In there I recorded my first bit of footage for the video and I must’ve done 10 different takes as I kept fluffing what I was saying. I’m completely out of the groove with producing videos it seems! Once satisfied I’d done my grandest performance I passed through a gate and made my way along the “track” to Gloyw Lyn. The route ascends 210 meters which, at points, can be quite steep. I’d heard it was a rugged landscape out here but nothing can prepare you for just how much heather and rocky scrambling there is to tackle. It’s tough, it runs a very high risk of being ankle breaking BUT wow, what fun it is. What was even more fun was the sheer amount of Blueberry bushes there were. They tasted incredible! I must’ve had a couple of handfuls of them before thinking “I probably should stop just in case of any unfortunate incidents and sadly dropped what I prepared for my 3rd helping. I don’t need to be dealing with THAT. As I finished climbing I reached a plateau at 390 meters where hurricane Ernesto made his presence known for the first time. The wind was a constant 20mph and was gusting up to 30mph which doesn’t sound like too much but with half a house strapped to your back and babies heads and bog everywhere it really makes it tough. Still, I’d reached the tarn and what a great spot to have some lunch. It was here I finally had my first sight of Rhinog Fawr. It was, however, only for a brief moment as the next layer of cloud came in and engulfed it. It wasn’t looking like I was summiting today given the conditions were guaranteed to worsen BUT me being me, and now having a full stomach, I soldiered on and headed south-east towards Llyn Du where things became incredibly challenging… like the weather wasn’t enough of a factor.
My initial intentions were to continue along the southern track just below Gloyw Lyn and once near the second sheepfold, head east through the heather up to the marked wall and track to the summit. Given the conditions I decided to scrap that for a more direct route to reach Llyn Du first and reassess summiting there. Sounds wise doesn’t it. However this “wise” plan took me through a waist high heather crop which had unseen deep holes that caught me off-guard a couple of times. This was dangerous and I began debating whether or not I should turn back, get back to the Cambrian Way and head up the Roman Steps OR, do what I did which was to ascend a near vertical scramble up a boulder field. It’s times like these I think I should shave my beard off and get “dope” tattooed to my forehead as “wise” this is anything but… though looking at the map it looks so easy. So, off I went. I cautiously began to ascend the boulder field.
With every footstep my heart was in my mouth. One shift from any of these could result in disaster and it was a very real possibility. Some of the smaller rocks loosened off and tumbled into the valley below and the larger ones, well thankfully they all stayed in place. Every now and again one would wobble creating a very dull, hollow thud making the hairs stand up on my neck. I just kept telling myself “come on Graham, you can do this”. Thankfully I finally reached a point in the ascent where the boulders ended and the heather once again began. It was so thick my feet weren’t touching the ground at all and most of my points of contact were the heather itself. This was actually quite scary, I’m not afraid to admit that. My first time out getting back used to the hike was proving more of a challenge than I’d initially hoped for. Talk about dropping myself in at the deep end! Even through all of the fear, the tough scramble and the weather continuing to batter me I stopped for a moment, had a drink of water and ate what once resembled a pork pie and looked out over to the ocean. All I could think was “what a brilliant adventure”. I must be mental but I really mean it. Where I’d stopped I wasn’t even sat down, I was more leaning into the heather with a rock under one foot preventing me sliding back down into the valley… see, mental in hindsight. With a smile on my face I continued on the final part of the scramble and could finally walk upright over the high ground. I will be at Llyn Du soon.
With every footstep my heart was in my mouth. One shift from any of these could result in disaster and it was a very real possibility. Some of the smaller rocks loosened off and tumbled into the valley below and the larger ones, well thankfully they all stayed in place. Every now and again one would wobble creating a very dull, hollow thud making the hairs stand up on my neck. I just kept telling myself “come on Graham, you can do this”. Thankfully I finally reached a point in the ascent where the boulders ended and the heather once again began. It was so thick my feet weren’t touching the ground at all and most of my points of contact were the heather itself. This was actually quite scary, I’m not afraid to admit that. My first time out getting back used to the hike was proving more of a challenge than I’d initially hoped for. Talk about dropping myself in at the deep end! Even through all of the fear, the tough scramble and the weather continuing to batter me I stopped for a moment, had a drink of water and ate what once resembled a pork pie and looked out over to the ocean. All I could think was “what a brilliant adventure”. I must be mental but I really mean it. Where I’d stopped I wasn’t even sat down, I was more leaning into the heather with a rock under one foot preventing me sliding back down into the valley… see, mental in hindsight. With a smile on my face I continued on the final part of the scramble and could finally walk upright over the high ground. I will be at Llyn Du soon.
