Total adventures this year: 17
Hammock Hang in local woods
30th December
Wildcamp: 54
I'd originally planned to go to Llyn y fan fach but it would have been getting late at the point I would have been able to get there so I changed my mind and re-packed the bergen for a hammock hang in local woods instead.
Sue drove me to the car park at the entrance to the woods and I walked maybe 10 minutes to my chosen spot.
The Honey stove and cat litter idea didn't work this time. Last time it worked perfectly, so maybe it was just the dampness in the air being absorbed by the cat litter; I have no idea.
I set up the DD 4X4 tarp how I'd planned when I bought it and settled for a very comfy night.
Sue drove me to the car park at the entrance to the woods and I walked maybe 10 minutes to my chosen spot.
The Honey stove and cat litter idea didn't work this time. Last time it worked perfectly, so maybe it was just the dampness in the air being absorbed by the cat litter; I have no idea.
I set up the DD 4X4 tarp how I'd planned when I bought it and settled for a very comfy night.
Wildcamp on Corn Du
26th November
Wildcamp: 53
Stuart wasn't able to leave until late in the afternoon so this ended up being a night T.A.B. to the summit. We walked the whole way up in pleasant weather, the sky was clear and there was very little wind. That was until we reached the ridgeline where the "Granny-route" meets the "Motorway" and the wind hit us. We'd walked up without using our head torches and when we reached the rocks up the the summit of Corn Du two guys who were sitting there shone their head torches straight in out faces.... "Thanks very much!" A few yards further on we were just about to walk across a large patch of snow when a guy we hadn't nocided laying in his bivi, sat up and switched his head torch on. Thank god he did or we may have trod on him.
We decided that if Corn Du was this busy, Pen y fan may be even busier so we found a large area of snow and made camp on it. I needed a bit of help pitching my tent as the wind was making it extremely difficult. Stuart had even more trouble pitching his tarp as the wind was blowing it flat against the snow, making it hug every contour of the snow. He gave up after a while and decided to just sleep in his bivi.
We decided that if Corn Du was this busy, Pen y fan may be even busier so we found a large area of snow and made camp on it. I needed a bit of help pitching my tent as the wind was making it extremely difficult. Stuart had even more trouble pitching his tarp as the wind was blowing it flat against the snow, making it hug every contour of the snow. He gave up after a while and decided to just sleep in his bivi.
Please ignore the date and time on the images. The camera was set to the wrong date.
Wildcamp on Mynydd Du
15th October
Wildcamp: 52
We'd intented on walking from Ystradowen to Llyn y fan fach. However, we didn't get as far as we'd have liked.. or even half way!
We practiced half-heartedly some nav skills, half following the compass, half messing around and just wandering. From the standing stone we'd intended on going to the spot height, then changed our minds and started heading towards the trig point, then just follwed our noses and ended up at the spot height anyway.
When I realised we were close to a camp site I'd been to previously (Wildcamp: 15 in 2013) we decided to go take a look and camp there. Unfortunately the area had become overgrown and waterlogged over the past few years so we had to find somewhere else. We found a pitch not long after and started to pitch the TWO tents. It was at this point Stuart realised he'd brought the wrong poles for his tent. He had bought a Vango Halo 200 but had left the poles for this tent at home and had packed the poles for his old Vango Tempest. Just as we finished pitching the ONE tent the heavens opened and we were tent bound, which led to several hours of mickey taking, as you can see in the video.
We practiced half-heartedly some nav skills, half following the compass, half messing around and just wandering. From the standing stone we'd intended on going to the spot height, then changed our minds and started heading towards the trig point, then just follwed our noses and ended up at the spot height anyway.
When I realised we were close to a camp site I'd been to previously (Wildcamp: 15 in 2013) we decided to go take a look and camp there. Unfortunately the area had become overgrown and waterlogged over the past few years so we had to find somewhere else. We found a pitch not long after and started to pitch the TWO tents. It was at this point Stuart realised he'd brought the wrong poles for his tent. He had bought a Vango Halo 200 but had left the poles for this tent at home and had packed the poles for his old Vango Tempest. Just as we finished pitching the ONE tent the heavens opened and we were tent bound, which led to several hours of mickey taking, as you can see in the video.
Wild camp at Carreg Yr Ogof
17th September
Wildcamp: 51
Bergen weight:35lb including 3 litres of water.
