It’s strange how you can miss things.

My research for the Pyrenees continues apace. Some new maps came through the post from Stamfords yesterday, together with a new copy of the Cicerone Guide to the GR11 (the long distance path on the Spanish side of the border, where I shall be spending more time this year).

I only got around to reading the guidebook this morning and only then realised that Paul died last year. There’s a rather nice piece about him and his love for the Pyrenees in the front of the book, written by his children. I get the impression Paul’s health hadn’t been the best for some time, but in his determination to finish the latest edition he set out to walk the GR11 from end to end, once again, only last year. He died only couple of weeks after returning from the Pyrenees.

Paul Lucia is one of the unsung heroes of the outdoors world. He was not really a household name in the outdoors world - a some writers obviously are - but he produced two great guidebooks. An edition or so ago Paul took over the responsibility for the GR10 - the footpath the follows the French side of the border.

The new edition of the GR11 guide is a good as his other books, well written, routes well described and so on. And Paul’s love and passion for te Pyrenees really comes through.

It was certainly worth buying the guide for update route information - since I was last in the area two new very handy campsites have been created near to the Ordesa Canyon; they’ll be very welcome.

Cicerone will now have to find someone new to revise both the GR10 and the GR11 guides I guess. Paul will be a hard act to follow,

The current issue of TGO magazine has an interesting piece by Ian Battersby, that looks at a four day, circular route in Snowdonia. Whether you’re an experienced backpacker - or someone just starting out - this would be a worthwhile outing; it’s certainly a good reason to get hold of a copy of TGO this month.

Apparently the route has been adapted from a well known fell-runner route, although I haven’t thought about it before. Looking at the route I wonder why I’ve never thought of it myself. It is a fine four-day route and would fit nicely into, for example, a Bank Holiday week.

You’ll need the magazine for a detailed route description but, basically, the route starts in the Ogwen Valley, takes the classic route up to Carnedd Dyfed and Carnedd LLewellyn, descending back to the valley floor and Capel Curig where the first night is spent. There’s a decent campsite, Bryn Tyrch at the heart of Capel, and some good cafés and a good bar/restaurant at Bryn Tyrch. Day two climbs up Moel Siabad and walks along the airy Moelwyn ridges that boast fabulous views of the Snowdon range. I’ve written quite a lot about this route and you’ll find details and photos here in the blog archive. The route then drops down near Nantmoor near the Aberglaswyn river where a wildcamp night is spent. Short of Nantmoor there are lots of fine wildcamping sites, well out of the way and where you won’t be disturbing anyone.

Day three is interesting as it swings round to the west along quite, lesser known hills to connect with the Nantille Ridge walk and Rhyd Dhu, before climbing onto the flanks of Snowdon for another wild camp. From here there’s drop into Llanberis before (I guess as I don’t have the article in front of me) nipping over the hills to finish again at Ogwen.

A lovely route I reckon in good weather. I’d be tempted to alter it a little though. Tackle the route by public transport and there’s a lot more that you could do.

You could start on the coast (as I did last week) and Llanfairfechan and walk into the Ogwen and then on to Capel. This would be a great way to start the walk, especially on a long, summer’s day. On day 2 I’d be tempted to camp a little earlier at Llyn Ellio and then, the next, day take in a climb of Cnicht as well.

Either way Ian should be congratulated. It’s not always easy to find new slants on popular favourites and this route certainly does that. Connect to the Rhinogs by bus for a couple of days wondering and wild camping there and you’d have a superb week of backpacking.

My Pyrenees planning over the weekend got me sending off to Stamfords to new and replacement maps and generally browsing my guide books for the first time in three years or so.

The bible for Pyrenean adventure is Kev Reynolds’ ‘Walks and Climbs in the Pyrenees’ which was first published over thirty years ago. I remember Kev telling me once that when he first explored the area there were few waymarked routes anywhere. Exploring the area then was a real adventure. Although not quite thirty years old I realised that my copy of ‘Walks and Climbs’ was getting a little old, a style harking back to Cicerone’s past.

So, I popped into Waterstones this afternoon to buy a new copy, of the Fifth Edition that was published this year. I had a little time to spare and sat down in the Waterstone’s coffee bar to have a browse of the new book.

