Welsh 3000s 2 night trip...

Imagedude

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 24, 2011
2,005
46
Gwynedd
I'm off out to do the Carneddau and Glyderau ranges over a leisurely 48+ hours. I'll be out for two nights. Tonight the aim is to get to the top of Foel Fras (914 metres) and spend the first night there.

Here's my bivi kit, Karrimor full length inflateable mat, 3mm kipmat, Terra Nova Saturn bivi bag, PHD Minim 500 slug.
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First aid, nav, water, brew kit, sun hat, giggs, notepad etc
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Worn clothing, Paramo Cascada slacks, Lowa Mtn boots, Paramo fleece, Paramo Quito jkt, Berghaus Mt Asgard smock, PHD Yukon duvet.
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2 days food (for a mouse on a diet!) consisting of 1 x 24hr rat pack with added dried sausage, 3 extra army food pouches, 3x 'Look What I've Found' pouches, pita bread, museli bars and extra T-bags and UHT milk.
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Camera gear
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All packed and ready to go
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The bag weighs in at a respectable 36lbs.:rolleyes:
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The weather is set fair with overnight lows of a balmy +5 Centigrade.
 

Imagedude

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 24, 2011
2,005
46
Gwynedd
Mission successful!

Here's some photos, full debrief when I master this RAW file conversion nonsense.

Camp, night 1. Yes, I will fit into that 'tent'.

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Stile at night, Foel Fras,
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Camp 1st night, A55 and North Wales coast in background
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Daybreak, day 2
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Mountain refuge, day 2
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Pitstop, day 2
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Herc, day 2
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Cantilever rock from the less photographed side
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Merlin helicopter
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Reservoir at the end of the journey
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Imagedude

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 24, 2011
2,005
46
Gwynedd
Day one started at 1500hrs (3PM in old money) when I walked a short distance to the bus stop. I don't know if it is a proper bus stop but the bus drivers seem happy to stop there when I flag them down. Anyway, I arrived at the bus stop early so I went into the nearby garage/store to get change for the bus by purchasing a litre of water and a Mars Bar. This increased the amount of water I was carrying to 4 litres and took the weight of my pack to 40+ lbs.
The bus arrived on time and I arrived in Bangor 35 minutes later in time for my next bus ride. I didn't have enough change for this ride and paid with a tenner. The driver gave me change in pound coins so I had to carry £9 of uneccessary ballast with me for the entire trip! As we were approaching my drop off point we were flagged down by the driver of a school bus that had pulled over into a layby. The bus had packed up and we collected about 40 schoolgirls in the 13-16 age range. I was sorely tempted to start shouting that I wasn't allowed within 100 metres of school age children but managed to resist the temptation. Just. Instead I just stood at the front of the bus chuckling like an idiot.
I debussed on the A55 at Abergwyngregyn and started a 2 mile long jaunt along tarmac to the start of the footpath. I was not looking forward to this part of the walk but it did prove to be quite interesting, it's amazing what i have missed whilst driving along the same road.

River flowing from Aber Falls
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A couple of the wild Carneddau ponies, these animals date back to pre-celtic times and were once used in coal mines. They are Britain's last wild mountain ponies.
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At the side of the single track lane are various wild flowers, can you name any?
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On the same road we have a property owned by someone who doesn't like sheep, I think they may have bought a house in the wrong place! The gate construction is typical of many in the area, they have outlasted many more recent gates.
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One of the unwelcome sheep
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Lots of sheep and cows in a picture postcard location
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Again, typical for this location we have a stone wall which has outlasted a more 'modern' wire fence
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The start of the path into the hills, navigation was never going to be a problem with those overhead lines and land-Rover tracks
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Central heating for sheep. The sheep have worn away the topsoil around many of the roadside rocks, they like to shelter against these rocks especially when they have absorbed the heat of the day's sun
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And incase the tracks and powerlines aren't enough of a navigational aid...
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This track continued to a height of over 700 metres, easy to walk along but quite unsporting
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Many more wild ponies were seen from the path, here's a mare with her foal
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Remember that cargo ship that was blown ashore a few weeks back? This is the quarry (centre of frame in the far distance) that supplied the gravel it was carrying.
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This is me at 18:37 approaching the top of the first hill which is called Drum. I thought that the camera was producing over saturated skin tones until I realised that I was becoming 'tanned'. Thankfully I was carrying some factor 50 tanning butter.
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At 19:43 I approached the rock strewn summit of Foel Fras, can you spot the shelter?
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The GPS telling me what I already knew, my location and height. I use the GPS for datalogging rather than navigating.
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Having a medicinal moment on the trig pillar. Low sun = long tripod shadow
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Whilst the summit was still quite bright the view north was somewhat darker
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Tea was taken at 21:30 in one of the summit shelters, I had boil in the bag chilli and pita bread and a couple of energy bars washed down by a few cups of tea.
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That bivi bag looks so much bigger in the brochure. Time for bed shortly after 10PM
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Last edited:

stuart f

Full Member
Jan 19, 2004
1,397
11
56
Hawick, Scottish Borders
Hi Imagedude, some nice pics there. It looks as though the weather gods were looking favourably on you.
As for the plants,i think you have
1 Ramsons(Allium ursinum)
2 Red Campion(Silene dioica)
3 Bush Vetch(Vicia sepium)
4 Welsh Poppy(Meconopsis cambrica)
5 Greater or Lesser Stitchwort(Stellaria holostea or S. graminea)
6 (left) Maidenhair Spleenwort(Asplenium trichomanes), (right) Navalwort(Umbilicus rupestris)
7 Hawthorn(Crataegus sp.)

Again thanks for sharing.

Cheers Stuart.
 

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