I'd found a cave on the internet and decided I'd visit and photograph it.
The car park was jammed full, even the rough track leading to it was lined with parked cars. I was lucky that one person was coming out as I was going in and I quickly grabbed his place before the car coming in behind me did.
There were tired looking soldiers in uniform being dished out pain killers by some extremely hard looking people in civvies... I can only assume who they were.
I tabbed to the top of Bannau Sir Gar then took a right on a bearing of 200mils for 2Km. The 2km took less time than I'd thought and I arrived 10 minutes before I expected to.
At the trig point on Carreg Yr Ogof I dumped my bergen and just placed my GoPro on top, not thinking there'd be anyone visiting. Then set about looking for the cave, which according to the website I'd found was 100-150metres North, North East of the trig point. After about 20 minutes I heard people running across the loose stones near the trig point. I panicked and immediately thought that my GoPro would definitely be gone. Thankfully the runners were honest and had left my kit alone. Whoever you were a big THANKS.
Panic over I put the bergen on and grabbed my gopro then carried on looking for the cave. After 2 hours I gave up as it was beginning to spoil the whole trip.
This was the first disaster of the evening, later as I went to eat my food, I realised I'd forgotten my spoon; OK no great hardship. Then I started doing a timelapse of what had the potential of being a stunning sunset. Five minutes into it the clag came in and totally obscured it. Then as the moon started to rise there wasn't a cloud in sight so I thought I'd try a nightlapse of the moon and stars. It took me a minute or so to get the correct exposure then the clag came down.
At least it didn't rain.
I'd set my alarm for 5am but as I'd not had much sleep due to waking up cold several times (time to go back to the winter bag) and once waking because I'd had a dream that someone had taken all my kit in my sleep and I was just laying there in my bivvy bag. Probably brought on by the runners and my gopro incident, but I've always felt vulnerable under a tarp. Anyway, as I said, I'd set the alarm for 5am but when it went off I turned it off and went back to sleep until 7:30 when I woke to see a stunning cloud inversion.
I left camp at 8am and when I got to the ridgeline above Llyn y fan fach, I met a guy who was just finishing packing his kit away and we got talking about photography. It was really nice to meet you if you're reading this.
I'd found a cave on the internet and decided I'd visit and photograph it.
The car park was jammed full, even the rough track leading to it was lined with parked cars. I was lucky that one person was coming out as I was going in and I quickly grabbed his place before the car coming in behind me did.
There were tired looking soldiers in uniform being dished out pain killers by some extremely hard looking people in civvies... I can only assume who they were.
I tabbed to the top of Bannau Sir Gar then took a right on a bearing of 200mils for 2Km. The 2km took less time than I'd thought and I arrived 10 minutes before I expected to.
At the trig point on Carreg Yr Ogof I dumped my bergen and just placed my GoPro on top, not thinking there'd be anyone visiting. Then set about looking for the cave, which according to the website I'd found was 100-150metres North, North East of the trig point. After about 20 minutes I heard people running across the loose stones near the trig point. I panicked and immediately thought that my GoPro would definitely be gone. Thankfully the runners were honest and had left my kit alone. Whoever you were a big THANKS.
Panic over I put the bergen on and grabbed my gopro then carried on looking for the cave. After 2 hours I gave up as it was beginning to spoil the whole trip.
This was the first disaster of the evening, later as I went to eat my food, I realised I'd forgotten my spoon; OK no great hardship. Then I started doing a timelapse of what had the potential of being a stunning sunset. Five minutes into it the clag came in and totally obscured it. Then as the moon started to rise there wasn't a cloud in sight so I thought I'd try a nightlapse of the moon and stars. It took me a minute or so to get the correct exposure then the clag came down.
At least it didn't rain.
I'd set my alarm for 5am but as I'd not had much sleep due to waking up cold several times (time to go back to the winter bag) and once waking because I'd had a dream that someone had taken all my kit in my sleep and I was just laying there in my bivvy bag. Probably brought on by the runners and my gopro incident, but I've always felt vulnerable under a tarp. Anyway, as I said, I'd set the alarm for 5am but when it went off I turned it off and went back to sleep until 7:30 when I woke to see a stunning cloud inversion.
I left camp at 8am and when I got to the ridgeline above Llyn y fan fach, I met a guy who was just finishing packing his kit away and we got talking about photography. It was really nice to meet you if you're reading this.