The Fifth edition was worth buying. The layout is now much better and many of the walk updated. The section on the HRP as now gone (referring the reader to Tom Joosten’s book) but this has made space for a couple of new areas that have made it into the book for the first time. Since my last edition and this the internet has been developed and this edition is worth it just for the www addresses of refuges, etc.

There’s a new Preface to this edition book and as I sat down to read it I had quite a surprise. “As ever I’m indebted to fellow enthusiasts for correspondence ..”. In the list of names that followed I suddenly found my own!

To be thanked by the master, the modern father of anglophone Pyrénéistes ..

.. it is an honour indeed.

No doubt now. It’s back to the Pyrenees this year.

http://www.kevreynolds.co.uk/

No walking this weekend - too much work in the garden to be done. But I have had the maps and guidebooks out for it’s more or less decided that it’s back to the Pyrenees this summer.

My mate Humphrey has being selling me the Spanish Eastern Pyrenees and as I haven’t been there yet it’s quite tempting. But I think it will be back to the High Pyrenees not least because there are a couple of bits of it that I don’t have decent photographs for.

At the moment I’m thinking about starting at Cauterets, crossing into Spain via. the Col d’Arratille and dropping down the Valle del Ara to Bujaruelo. From here it’s easy to connect to the Ordesa Valley, staying on the GR11 for a bit, crossing back towards Troumouse and then Heas and home. Or I might cross from Spain back to Gavarnie before hitting the HRP to Troumouse - or something like that.

Anyhow, the route will be planned to optimise the wild camping experience and - this time - I’m thinking of tarping it and going as lightweight as is possible.

There’s nothing quite like constructing a plan!

Bob has returned from his trip on the Cape Wrath Trail, one of those trails that I’ve always wanted to tackle. There’ll be some podcasts - of course - as Bob joined Lee Wells at Ullapool and walked up to Sandwood Bay and Cape Wrath.

When I was chatting to Bob he was muttering about planning an ultralightweight trip as his pack weight had been creeping up. No doubt that means his pack was not only filled with audio equipment but with gear for testing. No doubt the podcasts will be full of stuff about gear as well.

Lee was tackling the Cape Wrath Trail before turning south again and beginning a TGO challenge crossing. Sounds like a great month’s walking to me. Anyhow, by way of tribute to these two great walking companions, here are Wells and Cartwright in action.

I’ve already talked about the Aquagear Water Filter but I thought I’d mention a couple of other pieces of kit that I was using at the weekend.

Silkbody Base layer

I’ve talked about this base layer before. Silkbody is a New Zealand company that have started making a range of outdoor products from material blends that are dominated by silk. A small amount of cotton and merino wool are also in the blend and, I think, these help ensure that - unlike many other silk products - the garments keep their shape when machine washed at low temperatures.

The Silkbody top is very anti-pong, just as good as merino wool in my experience. Since Christmas I’ve worn this long sleeved layer for days on end and have also used it for all of my walking.

This weekend’s walk saw the Silkbody being used for the first time in reasonably warm temperatures, and it was superb. The Silkbody wicked really well and kept me both dry and cool. I’ve mentioned before that the Silkbody seems a little lighter than a Smartwool top and I think the walking this weekend confirmed this. For me the Silkbody just has the edge of the Smartwool.

What I’m waiting for now is a short sleeved version. Armed with this I think I might consider walking for much of the year - especially in the UK - in it.

Icebreaker Boxers

I finally got around to buying a pair of merino wool base layer boxers. There performed excellently as well. They were cool and comfortable all of the way and over three days were noticeably pong free, which is what it says they do on the packing.

Silkbody tell me that they’re working on boxers themselves and hope to be selling them next year. I can’t wait to try them but the Icebreakers are as good as most of us will need.

For a three day excursion this combination were ideal and meant that I could got without taking a change of base layer.

X-Socks, Trekking

Regular readers will know that I’m a great fan of the X-Sock Trekking Lite which is an entirely synthetic sock which works very well with trail shoes (in my case the Inov-8 Terrocs).

At Easter I bought a pair of the slightly heavier, standard, Trekking sock. This has the same basic design as the Trekking Lite but is made from a blend of materials that include merino wool and silk along with the synthetics.

