TRAIL 100
RUSS MOORHOUSE is on a mission to camp out on every Trail 100 peak – a challenge that spans four countries, 100 of the UK’s finest hills and mountains, and a punishing 88,339m of ascent. This month Russ enjoys memorable wild camps in almost freakishly good weather on four rocky, spectacular summits in north Wales.
WILD SLEEPS THIS MONTH
Pen yr Ole Wen Y Lliwedd Elidir Fawr Carnedd Llewelyn
TRAIL 100 BIVVY COUNT 77/100
Mountains and clouds go hand in hand like an old married couple. Often stuck together, with the gloomy cloud spoiling the day. But on rare occasions they are the perfect match for each other, if the cloud is having a great time and all is good with the world. In Wales this month I experience clouds at their very best.
PEN YR OLE WEN is the perfect camp for a late arrival. Make the very steep climb from Llyn Ogwen and in under two hours you are at the top. The clouds today are puffy and white, floating across the mountain tops like a butterfly fluttering, constantly changing shape and direction. It’s the view of Tryfan that makes this mountain great. I pitch my tent so the door opens with such a view, only for the clouds to decide it is night-time and pull up a blanket.
The clouds are still low on ELIDIR FAWR as I start my hike, and when I reach Elidir Fach with a huge Welsh flag on its summit I find a spot in the col for my tent. After a tea of six sausages (Toulouse, because you don’t get Eryri sausages) the sky turns blue and I head to the summit for sunset. This view is breathtaking – layers of mountains everywhere you look. I make my way along the blocky ridge to the high point, but don’t like the dirty summit shelter so make my way back to the western end of the ridge as the clouds start to fill valleys. I’m sitting on the summit admiring the view and taking photos when Drew, a local with long blonde hair, a skater turned mountain biker after three broken ankles, makes it to the top. He rolls and lights a spliff and tells me he should have been at a festival but decided to climb the mountain instead. He speaks Welsh and tells me their language is much better at describing the feelings you get from being in the mountains. “Mae’r cymylau yn hardd ond heb eu cyffwrdd” (roughly translates as ‘the beautiful clouds are untouchable’.) He spots a friend paragliding off the col near where I pitched my tent and we watch him disappear through the clouds, sinking along with the night air.
Sunrise on Y LLIWEDD – what an amazing si