Wild camp on the Black Mountain and
Wild "swim" in a hidden waterfall
27th August
Wildcamp: 50
I'd wanted to do something special as this was the 50th wild camp, I'd wanted to go for a 2 nighter with Stuart, but as he isn't in the country that'll have to wait. Instead I went back to the hidden waterfall to go swimming under it.
It wasn't possible to swim under the waterfall as it was too shallow, I did wade or stumble under it. The rocks underwater were quite large, round and really slippery, making it impossible to walk.
I went quite a distance from the tent exploring, going up the ridge-line and playing on some of the large rocks there.
On the way back in the morning I'd just set off after packing my tent away when I noticed two hill walkers in the distance. They happened to be going almost the same way as me and I caught them up about 15 minutes into the walk back. They had travelled almost all over the world back packing, I'm slightly jealous.
It wasn't possible to swim under the waterfall as it was too shallow, I did wade or stumble under it. The rocks underwater were quite large, round and really slippery, making it impossible to walk.
I went quite a distance from the tent exploring, going up the ridge-line and playing on some of the large rocks there.
On the way back in the morning I'd just set off after packing my tent away when I noticed two hill walkers in the distance. They happened to be going almost the same way as me and I caught them up about 15 minutes into the walk back. They had travelled almost all over the world back packing, I'm slightly jealous.
Kayaking Wild Camp on Norfolk Island
5th August
Wildcamp: 49
It was getting late so we didn't kayak from Pooley Bridge to the island, Sue dropped us at Glencoyne Bay and we kayaked to the island from there.
We saw a fire being lit by wild campers on the 'mainland' during the night and I woke at around 3am and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, I did think of getting up to do a timelapse but just fell back to sleep. The following morning was unbelievably calm as you can see in the video.
We saw a fire being lit by wild campers on the 'mainland' during the night and I woke at around 3am and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, I did think of getting up to do a timelapse but just fell back to sleep. The following morning was unbelievably calm as you can see in the video.
Striding Edge
4th August
A walk up to Helvellyn from Glenridding via Striding Edge. I didn't go across the very top as it was far too windy.
Black Mountain Hammock Hang
Sue's first Wild Camp
23rd July
Wildcamp: 48
Disclaimer:
Please ignore the date on the video. For some reason I was convinced it was the 27th, when in actual fact it was the 23rd.... at least I got the month and year right HAHA!
Sue had been saying for a while that she wanted to try a hammock wild camp, but only if the weather was fine. She finally came out for this one. We went to our favourite hammock location as this is the only spot we know where we can hang 3 hammocks close to each other.
Please ignore the date on the video. For some reason I was convinced it was the 27th, when in actual fact it was the 23rd.... at least I got the month and year right HAHA!
Sue had been saying for a while that she wanted to try a hammock wild camp, but only if the weather was fine. She finally came out for this one. We went to our favourite hammock location as this is the only spot we know where we can hang 3 hammocks close to each other.
Farteg Hill (The Crack)
2nd July
Wild-Camp: 47
I went to a place I'd been wanting to go to for almost 30 years but never got round to it, which is unusual because 12 years ago I lived within two miles of it for 18 years.
About two years ago I met an old gentleman who told me about an old mine building which had a waterfall inside it, he pointed to the general location but couldn't be sure exactly where it was as he hadn't been there since he was a child (he was in his mid eighties when I met him). He also told me about a small village that was bought by the mining company and just left to go to ruin because they wanted the land. So I had three reasons for going to this location:
1. I wanted to camp by "The Crack" as it's known.
2. I wanted to find the waterfall building so I could photograph it at a later date.
3. I wanted to find the village of ruins.
I was tought, always have a plan B. Thankfully I also had options for my plan B!
My original plan for a campsite was totally unsuitable. My plan B option 1 was impossible. My plan B option 2 was... almost perfect.
As for the buildings; I haven't as yet found out the history. If anyone knows the history of the buildings please contact me on the "about us" page.
About two years ago I met an old gentleman who told me about an old mine building which had a waterfall inside it, he pointed to the general location but couldn't be sure exactly where it was as he hadn't been there since he was a child (he was in his mid eighties when I met him). He also told me about a small village that was bought by the mining company and just left to go to ruin because they wanted the land. So I had three reasons for going to this location:
1. I wanted to camp by "The Crack" as it's known.
2. I wanted to find the waterfall building so I could photograph it at a later date.
3. I wanted to find the village of ruins.
I was tought, always have a plan B. Thankfully I also had options for my plan B!
