Last Night's Bivvy

[Verena]

I don't think we've got such a thread yet do we? For additional bivvies to BAMs, any bivvies that would not fall within the "rules" of a BAM, or, like mine last night, don't involve any cycling....

With the weather this week being so gorgeous and warm, with some stunning sunsets and sunrises, I thought this was too good not to spend a night out...

I went for a short trip by car to Cwm Gwdi at bedtime, with a view to a night bivvying up on the mountainside with prime views over what I hoped would be another glorious sunrise...

As I walked up and went through the first gate, I spotted a bike and helmet tucked in right behind the stone wall. Aha, I thought, must be a bikepacker doing what us bikepackers do, bivvying. I tried my best to just subtly carry on, shining my headtorch up at the mountain, and not sideways where they might be trying to sleep.

The next bit of walking was quite amusing in the sense that it had a certain comic/ horror movie type quality about it, as by now I was walking in the pitch black, but surrounded by a multitude of pairs of luminous eyes reflecting back at me. It helped enormously of course that I knew I was in Wales and they were just sheep....

I knew exactly where I was trying to head, but there is a weird bit with no path you have to cross, before you then normally do meet a nice path going up. Alas, I somehow managed to miss that completely, and instead soon found myself huffing and puffing in the humid night time heat, fighting my way through chest high bracken, uneven ground with the odd hole trying to snap at my ankles, and a few wet streamlets, on rather steep mountainside.

On reflection now, I could have of course gone back down and tried again, but I am a bit too stubborn/ lazy for that, so instead I kept going till I found a space between some trees which at least had some short grass and was dry. Probably the least flat place I've ever tried to sleep on, ridiculous even by my standards...

It was a really nice warm night, and I had gone minimalist with no pillow, no sleep mat, just bivvy bag used as a ground sheet, and partially open sleeping bag. Used the rucksack I'd carried as a kind of foot break to stop, or at least alert, me from sliding down the hill....

I actually slept really well considering....

At 2.30 (!!) I was woken up by the sound of people chatting and head torches approaching up towards me. An odd time to be going out for a walk!! But then people do walk up for sunrise on top of Pen Y Fan... bit early in the morning though for this time of year?! I wondered whether they would stay on the actual path which I knew was below me, or whether by some freak chance they might also get lost, and accidentally stumble across me - rather than in past years though where that might have frightened me, I had decided that they sounded like friendly sort of chaps, and in any case, that they would be far more freaked out by my sudden presence on their path, than I would, as I'd have been expecting them... - anyway, they went back and forth a bit, shining their torches in a few odd directions, played a bit of music, and then it all went quiet.

Shortly afterwards it started to rain, which it did on and off till it started to get light, and I put the coffee on....

No beautiful sunrise! Always seems to happen to me! But it's all good, I was loving it up there.

As it got light, I considered moving up to where I had intended to be, for coffee, but then decided to stay. Out of some sense of loyalty I had developed for this spot, which had given me shelter and bedding for the night.

And I thought, it's not perfect, but it is where I am. And it has its own beauty. Wow, I thought, that's getting a bit deep, there's quite a metaphor here for life in general...

So I pondered that as I sat and drank my coffee (very indulgently, I had gone for a mug filled to the top, with not one, but two coffee bags )

IMG_20230907_061906 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

Here you can get quite a good idea of how not in the slightest bit level my sleep spot was

IMG_20230907_065035 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

As I was packing up and walking back down the hill, there was what I think is one of the strangest sunrises I've ever seen. It looked more like a large full moon rising, very pale.

IMG_20230907_065654 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

On the way back, I took good notice of where I'd gone "wrong", for next time

I wondered whether I might meet a friendly fellow bikepacker near the bike I'd seen in the night, back at the gate. But no, the bike and helmet were still there, locked up, but no sign of anyone....interesting....I'm assuming they had ridden there, and hiked up to spend the night up on the Beacons somewhere - very nice!

Much to my delight, even my car was still there, and still in one piece, so off home I went for second coffee.

Quite a lively one this, for a local mini adventure....

[RIP]

And I thought, it's not perfect, but it is where I am. And it has its own beauty. Wow, I thought, that's getting a bit deep..

Bivvying does that to you doesn't it, bit of philosophy, one of the many benefits .

Nowt wrong with a non-BaM bivvy thread, good idea in fact. Although "Last Night's" rather imposes a fairly brisk time limit on the report .

No bike involved though? Hmm . Bit of digression never stopped us before though has it . And in fact thinking about it, there's 129 pages of the opposite - biking without bivvying. So I reckon there's 128 pages to go before anyone posting there is justified in whingeing about anyone posting here .

[sean_iow]

Nowt wrong with a non-BaM bivvy thread, good idea in fact. Although "Last Night's" rather imposes a fairly brisk time limit on the report .

