[17th august 2025]
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It's been a year since I was last here. I can't believe it! This was where my first trip out as Wild Rucker ended in disaster but being back in the area again instantly reminded me of why I came here in the first place. It's absolutely beautiful here! There are so few people knocking around and it truly makes you feel solitude. Granted Hurricane Ernesto made it so the sensible people stayed at home unlike me attempting to summit a mountain but even still, this time around in good conditions I saw about 3 people and that was it. If you want remote, this place should be on your list.
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I parked up at the campsite, paid for the car to enjoy a nice overnighter next to Llyn Cwm Bychan and I began my ascent of Rhinog Fawr along the Roman steps. Already I was sweating as the temperature was a beautiful 24 degrees Celsius and increasing... nice for a beer in the garden but not the best conditions for carrying the weight I was. I reached the main saddle where you can head north to Llyn Y Morynion where my tent was flooded last time but this time the view was very different. Where it was absolutely throwing it down with poor visibility and me looking at my now swimming pool of a tent, looking east you could see the most stunning view of the valley over the dense forest. It was absolutely beautiful! I came out here with the main aim of summiting Rhinog Fawr but I figured why not head down into the forest the following day... i'd love for this to be the outcome however, the Fawr had a very different morning planned for me as you'll see. I followed a vague track along the foot of the unnamed crag to my right and before I knew it I was back at Llyn Du.
Speechless... it's just stunningly beautiful, you know, now I can actually see it all. The winds were picking up again but this time they were very welcome as it was absolutely roasting. I stayed at the water’s edge for a while, replenishing my water supplies for the night and assessing the final leg of my ascent. As I said last time, maps have routes listed on them but whether or not they exist is another question. I reluctantly left Llyn Du and began climbing once more where my track all of a sudden came to an end. I saw a great boulderfield clinging to the side of the Fawr and thought, why not! It looked too much fun not to climb. A year ago this would've been a no go but it's exciting to do. I love how technical the climb can be... i mean, it's bloody difficult having to film as well so making sure I had decent grip was another factor that added to the fun. After 100 meters or so the ground eventually levelled off and I hooked onto another track. I followed it to a T junction where I found my final trail up towards the summit. This was pretty steep at points, some areas were dam near vertical but finally the ground levelled off one final time... I could see it... the trig... i've finally made it!
The view was just spectacular! Looking out at Llanbedrog, Abersoch and out over the Irish sea... there really aren't that many opportunities in life to see such scenery from this kind of altitude. The neighbouring peak Rhinog Fach looked beautiful in the orange glow of the sunset, the distant mountains looked epic... the whole area just looked magical... and i'm lucky enough to have it all to myself for the night! Footage shot and photos taken I desperately needed to find my nook out of the ever increasing winds. I headed down the western side looking for a decent set of crags to protect me and not even 10 meters down, I found the perfect spot. I unpacked my cooking area, popped the beer in the wind to cool down and layered up in preparation for the temperature to drop. It's always best to layer up when you're already warm to retain heat and burn less calories. There you go, my top tip! Speaking of burning I can't believe how bad my stew was. I'd forgotten to pack wipes to clean the cooking tin out with after i'd eaten and I really love a coffee first thing in the morning. As it stood, I was drinking stew coffee, a stewffee if you will, which I knew I wouldn't fancy it at 06:00 unsurprisingly SO I needed to figure out a plan B... I really wish I hadn't bothered!
I took the label off the tin, grabbed the handle from my cooking tins and held the tin over the flame to cook which I thought would work however, all that happened was the flame was so focused on the bottom of the tin that all it did was burn the food. Now at worst I thought the bottom may be inedible but at least the rest would be hot. What actually happened was the burned food at the bottom of the tin massively tainted the entire tin leading to it tasting like, how did I phrase it, "singed armpit hair"! It was horrendous BUT I had nothing else to eat and calories were needed... so I ate it. I've had worse but i'll never forget the wipes again!
Anyway, that gourmet meal down it was time to get settled with a nice beer and watch the sunset. There wasn't another soul up here all evening which was nice. I watched as the last slithers of the day faded away and the lights began coming on one by one in the distant towns and then it happened... the stars came out to play. This was perfect! Beers sank I got in my Bivi Bag and just lay there looking up as the millions of stars and the milky way above. I've never been so exposed before, i'm used to a tent over my head but this was something else. Eventually I drifted off to sleep, only to wake up needed the obligatory 3am old man wee. This bit can be a bit of a struggle but still, I managed and got to, yet again, fall asleep under this vast expanse of stars.