My original plan for a campsite was totally unsuitable. My plan B option 1 was impossible. My plan B option 2 was... almost perfect.
As for the buildings; I haven't as yet found out the history. If anyone knows the history of the buildings please contact me on the "about us" page.
Llyn Y Fan Fach
18th June
Wild-Camp: 46
We'd planned on walking along the ridge to Llyn y fan fawr , swimming there, walking back along the ridge to Llyn y fan fach, swimming again then sleeping in the bivis without any other shelter.
We'd left it a bit late to leave not having enough time to get to Llyn y fan fawr, so we got about half way there and turned back, we didn't do any swimming, we just didn't fancy getting that cold as the weather was pretty dismal by the time we'd set up camp and had food plus we were without any real shelter. I suppose if we'd been in tents we would have swam. We climbed to the ridge instead, originally just going up a bit to look at our camp from a distance, then deciding we may as well reach the top.
What we think was a school doing their DofE was camped on the hill the other side of the lake, a family in a massive tent was pitched behind the 'bothy' then later on a couple of wild-campers turned up and pitched right beside the lake in the brightest orange tent I've ever seen.
The gopro session I'd bought just before the last trip had developed a fault and was freezing all the time, during our climb up the 'cliff' it froze several times and I lost a fair amount of footage.
Update
I took the gopro session back and it was replaced by another unit. This had exactly the same fault, and within an hour I was back in the shop. This time however, I no longer trusted any of the Gopro session units and paid the extra to get the GoPro Hero4 Silver. So the next camp will be shot on the Hero4 Silver.
We'd left it a bit late to leave not having enough time to get to Llyn y fan fawr, so we got about half way there and turned back, we didn't do any swimming, we just didn't fancy getting that cold as the weather was pretty dismal by the time we'd set up camp and had food plus we were without any real shelter. I suppose if we'd been in tents we would have swam. We climbed to the ridge instead, originally just going up a bit to look at our camp from a distance, then deciding we may as well reach the top.
What we think was a school doing their DofE was camped on the hill the other side of the lake, a family in a massive tent was pitched behind the 'bothy' then later on a couple of wild-campers turned up and pitched right beside the lake in the brightest orange tent I've ever seen.
The gopro session I'd bought just before the last trip had developed a fault and was freezing all the time, during our climb up the 'cliff' it froze several times and I lost a fair amount of footage.
Update
I took the gopro session back and it was replaced by another unit. This had exactly the same fault, and within an hour I was back in the shop. This time however, I no longer trusted any of the Gopro session units and paid the extra to get the GoPro Hero4 Silver. So the next camp will be shot on the Hero4 Silver.
Llyn y Fan Fach
29th May
Wild-camp: 45
Although Nicole has been camping lots of times on commercial campsites in an 8 berth tent this was her first proper wild camp.
She is doing her Bronze Duke of Edinburgh award and has a practice camp at the end of July, so obviously I would like her going to that knowing as much if not more than the instructors.
We decided to go gentle , originally intending to walk to Llyn y fan fach from the car park just North of the lake, then walk along the ridge to Pen Foel and back for a wild swim. However, due to the thunder and lightning we made the decision not to do the ridge-line but stay by the lake, although if it had been just Strider and I we would have.
We waited out the worst of the rain in the Rescue Shelter, thinking that if the worst came to the worst we would sleep inside it. Whilst we were cooking our food a couple from Bridgend also came into the shelter with their two young children.
We didn't want to sleep in the shelter so at the first opportunity we pitched the tent, the ground was so hard and gravelly that I snapped an Alpkit Y beam peg! I've never even bent one before!
With this video I've left the messing around, swearing and slightly embarrassing bits in, which I would usually edit out.
Both Strider and I have decided that we are definitely going back there for more wild swims in an absolutely stunning location.
The Lifeventure micro towel works a treat by the way.
She is doing her Bronze Duke of Edinburgh award and has a practice camp at the end of July, so obviously I would like her going to that knowing as much if not more than the instructors.
We decided to go gentle , originally intending to walk to Llyn y fan fach from the car park just North of the lake, then walk along the ridge to Pen Foel and back for a wild swim. However, due to the thunder and lightning we made the decision not to do the ridge-line but stay by the lake, although if it had been just Strider and I we would have.
