Days 2 and 3…
The sunlight was bursting into the roof tent through the open skylights. I’d made a conscious decision to leave them open so that the daylight would wake me naturally and early enough to seize the day. I reached for my phone to check the time. It was 06:10. Perfect. I’d had a really comfortable night’s sleep and was ready to take on the day.
After a quick visit to the toilet block my next priority was for a nice hot mug of coffee. No matter where or how I’m camping, a coffee first thing in the morning always helps to set me up for the day. It was a bright and sunny morning, so I decided to sit outside in my camp chair to enjoy my coffee and watch the campsite slowly come alive.
My thoughts then quickly turned to cooking some breakfast. To me, this felt like glamping and I was going to make sure that I enjoyed every meal as much as I could. Cooking on the multi burner gas stove was an absolute pleasure and so quick and easy to use. I was going to toast a cob with some cheese and add some bacon and mushrooms. My stomach murmured in approval of my choice and I remembered that I’d still got an unopened portion of barbeque sauce in the car to top it all off.
Fed, watered and washed I started to think about fishing. Already the day was warming up fast and I was really looking forward to trying out the Tenkara rod. I sorted out my fishing gear which was quite minimal. A telescopic 12ft Sawtooth II Tenkara rod from the Tenkara Rod Co in the US which I’d purchased used but in excellent condition from Ebay. My collapsible landing net from Rigged And Ready and a small pouch of pre-spooled lines and a small hard plastic container to store a selection of Kebari flies (reverse hackle).
I changed in the living pod into my hiking gear to go fishing and took a leisurely walk along the river to a spot that I’d seen yesterday. The Tenkara rod is really quick to set up and within a few minutes I was casting my line into the river. My own previous fishing experience was mainly limited to coarse fishing on the river Severn as a young boy with my family. Often we would catch Chub, Barble and the occasional Eel. Casting the braided line quickly felt quite natural and I was happy with my progress. I worked a small stretch of the river for about an hour but unfortunately I didn’t spot any activity within the river whatsoever. Maybe it was too hot or I’d tried at the wrong time of day. Either way I was enjoying what I was doing and it was a good excuse to spend some quality time beside such a beautiful little river.
After some lunch I would try again but unfortunately the results would be the same. I’d decided that I would come back again later in the evening when everything had cooled down. I made a couple of phone calls while I had a good reception on my mobile and headed back to my little camp to chill out for a while.
When I got back the elderly couple who had arrived in the motorhome in front of me yesterday were heading my way to take a walk along the river. They stopped to chat and we talked about some of our favourite camping locations around the country. As they continued with their walk they made me smile again as I thought to myself and hoped that would be me one day, still getting out and enjoying new adventures.
Tomorrow I was planning on hiking up Moel Hebog. A stunning little mountain that constantly stood guard overlooking the Cae Du campsite. All the time that I’d been on site I had not spotted a single hiker heading up to its summit.”That would change tomorrow”, I thought. I’d travelled to Snowdonia many times over the years and ticked off a few of the more well known summits but Moel Hebog would be another first for me on this trip. I opened up my OS maps app on my phone and began to plan my route.
My evening fishing was a very similar experience to that earlier in the day. I reluctantly accepted defeat but was renewed with a determination to continue with the Tenkara rod on another adventure. It had been fun trying and learning something new and that was what really matters most.
For tea it was going to be a rather simple affair of an easy camping classic of hot dogs, buns, fried onions and a splash of tomato ketchup. That would do the trick nicely. I washed it down again with the last couple of IPA’s and after doing the washing up, I took a shower and began to relax for the evening. Tomorrow was going to be a very busy day indeed.
The daylight woke me again as planned and I began to get on with my morning routine.With a full belly, caffeinated and clean it was time to pack up camp. By 10.30 everything had been squared away and I was ready to drive off my pitch. The plan was to pay to leave the car on site while I headed off for the day hiking. I pulled into reception and asked to pay the £5 fee to leave my car for the day but the staff very kindly said that I could park in their car park by the entrance to the site for free. “Bonus” I thought as I thanked them.
After parking the car, I had a long drink of water and filled up both of my water bottles. It was going to be a warm day with temperatures forecast to be around 24 degrees celsius. I walked along the main road heading into Beddgelert and arrived in the centre of the village in around 10 minutes.I proceeded to open my OS app up and quickly picked up my planned trail.
Within minutes I was in open countryside and was slowly ascending my chosen route. I’d chosen not to take the more direct and much steeper ascent up to Moel Hebog but instead had decided to contour around the side of the mountain and approach via a mountain stream much higher up. Initially the going was quite boggy in parts but eventually dried out the higher I rose.
By now the sun was high in the sky and I stopped several times to take on some more fluids. I was high above Beddgelert and the shops and houses were starting to look like little matchboxes. With the help of my trekking poles I continued to pick out my route all the way to the little mountain stream, which provided me with some welcome relief as I splashed cold water over my head and face. I rested for a while and ate a peperami ready for the next leg of my hike towards the face of Moel Hebog where a little bit of scrambling awaited me.
By the time I reached the face I’d not encountered another single hiker since I began my route. The moderate scramble up to the plateau was well trodden and easily identifiable with numerous mini cairns highlighting the best route up. I added a rock or two to several of these little man made waypoints, as it’s always a relief to see them and know that you are on the right path.
On reaching the plateau it was less than another 200m of steady walking to reach the summit. I could see its cairn, which is always a welcome site when summiting any mountain. Moel Hebog means “Bare Hill Of The Hawk” in Welsh and at 783m I had made it to the top on a balmy warm day in April and another mountain to tick off my list. I did the obligatory ritual of touching the top of the cairn stone and stopped to take in the amazing views all around me. On one side I could see the Irish Sea and the start of the Moelwynion range and on another side Snowdon, Yr Wyddfa. Absolutely stunning. After taking lots of photos, eating a bag of McCoys and taking on some more water, it was time for me to leave this wonderful mountain behind.
I’d decided yesterday that for my descent I was going to follow the Trail Magazine route down the steep North-West side and down into Beddgelert forest. By the time I reached the forest I only had about half a litre of my water left and I was already imagining myself buying an orange flavoured ice lolly from the village shop. The hike through the forest was extremely boggy in parts and by the time I emerged I was grateful to be on the final leg of my hike and following the path back towards the main car park in Beddgelert.
Sitting on the wall opposite Beddgelert Woodcraft I eagerly drank my bottle of Lucozade while my orange Calippo slowly began to thaw, ready to quench and revive me. “What an awesome few days” I thought, as I slowly walked back to my car. I’d highly recommend both TentBoxing in Snowdonia and the Cae Du campsite. So much to see and do. I will definitely return again…
