Filling in some Summit Gaps
Given my busy week at work, I decided to make the most of Friday by getting out and doing something active. A walk in the hills with an overnight camp sounded fun, but I didn’t want to drive too far. So, I checked out the local hills. Instead of revisiting familiar spots, I used SummitBag to find some new summits to tackle. I found a cluster of four to the northeast of Nant y Moch that I hadn’t yet bagged and decided to head there. The map below shows the four unbagged summits as white triangles, while the green triangles represent those I’ve already visited.
I had been to the southernmost one before, but in the mist and murk, I missed the summit by a few meters. That time I approached from the south, but today I would approach from the north to make it a completely different experience and hopefully reach the summit this time.
I drove up to Nant y Moch, parked in a layby, and set off along familiar tracks and trails I had mountain biked on numerous times. My rucksack was packed with all my camping and cooking gear and enough food to keep me going. I left the road, forded the stream flowing into Llyn Nantycagel, and headed up the rocky track to Windy Gap. True to its name, it was quite windy and chilly, with temperatures around 9ºC, cloudy skies, and a brisk wind. I stopped to put on my jacket and then followed the forest road downhill to ford another little river.
The forest was lush and green, and out of the wind, it was very pleasant. It was quiet and solitary. Although I used to ride along this trail often, I hadn’t been here in about 10 years. As I approached the river to ford it, I noticed a bridge just upstream, which hadn’t been there last time. It didn’t look new, so maybe it had been more like 15 years since I was last here! Checking later, I found my last ride here was in 2010—time flies!
Crossing the bridge, I kept my feet dry and discovered a nice path through the forest. Last time, this was just deep-rutted MX trails, but now it was an easy-going footpath. It was warming up out of the wind, and although I’d soon leave the shelter of the forest, next was a steep climb to the first summit of the day. I stopped again to take off my jacket.
I left the trees behind and started the climb up the grassy slopes to the summit of Foel Grafiau West Top (493 m). It wasn’t the most exciting summit, but it needed to be bagged, so that’s what I did. The climb was a bit challenging, and at the top, the wind made it chilly again, so on went my jacket. This became the pattern of the day—jacket on at the chilly summits and off during the warmer climbs. There were nice views back to the forests I’d just walked through.
Ahead, I could see the hills I planned to conquer. I skirted around the top of Foel Grafiau (already bagged) and followed a forest trail towards Mynydd Bychan (493 m). I wasn’t sure if I could reach this one as it was in the middle of a plantation, but I decided to try. Access was difficult, and I ended up scrabbling through trees and undergrowth, getting soaked in the process. Eventually, the vegetation became too dense, so I gave up. However, upon inspection after my hike, I found that I had indeed managed to bag it.
I retraced my steps out of the forest and stopped briefly for lunch. From there, I headed onto open hillside with only a few grazing sheep and the ever-present Red Kites and Buzzards for company.
I took a small detour off the poorly defined track to Bryn Moel (490 m) and then descended to the boggy area around the source of Nant Bryn-moel. From there, I began a long, slow slog up heather and blueberry-clad hillsides to the top of Banc Llechwedd-mawr (560 m), the summit I had narrowly missed before. This time, without mist, it was easy to find, and there were even two little cairns at the top which I had missed last time.
With the final summit of the day bagged, I still had plenty of time, so I sat on the grass to admire the views over Nant y Moch toward Plynlimon.
Next, I planned a descent to a sheep track we used to mountain bike along and then back towards the rivers I had forded earlier. I hoped to find a nice camping spot by the river for the night. I wasn’t in a hurry, as it wouldn’t get dark until around 10 pm. However, I checked my phone and found messages saying my mum was in the hospital. Although there was no immediate need to rush home, it felt right to head back to Anna rather than spend the night under the stars on my own.
The boggy ground across to the sheep track was very boggy, and at one point, I sank up to my waist. Luckily, it was only one leg, and I managed to spread myself out and pull myself free. You could easily get stuck in the bog here if not careful. I made it to the sheep track and followed it around the hillside to join a proper track alongside the river. At the ford, there was a perfect spot to camp, which I noted for another day. It was close to the track, but I doubt many people come out here. The area was flat and next to a good water source, perfect for a quiet camp. There was no mobile reception at all though so that sealed the deal – I’d head home rather than camp out tonight.
Throughout the day, I hadn’t seen a single person, heard anyone, or encountered any machinery or traffic. The summits around here might not be the most spectacular, but you can almost guarantee having them to yourself.
It wasn’t far from here back up to Windy Gap and then back to the car. At home, I was able to phone my dad and message my mum. She sounded okay but was being kept in over the weekend for tests next week.
For me, it had been a quiet and relatively easy day in the hills, and rather than a night in a tent, I would be sleeping in my own bed. I’d bagged four new summits and filled in a gap on the map.
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Silly boy, I’m sure you were told I was ok besides had it been more serious there would have been nothing anyone could have done .So continue enjoying yourself ..that makes me happy and gives me something to read too x
As yoi know I’m home now catching up on your blogs