We waited out the worst of the rain in the Rescue Shelter, thinking that if the worst came to the worst we would sleep inside it. Whilst we were cooking our food a couple from Bridgend also came into the shelter with their two young children.
We didn't want to sleep in the shelter so at the first opportunity we pitched the tent, the ground was so hard and gravelly that I snapped an Alpkit Y beam peg! I've never even bent one before!
With this video I've left the messing around, swearing and slightly embarrassing bits in, which I would usually edit out.
Both Strider and I have decided that we are definitely going back there for more wild swims in an absolutely stunning location.
The Lifeventure micro towel works a treat by the way.
Fan y Big
7th May
Wild-camp: 44
I attempted to go lightweight, but my pack still weighed 36lb including food and water. The forecast was for sunny spells and light showers so I'd packed my waterproofs but had forgotten my hat, it turned out to be blazing sun until 5pm then a heavy downpour for 2 hours. During the night it was high winds and torrential rain.... that wasn't forecast!
Woods near Swansea
16th April
Wild-camp: 43
An overnight trip with a bushcraft group on Facebook that an old friend of mine is a member of and asked me to join.
Photography fail Graig Fawr Wild Camp
2nd April
Wild-camp: 42
I'd gone far too early.
In order to save walking 3 or 4 miles through villages I had a lift with my wife to almost the beginning of the trail when she was leaving for work, this meant I was on the hill at 11:40am with only a short walk to my chosen spot. The trail is a loop and I've never been there before so I wanted to see the whole thing. My original plan was to camp on the left peak (as I was looking at it), walk around to the right peak, turn around and go back. But in my wisdom I made the last second decision to do the loop slowly in an anti clockwise direction and get the camera set up before sunset.
I was completely set up by 13:45.
This meant that I had PLENTY of time to make sure the DSLR was set up and I had my framing exactly how I wanted it. That was the theory anyway.
I wasn't happy with the composition of the shot, so I got the composition as good as I could and just set the camera to do a time-lapse for a couple of hours.
While this was going on I just explored the area, I didn't want to leave the tent or my camera too long as I was pitched only about 50 feet from the path so my exploration was a bit limited, plus I could see for miles anyway.
I was impressed with the weather forecast. I use the Met-office app on my phone and it said that from 2pm it would be sunny spells. IT WAS EXACTLY RIGHT.
I became very bored on this trip, even at one point thinking of packing everything away and walking back around to the other peak and setting up again, just for something to do. I didn't though.
I had stopped the time-lapse with enough space on the memory card for 20 more photos, as I wanted to try some night photography. I may as well have just left it run though as night time long exposures were impossible in that wind. Even the time-lapse was shaky due to the camera being blown by the wind. In the video I explain about the tripod but I may just keep using that tripod but put guy-lines on it to peg it down. It may work, it may not, I'll give it a go.
I have to get a new sleeping bag and video camera. You can see in the video why I need a new video camera. With regards to the sleeping bag, I froze again and the temperature only went down to 5 degrees Celsius.
In order to save walking 3 or 4 miles through villages I had a lift with my wife to almost the beginning of the trail when she was leaving for work, this meant I was on the hill at 11:40am with only a short walk to my chosen spot. The trail is a loop and I've never been there before so I wanted to see the whole thing. My original plan was to camp on the left peak (as I was looking at it), walk around to the right peak, turn around and go back. But in my wisdom I made the last second decision to do the loop slowly in an anti clockwise direction and get the camera set up before sunset.
I was completely set up by 13:45.
This meant that I had PLENTY of time to make sure the DSLR was set up and I had my framing exactly how I wanted it. That was the theory anyway.
I wasn't happy with the composition of the shot, so I got the composition as good as I could and just set the camera to do a time-lapse for a couple of hours.
While this was going on I just explored the area, I didn't want to leave the tent or my camera too long as I was pitched only about 50 feet from the path so my exploration was a bit limited, plus I could see for miles anyway.
I was impressed with the weather forecast. I use the Met-office app on my phone and it said that from 2pm it would be sunny spells. IT WAS EXACTLY RIGHT.
I became very bored on this trip, even at one point thinking of packing everything away and walking back around to the other peak and setting up again, just for something to do. I didn't though.