I set a bearing on my compass and began heading west directly for the tarn. The wind really picked up now so I couldn’t get complacent. I jumped over one of the two walls in my path and soon reached the second but I couldn’t seem to find a low part of the wall to cross. How do others do this? I was on what resembled a path on my map but there’s no way to get over this wall… except there really was. There are huge rocks poking out of the slate wall however these had blended in so I couldn’t see them. It’s shocking as seriously, they’re not small at all. I blame it on the heavy rain and diminishing visibility due to the cloud base dropping. It was here that I looked up towards the summit of Rhinog Fawr and made my final decision. Nothing would please me more to say let’s go for it. I must’ve stood there for a good 5 minutes trying to get around what my gut was telling me, only for the wind to bring me back to reality with a lovely pelting of Hale to the face. The wind speeds had risen to 35mph now and visibility was no more than 20 meters at points… today was not the day to be summiting any mountain. Llyn Du was the highest elevation I’d be reaching.
After a little break at the tarn, a quick wash of the face and a fresh, albeit interestingly tasting, drink from Llyn Du I began the stepping stone hike around the northern rim. This was incredibly good fun. Again, it’s points like this where I do think I must have a screw loose as this would be most people’s worst nightmare. I took a moment to take in what little view I had and it was at this point I could hear the wind beating the higher ground of Rhinog Fawr. The cloud was moving so fast up there and it just looked like hell. I absolutely called this one right so I was content in my decision to begin heading down. Once I reached the end of the tarn, I was all of a sudden met with a barrage of very strong winds causing me to lose balance and drop to the ground to prevent a fall. Ernesto was coming… I needed to get down and fast.
After a little break at the tarn, a quick wash of the face and a fresh, albeit interestingly tasting, drink from Llyn Du I began the stepping stone hike around the northern rim. This was incredibly good fun. Again, it’s points like this where I do think I must have a screw loose as this would be most people’s worst nightmare. I took a moment to take in what little view I had and it was at this point I could hear the wind beating the higher ground of Rhinog Fawr. The cloud was moving so fast up there and it just looked like hell. I absolutely called this one right so I was content in my decision to begin heading down. Once I reached the end of the tarn, I was all of a sudden met with a barrage of very strong winds causing me to lose balance and drop to the ground to prevent a fall. Ernesto was coming… I needed to get down and fast.
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Unfortunately in the Rhinogs unless it’s an actual path fast just isn’t something that happens. The track down from Llyn Du is pretty much another boulder field, part of which has a stream flowing down it making the rocks very slippery underfoot. In my urge to get down fast I didn’t keep an eye on my bearing and I ended up hiking through, yes you guessed it, more heather. I realised this a little too late so had to create a new route down around some crags. During this descent my foot all of a sudden disappeared into a hole causing me to fall to my hands and knees. I stopped for a moment questioning “am I alright?” waiting for the shock and adrenaline to quickly be overtaken by pain however, thankfully that didn’t come and I was in one piece. It wasn’t that I wasn’t being careful enough, it’s simply what looks like solid ground unfortunately wasn’t. I continued down and all of a sudden I could see the Bwlch Tyddiad track. An actual path was finally in sight! YES! However this is me, I can’t get through this without one final shock turn of events and feeling a bit like Dawn French. My foot yet again, disappeared into the abyss and this time I ended up having a tumble down a short drop into some more heather. I stood up and all I could think was “what a graceful way to end that descent”. I loved all of this weirdly, I’d never been hiking for so long without tracks before, but my god I was so grateful to be on a track again. I quite literally kissed the floor! Now I needed to find my pitch for the night.
As I reached the northern side of Rhinog Fawr it was acting like a huge windbreak so this was very well received by me having felt like a soggy stray bag for life for the trip so far. The rain wasn’t letting up much though but still, being on the solid track I was now getting a decent pace… well for the very brief duration I was on it before veering off track once again to head over to Llyn Morwynion. I hiked between two crags where I reached a point I couldn’t descend any more. Well I could but I didn’t want to lose the hight quite that fast. So I turned back and decided to follow a wall that heads straight down to the tarn. It’s steep and again, very ropey underfoot but I could finally now see my home for the night. Devastatingly though this was not the way I should’ve gone. What I couldn’t see due to the poor visibility was this headed straight down into the tarn itself and there was no way to walk around the edge as the water in the tarn was right up to a sheer cliff edge. I had to turn back yet again. Heading back up 60 meters to the tops I found the ground up here was so incredibly boggy and sodden, this wasn’t really an option to pitch up. Not to mention I was yet again getting hit by the wind. This wind did work in my favour as it caused a break in the fog so I quickly head towards the tarn again but from this elevation to see if I could see a good pitch for the night. What a view! If the conditions were better, I’d probably have pitched right there! Absolutely beautiful! Unfortunately, the ground around the tarn was flooded and the higher ground was so rocky, it didn’t look any more favourable. Time was getting on and some decisions had to be made.
