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Day 1 My Western Rhinogs Adventure – Day 1 In early July, I arrived in the valley of the Afon Artro with a 3-night, 22km trip planned. It was a beautiful warm day, although I carried the burden of a questionable weather forecast and a heavy tent. The regular forecast was a bit mixed but not too bad, whereas MWIS warned of gale force winds, thunder & lightening and torrential downpours. Prepared for the worst just in case, I was hauling my Hille Soulo, which isn’t something I would usually be doing in summer. I had to offset the weight of it by switching some gear around. I really don’t love the weight of this tent, but I do love the peace of mind in case of bad weather I had to cross a section of head-height ferns to reach my first stop – a gorgeous lil waterfall, just off the beaten track. I donned full waterproofs to keep the ticks of my skin and was absolutely roasting by the time I arrived, so the lil pool felt amazing to rest in and fill up on water Next was the ascent of Foel Ddu – a 477m hill where I was hoping to camp for the first night. As I climbed higher, Tremadoc Bay came into view, the sun glistening over the water and the silhouettes of the peaks on the other side of the bay standing against the summer sky. Scrambling over a drystone wall, I came upon the remains of what looked like a plane crash. A quick web search informed me that this was the wreckage of an RAF plane, which came down on Foel Ddu in 1945, sadly taking the lives of all 7 men on board; David Henry Robert Evans Maxwell Walter Moon George Edward William Hodge Charles William Souden Alfred Ernest Oliff Harold Nielsen Arthur David Gash Rest in Peace The views from high on Foel Ddu were quite something, the sea to the west, and the Rhinogs to the east. I pitched at 440m, just down from the summit and out of the worst of the wind, although it was still fairly gusty, and I was glad that I’d carried the sturdy-but-heavy tent. Loving the solitude (I’d not seen another person since parking up in the valley) but unsure of what tomorrow would bring, I settled down for a noisy night of broken sleep as the wind whipped about my lil tent Gear List
This gear list contains affiliate links. This means that WildBeare makes a small commission from any sales made via these links, at no extra cost to yourself - a great way to support the channel. Thank you *I choose not to be sponsored, affiliated with any particular brands, and have not accepted any free gear to try since summer of 2021. Every piece of gear that I’m using is something that I have chosen to buy for myself – my opinions on it and experiences with it are completely impartial. SHELTER Tent Hilleberg Soulo + Footprint (Bad Weather Test & details about this tent here: https://youtu.be/mUi1IGskBig) Lyocel towel (condensation) https://amzn.to/45t7tO6 DCF Ground Sheet https://WildSkyGear.co.uk Pin Pegs for DFC Sheet https://amzn.to/3NtxOU2 TREKKING POLE https://amzn.to/3ggE1Gj SLEEP SYSTEM Bag Rab Ascent 500 https://amzn.to/3NSMcnn Mat Thermarest XLite https://amzn.to/3L8r4Ym Pillow https://amzn.to/3xwuhM1 Light AF Mat https://outdoorgearessentials.co.uk Alpkit Kloke Bivi Bag - protects sleeping bag from condensation or tent failure RUCKSACK & PACKING Deuter Aircontact 60+10L SL Women’s Rucksack https://amzn.to/3MqRvcW Exped Dry Bags https://amzn.to/33OmrDu Pack Liner - https://outdoorgearessentials.co.uk DCF Pouches + Dry Bags https://WildSkyGear.co.uk SIT MAT https://amzn.to/3yP22u8 FIELD REPAIRS Tenacious Tape https://amzn.to/2PmjxOq Cordage https://amzn.to/3hlefRW COOKING Stove https://amzn.to/3cM173q Gas https://amzn.to/3z5qV5L Stand https://amzn.to/3GLhHh4 Pot https://amzn.to/3j5Mwot XBands https://amzn.to/43SVFE8 Knife https://amzn.to/45P33RH Spoon https://amzn.to/3xgwcqi Bag for rubbish WATER & HYDRATION Empty Bottle LifeStraw 1L Filter Squeeze Bottle