I had stopped the time-lapse with enough space on the memory card for 20 more photos, as I wanted to try some night photography. I may as well have just left it run though as night time long exposures were impossible in that wind. Even the time-lapse was shaky due to the camera being blown by the wind. In the video I explain about the tripod but I may just keep using that tripod but put guy-lines on it to peg it down. It may work, it may not, I'll give it a go.
I have to get a new sleeping bag and video camera. You can see in the video why I need a new video camera. With regards to the sleeping bag, I froze again and the temperature only went down to 5 degrees Celsius.
Local Woods Hammock Hang
26th March
Wild-Camp:41
Strider had kindly lent me his GoPro camera to try out as I'm not happy with my camera and could not decide whether to go for a GoPro or a traditional camcorder when I buy a new one. This trip was mainly to try out the camera.
I decided to have a hammock hang in local woods and just relax. I deliberately didn't take either of my sophisticated stoves, opting instead for the simple Trangia and Honey Stove. I didn't even look for wood to light in the Honey Stove, I took a sandwich bag full of wood pellet cat litter, of which I only used two handfuls. I knew all the wood in the woods would be wet anyway.
Part of the reason for deciding to take the Trangia was to use the frying pan in the Mini Trangia kit to cook my pork chops which I was having with Smash mixed with Philadelphia cheese.
The Bergen was in the 130litre mode as it was a hammock trip. This is what I'd bought the Bergen for, not to take more stuff but to make it extremely easy to pack. The kit will fit in my Sabre, which with the P.L.C.E side pockets is 70litres, but I have to compress everything as much as possible, which when repacking in the morning when its raining and very windy is a pain in the back-side.
Most of the time was spent just trying out the camera in different scenarios. I did the walk past, the time-lapse and I tried it in low light, with and without light. I'm quite impressed with the GoPro, especially as it's so small it's no bother to quickly get it out of your pocket to film something.
I decided to have a hammock hang in local woods and just relax. I deliberately didn't take either of my sophisticated stoves, opting instead for the simple Trangia and Honey Stove. I didn't even look for wood to light in the Honey Stove, I took a sandwich bag full of wood pellet cat litter, of which I only used two handfuls. I knew all the wood in the woods would be wet anyway.
Part of the reason for deciding to take the Trangia was to use the frying pan in the Mini Trangia kit to cook my pork chops which I was having with Smash mixed with Philadelphia cheese.
The Bergen was in the 130litre mode as it was a hammock trip. This is what I'd bought the Bergen for, not to take more stuff but to make it extremely easy to pack. The kit will fit in my Sabre, which with the P.L.C.E side pockets is 70litres, but I have to compress everything as much as possible, which when repacking in the morning when its raining and very windy is a pain in the back-side.
Most of the time was spent just trying out the camera in different scenarios. I did the walk past, the time-lapse and I tried it in low light, with and without light. I'm quite impressed with the GoPro, especially as it's so small it's no bother to quickly get it out of your pocket to film something.
Fan Fawr
19th March
Wild-Camp:40
An overnight wild camp in exactly the same spot as last month. We went there because we were hoping the snow was still there, especially as snow had been forecasted the previous three days. Unfortunately we were a little disappointed.
Strider took his dog for the first time, which made a change, and Charlie behaved perfectly, he was a little nervous of the little bit of snow that was left and for some reason nervous of the cairn until he was right up close.
Three troops of soldiers passed us early in the morning, they'd been on a navigational exercise at least all night.
Strider took his dog for the first time, which made a change, and Charlie behaved perfectly, he was a little nervous of the little bit of snow that was left and for some reason nervous of the cairn until he was right up close.
Three troops of soldiers passed us early in the morning, they'd been on a navigational exercise at least all night.
Fan Fawr
14th February
Wild-Camp:39
My wife had arranged to do a college course with her sister previously so before anyone starts thinking "He's horrible for leaving his wife to go camping on valentine's day" I had full permission. Anyway we both find Valentine's day too commercialised, we celebrate OUR anniversary, which is both the anniversary of our wedding AND anniversary of the day we started seeing each other. Besides, St Valentine was made up by a card shop to increase sales. Celebrate St Dwynwen's Day instead, you'll be able to get a table in a restaurant.
I got to Pen y fan and although I knew it'd be busy I thought that by 3pm most people would have started to go home. Both car parks were full, there were cars parked along the road and there were people everywhere. Not the best start to what I had hoped to be a solo wild camp. I was however lucky enough to pull into the Storey Arms car park as another person was leaving so I was able to park.