Getting the reports in within that time limit might be an issue, but when have we worried about rules



At Mum's last weekend. I drove there, and it's under a mile from my house. Apart from the extra kit needed for the hammock I also had the stuff I was using in the woods sorting firewood, making the candle holder etc. which include a saw/axe/knife so didn't really want to be cycling with them strapped to the bars

Relaxing evening drinking, eating chocolate and reading a book - by headtorch as the candle gives out just enough light to see where it's hung and not much in the way of usable light, but it adds to the ambience Woken by the birds in the morning and then spent an hour or so laid in bed listening to them and also glimpses of the red squirrels nipping past in the trees above and also one brave soul who scurried across ground just by me

[Verena]

Not last night, or even Sunday night, but the Sunday night before that.. when it was, you know, summer, for a few brief days....

It had been another busy weekend of various domestic tasks, but just too good a little window of actual hot summer weather to miss, so a night out was planned - always extra sweet isn't it when it's on a school night...

Anyway, not quite a bivvy a month for me in the end - a rather convoluted story involving my wonderfully chaotic daughter living her young summer life to the max, a spontaneous trip to the seaside, an electric car run to near empty, and a car too small to take a lanky greyhound as well as a bike, all combined to me having to make a last minute switch to a bivvy on foot - and a rather excellent one it was too!

Managed to get dropped off at Pwll Du just as darkness was about to descend, and then walked along the track that goes around Gilwern Hill, to try and find my friend who was already pitched up somewhere, carrying a rucksack laden with snacks and beer, and bivvy things. I just loved the walk in, partly as it was such a warm night, partly as it was fun to do it as it was getting dark, and mostly because it was my first trip to this lovely hill which is just like a huge playground full of old quarries and tracks to explore, as this is going to be my new local now.

A fine bivvy spot perched on a narrowish ledge overlooking all the villages below, and a really good sleep, lulled by quite a wind, but lovely and warm.

First bit of morning light

IMG_20240812_051006 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

Then sunrise over the Skirrid

IMG_20240812_055502 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

Early morning depart, to be picked up again near Pwll Du, a look back over where we'd spent the night (somewhere there in the middle )

IMG_20240812_065902 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

And looking over towards Pwll Du. I realise this will mean nothing to any of you except those of you who've been there and know the place...
IMG_20240812_070636 by Verena Zimmer, on Flickr

Now all I need to do is see if I can fit another one in, this time with bike!

[RIP]

Must feel a bit strange to actually walk to a spot! I think I've forgotten how to propel myself forwards using legs alone .

Did you find Pwll Du tunnel?

[Verena]

Must feel a bit strange to actually walk to a spot! I think I've forgotten how to propel myself forwards using legs alone .

Did you find Pwll Du tunnel?

Yes, felt a bit strange indeed, but I can assure you, it is actually doable

Oh, a tunnel??

No, I must return...

[frogatthefarriers]

August BaM already done, so this was a bonus.

It’s become a sort of family tradition for my son and grandson (me too), to hang out in our hammocks. I trained it* on to Anglesey to meet them and we pitched up for a night of gammon steaks, cider and Jaegermeister (my new camping nightcap).

Nothing out of the ordinary happened, (if you discount my crawling back to my hammock), but there was drama on the train to Llanfair PG.

It unfolded like this:-

I’d booked a bike space on the train from Wrexham, but wrongly got on to the carriage with the wheelchair space so at my next stop I moved to the bike-space carriage. In the bike space are three fold-up seats - each occupied. I explained that I needed the space to put my bike in and two of the passengers moved to find alternative seats, of which there were plenty. The third refused to move, taking the view that there were seats in the bike space, he was going to stay in his and I should find somewhere else to put the bike.

Happily, the train manager was at hand and she came to my aid. It took the train manager, a transport policeman, a county police lady, a security guard and ten minutes, to get him to move to a vacant seat where he stayed for a single stop before getting off. I couldn’t believe it. Why? What did he gain out of being so uncooperative?

Anyway, a few photos:-

The bivvy…




And Eryri in the distance…


Also, before setting out from home, I thought my back tyre was a bit soft so put a bit more air in. By the time I'd gone a couple of miles it was soft again, but got me to the station. I put more air in when I de-trained at Llanfair PG and thought I hadn’t screwed the valve up properly. This got me to our camp spot and I thought no more of it until soon after setting off for home it was soft again. This time, when I’d pumped it up again, I could hear a faint hissing. A Ha! I found a leak in the sidewall so packed it with some screwed-up paper tissue and hoped the Stans would do the job. Not to be. The tissue blew out after a mile or so, so there was nowt for it but put a tube in. Luckily I had enough time to get to the station to catch my train home.