TR: A moonlight Crimpiau ramble (A lesson in planning)
Judith
Marched round the frozen carpark; great fun!
Left the car at Swallow Falls carpark (after a bit more marching on
ice..... the carpark was a rink), then did a 10 mile circular walk
taking in Llyn Geirionydd.
Sunday: Parked the car at Capel Curig then went NW up the byway
towards Llyn Ogwen, but crossed the A5 and tookthe path to Llyn
Cowlyd. Somehow, I lost the path and decided that the best course was
to follow the leets which would surely lead to the reservoir..... and
they did. I walked the length of the reservoir then had a think about
where to go next. It was probably about 1pm-ish, maybe a bit later,
so I should have had enough time to get back to the car before sunset
at 4pm.
There's a path, of sorts, heading South-ish from the dam, so I
followed that down to the forest which was very dark and gloomy at
first but it opened out into a working Forestry Commission quagmire
with easy to follow tracks.
On leaving the forest, I was only about 3km from the car..... but it
was getting dark and the hills were starting to look slightly
menacing. At the end of a metalled track (heading East), I weighed up
my options: either a VERY long walk via Trefriw or a shorter walk in
the dark. I pressed on!
Looking at my map now, I can't for the life of me figure out how I got
lost.....but I did. My GPS track shows that in OS square SH 7359, I
wandered too far off to the West. I probably followed a sheep track
rather than the footpath and, in the deepening darkness, I couldn't
see clearly to work out where I should be. I think I was also tending
to walk South and West, as that's the direction of Capel Curig, but
not the best way to get there.
Thankfully, due to the wonders of GPS and a headtorch, I was able to
work out that I gone about 500 metres East of the path. I find the OS
maps very crowded in that area but I knew I had to go up and East to
get to the path.
There was one point when I had a slight moment of panic. It had now
gone completely dark (so probably about 5pm!) and I was concerned that
I may have to scramble down a crag once I'd finished the "up" part of
the journey. The map didn't seem to show any sheer cliffs, but I
don't like scrambling even in the daylight. I sat down and had a
think. I was carrying a bothy bag, a lightweight bivi bag and a
summer-weight sleeping bag "for emergencies". Was this An Emergency
yet? Would I be better sleeping out until sunrise....... in 14 hours
time? Was I likely to hurt myself in the dark or was I just being a
wimp and should carry on? That moment of reflection cleared my mind
and the fact that there was a bright 3/4 moon helped me decide to
carry on.
It was not easy picking my way through the bogs, rocks and ice to the
path, but I only fell once and I eventually saw the path shining in
the moonlight. Actually, that was when I fell. Concentrate, girl!
Once I was on the path it was quite a pleasant walk for the mile and a
half back to the A5. The moonlight makes everything look silvery-blue
and quite pretty. However, the sky was clouding over and there were
brief hail showers, so I didn't fancy staying out for longer than I
had to.
It was 6:45pm when I got back to the car. My flask of tea was still
luke warm and was delicious; really I should have stopped for
something to eat and drink a couple of hours beforehand and I'd not
noticed how hungry I was.
Lessons identified? 1. It gets dark in winter. 2. Consider this when
planning a walk.
Judith
Martin Richardson
Christopher Loffredo
> Lessons identified? 1. It gets dark in winter. 2. Consider this when
> planning a walk.
>
> Judith
You were well-equipped (headtorch, bivvy bag, etc..), so facing an
uncomfortable rather than a potentially fatal situation.
Sometimes getting lost can't be helped (the only alternative would be
not walking in new places).
Well done!