I already knew by the amount of cars that for me to get up Pen y fan I'd have to fight my way through the hordes on their way down, so I decided to go up Fan Fawr instead. On the way up I only passed two other people quite close to the bottom and another couple and their child about half way up, before it gets steep. Once I got to the snow line properly there was no one, just the way I like it. I had originally asked Strider if he wanted to come on the Saturday night but he was unable to and Squatt had decided it was a little too cold.
The walk up was relatively easy, though I did have to use my hands for balance at the steep part when I was almost knee deep in snow. This is also when the wind hit, I knew from the forecast that there would be 30-40mph winds, which is why I was going up there to try the new tent, the snow was a welcome bonus. I wanted to take a couple of photos of the tent in the sunset so I ran the lower slopes as I thought I was pushed for time to get set up before the sun went down. It turned out I had plenty of time. Or was it because I'd ran that I had time?
The tent was a little fiddly to get up in the wind but not difficult and when I had it pitched properly I couldn't believe that it just sat there, unmoving in that wind. The Tempest would have been flapping about like a loon, but even the inner on the Nemesis was perfectly still. I have to say that it is an amazing tent, let's hope it's more waterproof than the Tempest.
I set my stove up and couldn't get it to work properly, I thought it was the fuel line blocked by snow when I put it down, however it turned out to be a seized ball valve in the pump which I fixed quite easily, just the ball took a while to prise loose. The stove is now in perfect working order again.
I have to admit I had a cold night, my sleep mat which I'd got replaced because it was deflating kept deflating so that will need to be sent back again. I also think my sleeping bag is coming to the end of it's useful life as it doesn't loft as much as it used to, despite being looked after almost to the point of paranoia. I slept fully clothed with my Snugpak Elite jacket on and a hat and gloves, I even pulled out the survival blanket from my first aid kit at about 2am to try and stop the cold coming up through the sleep mat. It even crossed my mind once or twice to pack up and call it a day. I was ok though and the night passed uneventfully apart from the cold.
I cannot be sure if a few people passed the tent talking during the night or if I dreamt it. I did sleep for about 8 hours in total between blowing up the sleeping mat.
I'd taken my compact camera to record video during the day and photos plus my old camcorder which has infrared on it for video after dark but this wouldn't record and kept saying an error code. This code after looking it up on the internet turned out to be that it was too cold!
I'd set my alarm for 6:45am to make sure I was up in time for the sunrise. One of the good things about winter is that you don't have to get up early to see a sunrise. Unfortunately due to the mist the sunrise wasn't that good, I was only really able to see the sun about half an hour after it had got above the horizon of Cefn Crew. I'd completely packed up by 8:15 and made my way down stamping through the ice covering the snow for grip. My van was the only vehicle in the car park but as I was about to leave 2 cars turned up and yet more people made their way up Pen y fan. I'm glad no one even sees Fan Fawr.
I got to Pen y fan and although I knew it'd be busy I thought that by 3pm most people would have started to go home. Both car parks were full, there were cars parked along the road and there were people everywhere. Not the best start to what I had hoped to be a solo wild camp. I was however lucky enough to pull into the Storey Arms car park as another person was leaving so I was able to park.
I already knew by the amount of cars that for me to get up Pen y fan I'd have to fight my way through the hordes on their way down, so I decided to go up Fan Fawr instead. On the way up I only passed two other people quite close to the bottom and another couple and their child about half way up, before it gets steep. Once I got to the snow line properly there was no one, just the way I like it. I had originally asked Strider if he wanted to come on the Saturday night but he was unable to and Squatt had decided it was a little too cold.
The walk up was relatively easy, though I did have to use my hands for balance at the steep part when I was almost knee deep in snow. This is also when the wind hit, I knew from the forecast that there would be 30-40mph winds, which is why I was going up there to try the new tent, the snow was a welcome bonus. I wanted to take a couple of photos of the tent in the sunset so I ran the lower slopes as I thought I was pushed for time to get set up before the sun went down. It turned out I had plenty of time. Or was it because I'd ran that I had time?
The tent was a little fiddly to get up in the wind but not difficult and when I had it pitched properly I couldn't believe that it just sat there, unmoving in that wind. The Tempest would have been flapping about like a loon, but even the inner on the Nemesis was perfectly still. I have to say that it is an amazing tent, let's hope it's more waterproof than the Tempest.