https://amzn.to/3lE8GA6 TOILETRIES & PERSONAL CARE Tissue Baby wipes Hand sanitiser Trowel https://amzn.to/3etBVz9 Hair band Lip balm Talc Toothpaste Tiny mirror Mini Tweezers Toothbrush https://amzn.to/2LqwgxY Sleep Mask https://amzn.to/3tD2lUs Ear Plugs https://amzn.to/40swCVh 50SPF Natural Sun Block https://amzn.to/3Mq3dq3 Cheapo Sunnies https://amzn.to/3q5wSwR MED KIT Pain relief Antihistamine Plasters Wound Dressing & Small Bandage TICK, MOZZIE & MIDGE PREVENTION Lifesystems Ex4 (tick treatment for outer clothing coming into contact with long grass etc) https://amzn.to/38XozuB Rose Geranium Oil https://amzn.to/3jY4YwJ Tick Removal Tool https://amzn.to/3rHfkFp Head Bug Net https://amzn.to/3J0OAZf CLOTHING & FOOTWEAR Boots https://amzn.to/3jufjj0 Spare Bootlaces https://amzn.to/3VizVh2 OMM Women’s Halo Pants https://amzn.to/3FBI9Ja +Jacket https://amzn.to/3MimZCc Synthetic Vest https://amzn.to/3OvmBEo Hoody https://amzn.to/3oRMTG7 Shorts https://amzn.to/3JvSw4v Down Puffy Decathlon SWIMMING Shorts https://amzn.to/43929Oq Shoes https://amzn.to/3HaxXY7 Towel https://amzn.to/43qSZwh Back at home between trips, consider washing your swim clothes and swim shoes in products that are kinder to the water. I’m currently using Tru Earth https://amzn.to/40n1YMZ ELECTRONICS x2 Power Banks https://amzn.to/3jqTQr2 Headtorch Decathlon Lyocel towel (dry hands & gear in wet weather) https://amzn.to/45t7tO6 GPS / NAV / PLB Garmin Inreach Mini https://amzn.to/3sVBi9f Tether https://amzn.to/3sTRibM Map & Compass Phone https://amzn.to/3An5PQ7 FILMING Sony ZV1 https://amzn.to/3t4VamJ Lens https://amzn.to/3CC6Jaq Screen Protectors https://amzn.to/3tYOnPA Wireless Mic https://amzn.to/44rs9Vt 128GB SD https://amzn.to/3tckuY8 Light Clip https://amzn.to/2MZjCGK Tripod https://amzn.to/3nxGg7p Ball Head https://amzn.to/32Zb87n Rain Cover https://amzn.to/3VctprU x2 GoPro 10’s https://amzn.to/3T9CDUB Wind Shields https://amzn.to/3TesuWA Screen Protectors https://amzn.to/3ww70Lf Selfie Stick https://amzn.to/3zRjDTh Rucksack Mount https://amzn.to/32Ojy4M 128GB Micro SD https://amzn.to/3p8XQ0v Gorrillapod https://amzn.to/3u9Tb3j SAM the drone: DJI Mavic Mini https://amzn.to/3rvF0SZ +old iphone to control it – my phone not compatible 128GB SD Card https://amzn.to/3p8XQ0v COMPUTER & EDITING Editing – Davinci Headphones https://amzn.to/3yds75R PC https://amzn.to/3CAp3mX Hard Drive https://amzn.to/3MnK4Vj Music in this Video
Thank you to these amazing artists for producing such beautiful music - it is such an important part of my videos and a joy to help me tell my lil adventure stories.. Evert Zeevalkink I’m Ready Lane King Intersect Neptune Emotion Flow Magnus Ludvigsson Did She Call? Veace D / Veaceslav Draganov In Each Of Us Flash Gleam EdRecords Yellow Sky Lost Angel Kikoru Silent Forest Joesph Heath Ganges Vital Easy Victor Lundberg A Thief’s Waltz Jacob Ahlbom Breathe One’s Last Martin Landstrom A Real Class Act Cristoffer Moe Ditlevsen, Anna Dager & Hanna Ekstrom The Far Traveller (all from Bensound, Epidemic Sound and Filmstro with licence) Day 2 I had a lazy morning at camp on the second morning, having been woken up throughout the night by the wind battering the tent After a quick stop-off at Foel Ddu’s 477m summit to admire the views of the Rhinogs to the East, I headed down along the westerly side of Foel Wen and down into the valley, before taking on my next hill; 589m Moelfre It looked huge and a long slog, and I wasn’t sure I would get up and down the other side again in daylight (there was a thunderstorm risk looming, and I didn’t want to camp up high). But eventually, after chatting with sheep to entertain myself along the way, and a lil scramble near the top, I made the summit and took in the most gorgeous views of Fawr, Fach and Y Llether Water was hard to come by on this trip. After a dry and hot June, many of the streams marked on the map high up