Not being quite sure about the weather I took the heaver Trekking socks up to Snowdonia for three days. The socks were pretty comfortable but at the end of the first day of walking I noticed that they’d worn quite a bit and the inside of both feet. I’ve had this wear pattern with the Lites but only after a year of so of wear. I think I used the heavier socks for 4 days at Easter and for a couple of days this weekend, so I was a bit disappointed. I was wearing them with a brand new pair of Terrocs that hadn’t been worn before. These gave me a blister on the back of the heel and I suppose the newness of the shoe might have had some effect on the wear.

Nevertheless X Socks are remarkably comfortable and hold their shape really well, even after days of trudging through mud and being saturated for much of the time. The breathable channels in the X Socks mean that even the synthetic Lites don’t really pong.

On this basis - when wearing trail shoes - I think I’d recommend folks to stick with the Trekking Lites. The heavier sock has a bit more warmth to it but the Lites have seen me through two Scottish Coast-to-Coast walks in May without any discomfort at all. If you haven’t tried X Socks yet, give them a go.

Paramo Mountain Vent Pullover

I took this as a warm layer to wear over the Silkbody. This was the first time that I’ve really worn one of these when backpacking for over a year now. I’d forgotten just how good they are. Paramo bill these as reversible shirts but essentially they’re micro fleeces. The outer layer is surprisingly water and wind resistant and the inner layer wicks wonderfully. Comfort is further enhanced by a deep chest zip and two arm vents.

All in all the Mountain Vent is made for places like Snowdonia, adding just a nice level of additional warmth without any clammy discomfort. I’m glad I had it with me.

Montane Terra Pants

I think it was Cameron McNeish who first coined the phrase “pant perfection” in relation to Terras; they certainly are great walking trousers. My pair have been used extensively over the last eighteen months or so, indeed, I tend to use these as leisure trousers at weekend at well. The fabric is windproof and the breathability of the pants is helped by some very effective side venting. The bottom of the legs features a kind of built in gaiter - studs that effectively tighten up the legs around the ankles and I’ve found this system works really well with trail shoes.

The pant fabric is still going strong although the micro zip on the fly has now begun to fail a little, although nothing that can’t be put right quickly.

There Stretch Terras as the same design but made out of the Pertex Stretch material which is durable and breathable as well as stretchy. The Stretch’s are little heavier but I’ll still be sampling these at some point in the year.

But coming back to the basic pants, these are really superb and great value for money. If you’re looking for a new pair of all weather walking trousers these should be at the top of your purchase list.

Montane Featherlite Smock

What a great piece of kit this is. Very thin, breathable and amazingly light, the smock simply gives you wind protection. But for much of the weekend it was enough to wear the smock over the Silkbody base layer. This now always sits in the pocket on the back of my pack, it weighs so little. I’ve also got a pair of Feartherlite over trousers for a extra bit of bad weather protection. These also sit in the pack and have never as yet been tried in the open!

Montane Quickfire Jacket

This is extraordinarily light for an eVent jacket. eVent is a very breathable fabric which makes the Quickfire an ideal companion in warmer weather. There’s no real map pocket although two venting pockets on the torso can be used if need be. It has a great hood that closes up well to give you total poor weather protection - something that was well appreciated during Sunday.

One casualty of the weekend was my Torso Lite mat. This was already patched and has no developed a slow puncture and I reckon it is time to replace it. Anyone experience of the Gossamer Gear pads?

I took the Aquagear with me at the weekend and as a few of you have expressed an interest I thought I’d post a report.

Just a recap. The Aquagear is a simple but seemingly effective filter that takes out most of the nasties that worry us - Gardia for example. It looks like a simple water bottle (capacity 500 ml) with the filter in the neck. The filter cannot be replaced but it seems to last a long time and is cheap.

I took the Aquagear as my only water bottle, slipping it into the side pocket of my ULA Conduit pack and using it pretty much like any water bottle, filling it up from either taps or streams.

Before I left home I had to ‘initialise’ the filter, basically squeezing three loads of water through the filter and here the first observations were made. Firstly, I put aside the base insert which allows you to put iodine tablets in the bottle -I just kept finding that this got in the way. Next I put aside he sleeve in which the bottle sits which did not seem.

