Navigation Gold Level

After doing the NNAS Silver course in March resulting in obtaining the award, it was just a matter of time until I did the Gold level course. So I found myself an instructor and booked it quite early on, taking place in southern Snowdonia, a place I hadn't been to yet. Perfect.

So this weekend was finally THE weekend. Drove up very early on Saturday morning to meet the instructor and the group 10am at the Ty-nant carpark near Dolgellau to spend a day on and around Cadair Idris, Infact, I made it with just 5 mins left. But I had to race it without getting into major trouble with the police.
Despite the very early start in Brizzle, I really loved driving around the countryside in the early hours. It was so quiet and peaceful and I would've stopped here and there just to have a look... but there was no time.

The group turned out to be just one other guy, which made for a nice intense two days. Thumbs up. Walked up Cadair Idris via the Fox's Path veering off the path time and again to navigate to features like little knolls or the corner of a fence. This way I got a first idea of what it's like to venture away from the paths in this area. Gnarly heather, high grass and the odd wet patch are in your way more often than not, which makes walking on a bearing while counting your steps quite a nice challenge.

The Cadair Idris ridge

Looking towards the Rhinogydd

Up on the plateau we did some more micro navigation for practice and to kill time until sun set. Spend about 30 mins in the shelter on top of Cadair Idris just to experience how cold it can get even when you're out of the wind. I had a normal baselayer, a thermal baselayer, a fleece and my rain jacket on and was still cold.
Since our instructor was also a Mountain Rescue volunteer we talked quite a bit about it, which is not just stories by the fireplace, but indeed valuable information for someone who's intending to lead a group at some point.

On Cadair Idris.

It was getting dark as we headed out again and we found ourselves soon doing the same exercises with only our torches as light sources. If you're in the middle of nowhere, away from any path on rough ground, this can be indeed a bit scary.
We still found our way back to the car park via the Pony Track and I drove over to Barmouth where I had booked a bunkbed at Bunkorama. After a day of walking more than 9 miles and staying sharp for about 10 hours, I was knackered! Put my home made chilli into the microwave and went to bed around 9pm straight after devouring it.

Sunday proved to be another fine mountain walking day. Cloudy but no rain, awesome! This time we started at a remote car park east of Rhinog Fawr. Doing mostly the same exercises but concentrating on contours as we headed up into the wilderness.
The going was laborious and tough most of the time as we fought our way up and down over at times steep ground, through heather and bushes of Bilberries. Most of the small bushes were carrying a good amount of the little fruit. Although those bushes are normally at knee height if at all, I could just lazily stretch my arm out in front of me and stuff my face... that's how steep it was in places.

The brothers Rhinog: Rhinog Fach (l) and Rhinog Fawr (r)

Rhinogs in the haze

Navigated to some more contour features without much to handrail on. So we really had to read the scenery and align it to what we saw on the map. This is quite difficult in such wild and rugged terrain, where sometimes only a little kink in the ridge is the most prominent feature.
I gained a lot of valuable experience in reading the terrain, but need to do much more of it. Pacing and walking on bearings is quite accurate most of the time. So I know what to work on. Confidence comes with experience.

After all a fantastic and fun weekend although I was knackered physically as well as mentally after both days. It is indeed quite draining to stay sharp for hours upon hours.

I've seen now a lot of different mountainous areas of Britain and once more found a new one that is very different from all the others. Similar but different. Especially the Rhinogydd has it's own atmosphere and feel to it. Stuck between the much more popular Cadair Idris and the ranges of northern Snowdonia, the Rhinogs are remote, wild, challenging but beautiful. Like an uncut diamond, you need to have a closer look to discover its beauty.
They miss the grandeur of Britain's great mountain ranges. The Cuillins, the Glydderau or Lakeland to name a few. Their ruggedness seems almost menacing, but if you're willing to embrace their raw charme, you'll find yourself in one of the finest mountain ranges for the advanced hill walker.