were only a dribble, or trickling away inaccessible under the ground I filled up on dribble-water and wombled on to find a camping place among the ferns. Here I had views out across the bay, and the sunlight came through the clouds like a moving spotlight, glistening across the sea.. not long before I was treated to one of the prettiest sunsets I’d ever seen By night 2 I’d still not seen a single person. I’d heard some human activity when briefly crossing through farmland in the valley, but there was not a soul on these trails and these hills. So far, I’d had them all to myself. It was perfect, peaceful solitude A lil flock of sheep stood and watched me set up, looking slightly miffed, and I wondered if I might have pinched their spot for the night. Content and with a full tummy, I settled down for a good sleep, ready to take a good ol’ weather beating the next day and go looking for a waterfall Day 3 I woke to a beautiful bright and breezy morning, all blue skies and blue sea set against the summer ferns. Looking at the map, I had only a couple km to my first destination for the day; Cwm Nantcol Waterfall The going would have been fine, if it weren’t for a solid 45 minutes of hiking through ferns, varying from waist height to face height. I couldn’t see what I was walking on, so I stumbled along, eventually emerging into open grassland. Part of my planned route was impassible, so I was detouring further to the west. Always keeping an eye out for water, as I hadn’t passed any since yesterday evening, 18 hours ago and my supply was getting low Before long I reached a river and followed it down to a lil pool. The water was blue-green, and a delightfully warm 17°C.. possibly the warmest water I’ve experienced on one of these trips. I filled up my bottles and bathed in the lovely pool surrounded by mossy rocks. As I got out and started drying off, the sky grew dark and there was a sudden downpour, followed by a single crash of thunder. I scrambled to get my dry things under my ground sheet but just as fast as it had arrived, the lil mini storm was gone I had lunch and continued on with my objective: find the waterfall. More detouring ensued as I tried to avoid a campsite, but I eventually found the falls. It was really gorgeous, but so busy – apparently, it’s a feature of the campsite that I was trying to avoid. I only stopped briefly for a quick photo from a distance, a little disappointed that I didn’t get this one to myself to frolic in, but hey, you can’t win ‘em all! I decided instead to look for my own lil piece of heaven, and went exploring the surrounding landscape for somewhere to have a dip. I found a gorgeous stepped section of river, with the water tumbling down the rocks into various pools, which looked like infinity pools from the top. While I was cooling off, the heavens opened again, and a heavy shower fell about me while I cooled off. It was just perfect and I could have stayed in there a lot longer than I did – but with the possibility of lightning striking my lil pool nagging in the back of my mind, I climbed out and got on my way, hiking in my swim clothes in the rain, as there didn’t seem much point in getting changed Now I was heading North, with some welcome sections of easy road-walking and staying nice and cool in the rain, I was able to complete my circular route and pitch up not far from where I started, with views of the Rhinogs. I dried off, made my tea, and sat for hours just watching the clouds roll over the peaks. I reflected on the last 3 days. I hadn’t expected much from this trip, and honestly, due to the terrain and the weather forecast, I thought it might have been one of those that I bailed on. But actually, it was so amazing. Having no real expectations and just going with the flow can take you to some real beautiful places Comments are closed.
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