The initialisation squeeze gave me an early insight as to what you can expect out on the trail. Firstly, it is difficult to really fill the bottle; I would reckon on getting 400 ml in it (more implications of this below). Secondly, it is not all that easy to squeeze. The water does come through but squeeze too hard and it also sprays out of the base. You fill the container up by unscrewing the base and it seems difficult to get a squeeze-tight seal when putting the base back on. This is no real hassle as you just don’t squeeze as hard - but I wouldn’t want to fill another container from this - it would be messy and would take too long.

From all sources the water tasted fine and the filter does take away other tastes. I found that I was left with water that tasted quite sweet and rather pleasant.

My problems with the filter were working out where I would use it. Martin Banfield has also reviewed the filter and has similar thoughts to me I think.

Ordinarily in the UK I wouldn’t take a water filter with me. But I guess for those who are at all worried about the water these would do the job. I’ll probably use mine as my main water bottle throughout the summer and it’ll give me ongoing protection I guess.

I’ve only used water filters where I’ve been worried about water quality. The problem with many filters is that they are heavy and this bottle is light. The problem is that these areas I worry about tend to be in very dry climates when I will always carry two to three litres with me. The Aquagear simply does not carry the capacity for these walks. I also guess. it would be difficult to clear out if you had to use it in poor, silty water.

Still the Aquagear does work and there seem to be no ill effects from using it. It is light and relatively simple to use and produces nice water. Again, if you are slightly worried about water quality then go and buy one. These will give you peace of mind without breaking the bank (or your back).

This weekend’s walking was a bit like the old football cliché (apologies for those who don’t follow the noble sport).

We set off for North Wales on Friday afternoon en route for a starting point, the small and rather nice village of Llanfairfechan on the coast just tucked in between Conwy and Bangor. Llanfairfechan comes as something of a relief, the train having chugged past the endless caravan parks of Prestatyn, Colwyn Bay and Rhyll. Our B&B landlady met us off the train and drove us the half mile or so to her nice and friendly establishment, an action that was much appreciated not least because it only took us twelve minutes to walk back into the village in search of food. We ate in the Village Inn which was one of those places you used to find. The food was simple pub food but home cooked; I don’t think anything ethnic has ever touched this place but it was nice nonetheless.

From Llanfairfechan the walking is straight forward. Take the Village Road from the main traffic lights and follow it uphill until you reach the North Wales path. The path rises steeply away from the shoreline. A cuckoo accompanied for much of the way. I could swear I was starting a TGO Challenge. The route then diverges from the North Wales path and we climbed steadily up to Drum, the first in the long line of peaks that would deposit us in the heart of the Ogwen valley.

Looking Backwards

The day’s walk confirmed what I have thought for some time, that this is probably the best way to approach the Snowdonia National Park (if there is a finer approach then I want to know about it).

The weather forecast had not been good with rain predicted on Saturday but with sun due to follow on Sunday. In the event it was dry as we walked and it was immediately clear that it was going to stay that way. But a very strong side wind buffeted us over the first phase of the ridge, so strong that it was like adding another six or so miles to the walk. The visibility though was excellent and by the time we started the approach to Carnedd Llewellyn the wind had dropped and a glorious sun had decided to shine.

Ridge Walkers Have It All!

From the summit we dropped onto the long, grassy finger of descent that is Y Braich. On days like this Y Braith is simply wonderful. There was lots of time to sit on rocks and grassy banks and to stare at the long vistas, watch climbers struggling up impossible looking climbs and admiring the soaring feats of the local feathered residents. I’ve known many people put off this descent by guide books descriptions of scrambled descents and climbs. The long finger is kind of slit in two which means a climb down and a climb back up. Both climbs require the thoughtful use of hands but there’s nothing too difficult here and backpackers can enjoy themselves as much as those encumbered with nothing more than a half-full day pack. Once the scrambling is over the descent is long, gradual and amazingly relaxing as laid out in front o the walker is much of the Snowdonia chain, a magnificent site.

