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Sunday 18 October 2009

Moel hebog and other stuff 4 October
















The posting pause we just encountered was due to the fact that I’ve just spent two weeks in a caravan in Wales with the wife, superdawg and deaf Tammy (the other dog)
The protocol on these October hols in Wales is that I get to go and do outdoor stuff every third day. This is quite good as it happens because I can do good, solid hillwalks and spend two days sleeping and drinking whisky, during which my legs return , more or less, back to their normal flabby state. I may also get just a bit fitter this way, who knows.
Anyway, the result of all this is that my first walk of the holiday was aimed at the bagging of three rocky Hewitts just to the left of Beddgelert. For non- Welsh pronunciators, this is pronounced “Bethgelert”, with a soft “th”, as in “thesis. It isn’t pronounouced “Belgetherlot” or “BillGates’s spot” which is what another member of the Knipe family would have it.
We started in the free car park at Belgooglipot and messed around a bit at first by walking off in the wrong direction for a while and then, ultimately and more correctly over some soggy moor and thence upwards in a severely upwards kind of way up the NE ridge of Moel Hebog. This is a stiff climb which lurches upwards over a few rock steps, then zig zags a bit along bouldery ledges to a cairn on the end of a narrow ridge with a fab view of BigLallies and then more easily for a bit to a wide and grassy top.
Its all much easier than it looks and no rocks were harmed in the ascent.
A steep grassy descent took us down to Bwlch Mellionen where onward progress appears to be blocked by a crag. Luckily, the crag has a big rift in it which is easily negotiated and thus the next top Moel yr Ogof is reached.
The final summit was Moel Lefn from which a bit of accurate navigation has to be done to get off with any dignity and/or the backside of yer pants in tact in order to find the grassy scoop between the spiky crags with the big drops underneath.
A morass of tussocks follows to attain a forest road and a footpath which all leads inevitably back (if you go the right way) to the fleshpots of Biggalloot with it’s tourists and steam trains.
Bruno got quite excited by the arrival of a train for some reason. If he could have written down the number in a notebook, I expect he would.
Walk one done – Three Hewitts, one being also a Marilyn, bagged and 8 miles and about 3100 feet up upward lurching done.

2 comments:

Tony Bennett said...

When I did Hebog it was piddling it down. Such a fine looking mountain from beddgellert on a sunny day. I met a dad with small boy coming off the mountain. Both looked drenched. One might surmise that 20 years on, small boy will have shunned all thoughts of going up mountains ever again or be a well ard peak bagger.

Off to MadLives on sunday - may blog from there on lack of height above mean sea level - then camper van trip up Bowfell planned in early Nov. Camper van will of course stay in Langdale (haha). Hope TGO planning is going well.

Mike Knipe said...

Have a cracking time in the Maldives, Tony. (yes, I know its supposed to be work...!)
Gizzabuzz if you fancy a Langdale walk in November...