I took the label off the tin, grabbed the handle from my cooking tins and held the tin over the flame to cook which I thought would work however, all that happened was the flame was so focused on the bottom of the tin that all it did was burn the food. Now at worst I thought the bottom may be inedible but at least the rest would be hot. What actually happened was the burned food at the bottom of the tin massively tainted the entire tin leading to it tasting like, how did I phrase it, "singed armpit hair"! It was horrendous BUT I had nothing else to eat and calories were needed... so I ate it. I've had worse but i'll never forget the wipes again!
Anyway, that gourmet meal down it was time to get settled with a nice beer and watch the sunset. There wasn't another soul up here all evening which was nice. I watched as the last slithers of the day faded away and the lights began coming on one by one in the distant towns and then it happened... the stars came out to play. This was perfect! Beers sank I got in my Bivi Bag and just lay there looking up as the millions of stars and the milky way above. I've never been so exposed before, i'm used to a tent over my head but this was something else. Eventually I drifted off to sleep, only to wake up needed the obligatory 3am old man wee. This bit can be a bit of a struggle but still, I managed and got to, yet again, fall asleep under this vast expanse of stars.
Morning. 05:50. The view is very different. I woke up a little disorientated but quickly got the brain fired up and assessed the current situation. I had dense fog and strong winds to contend with today. One disadvantage to being in a Bivi Bag is you have to keep your gear packed away to ensure it doesn't blow away and to do pretty much anything you need to get out. Also this particular Bivi has zero air circulation so my body heat had generated a huge amount of condensation which had fallen right on my sleeping bag. Thankfully this hadn't reached me and I was still nice and toasty warm... and i'll be honest, reluctant to get out! Still, the coffee won't make itself and I had 2 crushed, damp croissants to look forward to! Yum Yum!
Now my gear was packed away the winds had decided to go mental. This Fawr seemed furious as yesterday’s success as this wasn't forecast and sadly, caused me to abandon descending down the eastern face towards the forest. It wasn't worth the risk. One final ascent to the summit to take in, well, nothing as it was still dense with fog I began my descent back down the western face, away from the worst of the winds. On my way back to Llyn Du I found a rock that looked like a chaise longue! This was too good to resist a nice, quarter way down relax. If you spot it, it'll make for a great spot for a Bivi Bag night! Rest aside I purified some more water at Llyn Du before completing the final leg down the Roman Steps and back to the car. Just before I reached Llyn Cwm Bychan I saw a family with the bloke struggling with a sheep at a fence. It had it's horn stuck in the wire mesh and was panicking. I helped him twist the fence around the horn of the sheep and after a struggle, and some annoying charges by the sheep knocking us back to square one, it eventually broke free. Other than what was an obvious sore neck it appeared to be fine and began grazing. Good deed for the day done I arrived back at the car where I enjoyed the last of my purified water and some nice goodies i'd packed in the boot.
What a great way to round off a year in the wild!
Now my gear was packed away the winds had decided to go mental. This Fawr seemed furious as yesterday’s success as this wasn't forecast and sadly, caused me to abandon descending down the eastern face towards the forest. It wasn't worth the risk. One final ascent to the summit to take in, well, nothing as it was still dense with fog I began my descent back down the western face, away from the worst of the winds. On my way back to Llyn Du I found a rock that looked like a chaise longue! This was too good to resist a nice, quarter way down relax. If you spot it, it'll make for a great spot for a Bivi Bag night! Rest aside I purified some more water at Llyn Du before completing the final leg down the Roman Steps and back to the car. Just before I reached Llyn Cwm Bychan I saw a family with the bloke struggling with a sheep at a fence. It had it's horn stuck in the wire mesh and was panicking. I helped him twist the fence around the horn of the sheep and after a struggle, and some annoying charges by the sheep knocking us back to square one, it eventually broke free. Other than what was an obvious sore neck it appeared to be fine and began grazing. Good deed for the day done I arrived back at the car where I enjoyed the last of my purified water and some nice goodies i'd packed in the boot.
What a great way to round off a year in the wild!