Y Braich

We settled at one of the Ogwen campsites and set out to enjoy the last of the evening sun. But no soon as we had finished out dehydrated wonder meal rain started to fall. The predicted sun failed to arrive in the morning and things were more than a little glum.

The plan for day two was to walk to the Ogwen Cottage and to take the footpath up the side of Y Garn and to complete a kind of 3/4 Glyder traverse towards Capel Curig. It took longer to get going that planned and by the time we approached the cottage dark clouds had massed around the hills and rain had begun to fall. It was at this point that I did something - for me at least - quite unexplainable.

I decided to cut out Y Garn and to climb up the Devil’s Kitchen and on to the Glyders to do a kind of 50% traverse. Now I have never climbed up the Kitchen before. I’ve been down it many times and have hated it every time. It is one of those paths strewn with a man made staircase, the stones placed at such intervals that it is impossible to get into a regular rhythm of descent. Once I even fell off the path, falling quite a distance only to be saved by my full back which broke my fall; without it I reckon I would have cracked my head open. Yes, I really don’t like the Kitchen, yet I decided to carry on with this new plan.

The climb from the cottage is like what I would imagine the road to Purgatory is like. There are horrible, false steps and far too many people. The horrible surface continues around Lyn Idwal. As we began the climb up towards the Kitchen the rain really began to fall heavily an suddenly I’d had enough. I just didn’t want to be there. If I was proper backpacking I would have been driven on by a destination but here there was no such incentive. I was hating every moment of it.

We turned back and strolled around the lake and back down to the cottage. At this point I just wanted to catch the bus. But being in Snowdonia brings bus problems. As every the timetable was out of date, having finished at the end of March. And being a Sunday there were no buses for several hours. And so there was nothing for it but to begin the long trudge to Capel along the low path. In the event the path wasn’t that much of a downer although I did calculate that I walk this route at least once each year. traditionally this has been a muddy and poorly maintained path but at last there has been some improvement work carried out. Every now and then a glance up convinced me that it wouldn’t be nice up there on the traverse anyway. the wind dropped and we walked in Capel in nothing but traditional rain.

By the time the tent was being erected at Bryn Tyrch the rain had stopped, the sun came out and the evening was wonderful - just right for a late evening traverse of the Glyders!

Monday morning was glorious. we took an early bus into Betwys but found that there was no train for a couple of hours. We breakfasted, visited Cotswold and wondered about the Ultimate Outdoors Closing Down Sale - still going strong after five months. We settled down on the Green to read the newspapers in glorious sunshine. Typical North Wales - time to leave and the weather is wonderful.

On the train the sun disappeared at Prestatyn and back in Birmingham it was raining.

Despite the Devil’s Kitchen it was a great way to steal a quick few days in the mountains. But next time, well the Rhinogs beckon once more …

The photos are from a previous trip - you may have seen them before. New ones will appear later …

I’m caught in a last minute rush again. I’m planning to go up to Snowdonia for three days over the weekend, but have little time to plan or prepare before I go.

The only plan that I had was a very simple one - I thought I’d start on the Welsh Coast and walk into towards Ogwen through the Cardennau, effectively a longer walk than the one I took with Colin last year (didn’t need any thinking about). Camping would be wild and I’d plan the subsequent day’s walking during the first! This would have meant probably staying somewhere on the main train line on Friday evening as I probably won’t be able to get up to late, but it’s been impossible to find a hotel or B&B with spaces. Still I suppose some inspiration will hit me between now and catching the train.

I must make a resolution to start planning trips properly. Actually, I’m now planning a long weekend jaunt to Scotland later in May using the sleep to maximise the time on the trail.

The only planning that I have been able to do so far is to buy a new pair of Terrocs (always around this time every year). The last pair were really finished off over Easter, mind you they had crossed Scotland and dealt with mainly wet and horrible terrain after.

My other purchase has been a pair of Icebreaker, merino, boxer shorts. Chris Townsend has been recommending that I try merino boxers for ages but the Smartwool ones are quite difficult to get hold of, and reviews on the web suggest that they fall to pieces quickly; Icebreaker seem to have the edge. These promise to be odur free. Hmm, I wonder. But I will try with just these for three days and see how things work.

That’s assuming I can actually organise myself to actually get out there in the first place!