As I reached the northern side of Rhinog Fawr it was acting like a huge windbreak so this was very well received by me having felt like a soggy stray bag for life for the trip so far. The rain wasn’t letting up much though but still, being on the solid track I was now getting a decent pace… well for the very brief duration I was on it before veering off track once again to head over to Llyn Morwynion. I hiked between two crags where I reached a point I couldn’t descend any more. Well I could but I didn’t want to lose the hight quite that fast. So I turned back and decided to follow a wall that heads straight down to the tarn. It’s steep and again, very ropey underfoot but I could finally now see my home for the night. Devastatingly though this was not the way I should’ve gone. What I couldn’t see due to the poor visibility was this headed straight down into the tarn itself and there was no way to walk around the edge as the water in the tarn was right up to a sheer cliff edge. I had to turn back yet again. Heading back up 60 meters to the tops I found the ground up here was so incredibly boggy and sodden, this wasn’t really an option to pitch up. Not to mention I was yet again getting hit by the wind. This wind did work in my favour as it caused a break in the fog so I quickly head towards the tarn again but from this elevation to see if I could see a good pitch for the night. What a view! If the conditions were better, I’d probably have pitched right there! Absolutely beautiful! Unfortunately, the ground around the tarn was flooded and the higher ground was so rocky, it didn’t look any more favourable. Time was getting on and some decisions had to be made.
I kept trying to convince myself “it’s not that bad up here” as my feet squelched with every step. The tarn wasn’t an option and nor was up here so I turned back and was about to head down the roman steps in search of a better pitch until I found a “good” pitch just before the main track. The rain began to pour down again and the wind started howling. With the light beginning to fade I decide to go for it. Although a struggle I finally got the tent up. I was so ready to get in and get some warm clothes on but as I sat in, the worst happened. Water seeped up from the ground and ended up flowing into my tent! If I’d have pitched where I just was on the tops god knows me and my tent would’ve been surfing down the Roman Steps if it was this bad here. I tried drying the floor but with a soggy towel and what still resembled an Olympic swimming pool in my living area, it was just too far gone. This wasn’t going to be a wild camp for me either. With time running out I had to quickly pack my gear away and get back down to the car before dark.
I was a little gutted about this. It’s not something I’ve been faced with before. Failing a wild camp?! This was a first since 2014 but it was the obvious call as risking hyperthermia really isn’t the favourable option. Equally, throughout this ordeal my camera had unfortunately developed an odd glitch where it was displaying a fault code when trying to record, hence the drop in video quality as I had to use my phone’s camera. To add insult to injury I slipped over on the Roman Steps and bent my hand back as I fell side on. Don’t worry, it hurt for a few days but at worst it was a minor sprain. As I descended back to the car I thought back over the trip and I can’t tell you how happy and proud I was to have done what I’d done. What an amazing, challenging and breathtaking adventure I’d had and I’m so pleased my body took to it as if I’d done it just a week earlier, not 2 years. Would I have loved to summit? Yes. Would I have loved to have a wild camp? Yes but sometimes, these are the cards you’re delt. It’s what you do with them that determines your successes, and also a huge part is what your definition of success is. I didn’t get stuck up Rhinog Fawr, I didn’t break anything or get ill and I came out of this one with a huge smile on my face and home to my family. That’s a successful adventure in my book. I am officially back doing what I love!
Rhinog Fawr… I’m coming back for you.
I was a little gutted about this. It’s not something I’ve been faced with before. Failing a wild camp?! This was a first since 2014 but it was the obvious call as risking hyperthermia really isn’t the favourable option. Equally, throughout this ordeal my camera had unfortunately developed an odd glitch where it was displaying a fault code when trying to record, hence the drop in video quality as I had to use my phone’s camera. To add insult to injury I slipped over on the Roman Steps and bent my hand back as I fell side on. Don’t worry, it hurt for a few days but at worst it was a minor sprain. As I descended back to the car I thought back over the trip and I can’t tell you how happy and proud I was to have done what I’d done. What an amazing, challenging and breathtaking adventure I’d had and I’m so pleased my body took to it as if I’d done it just a week earlier, not 2 years. Would I have loved to summit? Yes. Would I have loved to have a wild camp? Yes but sometimes, these are the cards you’re delt. It’s what you do with them that determines your successes, and also a huge part is what your definition of success is. I didn’t get stuck up Rhinog Fawr, I didn’t break anything or get ill and I came out of this one with a huge smile on my face and home to my family. That’s a successful adventure in my book. I am officially back doing what I love!
Rhinog Fawr… I’m coming back for you.