I set my stove up and couldn't get it to work properly, I thought it was the fuel line blocked by snow when I put it down, however it turned out to be a seized ball valve in the pump which I fixed quite easily, just the ball took a while to prise loose. The stove is now in perfect working order again.
I have to admit I had a cold night, my sleep mat which I'd got replaced because it was deflating kept deflating so that will need to be sent back again. I also think my sleeping bag is coming to the end of it's useful life as it doesn't loft as much as it used to, despite being looked after almost to the point of paranoia. I slept fully clothed with my Snugpak Elite jacket on and a hat and gloves, I even pulled out the survival blanket from my first aid kit at about 2am to try and stop the cold coming up through the sleep mat. It even crossed my mind once or twice to pack up and call it a day. I was ok though and the night passed uneventfully apart from the cold.
I cannot be sure if a few people passed the tent talking during the night or if I dreamt it. I did sleep for about 8 hours in total between blowing up the sleeping mat.
I'd taken my compact camera to record video during the day and photos plus my old camcorder which has infrared on it for video after dark but this wouldn't record and kept saying an error code. This code after looking it up on the internet turned out to be that it was too cold!
I'd set my alarm for 6:45am to make sure I was up in time for the sunrise. One of the good things about winter is that you don't have to get up early to see a sunrise. Unfortunately due to the mist the sunrise wasn't that good, I was only really able to see the sun about half an hour after it had got above the horizon of Cefn Crew. I'd completely packed up by 8:15 and made my way down stamping through the ice covering the snow for grip. My van was the only vehicle in the car park but as I was about to leave 2 cars turned up and yet more people made their way up Pen y fan. I'm glad no one even sees Fan Fawr.
Pen Y Fan
23rd January
Wild-Camp:38
Strider (Stu) and I had planned the previous week to wild camp on the summit of Cribyn. We left the car in the usual car park by the phone box and grabbed the bergens from the back seat. Mine weighed 53lb with the camera equipment and water, I have no idea what Strider's weighed but it didn't feel much lighter.
We started our way up and I suddenly heard a familiar voice calling me. It was a work colleague on her way down with 2 of her friends (if you're reading this "Hi, and well done".
After exchanging hellos Strider and I carried on up and up, we were passed by one man who looked as though he was dressed for a day in Eton college, even carrying his satchel; he had no business being on the hill dressed like that in those conditions, which was heavy rain and 50odd mph winds.
Anyway, we got to the top and decided against going further and pitching the tents on Cribyn in that wind. We turned back and walked back down to the river surprisingly keeping up with the Gurkhas training up there, I say surprisingly because we weren't rushing.
We pitched the tents in a place right beside the river we've pitched at a couple of times before and just spent the rest of the night TRYING to stay dry INSIDE the tents, this didn't prove as easy as it sounds.
We started our way up and I suddenly heard a familiar voice calling me. It was a work colleague on her way down with 2 of her friends (if you're reading this "Hi, and well done".
After exchanging hellos Strider and I carried on up and up, we were passed by one man who looked as though he was dressed for a day in Eton college, even carrying his satchel; he had no business being on the hill dressed like that in those conditions, which was heavy rain and 50odd mph winds.
Anyway, we got to the top and decided against going further and pitching the tents on Cribyn in that wind. We turned back and walked back down to the river surprisingly keeping up with the Gurkhas training up there, I say surprisingly because we weren't rushing.
We pitched the tents in a place right beside the river we've pitched at a couple of times before and just spent the rest of the night TRYING to stay dry INSIDE the tents, this didn't prove as easy as it sounds.
Avalanche Endurance Events : High Moon
16th January
Unfortunately I was not competing in this night event across Pen Y Fan organised by Avalanche.
I just went up to see the friends I had made participating in previous events and to film the start for Ken.
After the start I did go up to the summit of Corn Du with the intention of spending the night at Lloydy's Point (I'm not telling you where this is to help Avalanche keep the route secret). However due to my knee I didn't get there. It took me almost 2 hours just to get to Corn Du in the snow and by that time I was in so much pain I just came back down.
I just went up to see the friends I had made participating in previous events and to film the start for Ken.
After the start I did go up to the summit of Corn Du with the intention of spending the night at Lloydy's Point (I'm not telling you where this is to help Avalanche keep the route secret). However due to my knee I didn't get there. It took me almost 2 hours just to get to Corn Du in the snow and by that time I was in so much pain I just came back down.