unfenced lead mine chasms are no doubt the reason for the Way's avoidance. Still in rain- less gale came down a highly scenic track on verge of a miniature Grand Canyon. Rain threatening, so camped at the highest farm where they had 8 caravans (unoccupied) and was charged 50p. This will be my last camp, distances covered on Sunday and Monday having put me ahead of plan. 14 miles.
Wednesday September 13. Racing grey clouds; gale hasn't let up all this journey. Last day so unrestricted breakfast, and away at 8.30 by narrow swithback lanes, longest and steepest hills of the trip. Fat blackberries and wild raspberries. took wrong turning (bad map-reading) and went 3 miles out of my way up romantic forested cwm, but got onto right lane at last and made Machynlleth before noon. Market day. Pint anfd ham sandwich at the Red Lion and caught the 12.27 train for home. Total distance walked, 71½ miles. 5 camps.
One point omitted by my Log notes is the meandering nature of the route. It sets out to link places associated with the campaigns of Owain Glyndwr in the early 15th century, but tends also to take you off the direct line in order to visit tumuli and similar antiquities. Also, and rightly, it goes out of its way to avoid main roads. Consequently on the third day I found myself heading due south for 6 miles in the morning and due north for 11 miles that afternoon and the following day, though the general direction of the walk is westward. That being said, the route is a fine one, and eye-opener to the beauty of this sin- gularly lonely countryside. At a period when — despite the bad weather — there were gangs of walkers on every hill-path in Snow- donia I didn't meet a single holiday walker
The lightweight anorak and overtrousers (new, total weight 12 oz) proved completely waterproof as claimed; the real test of such clothing is how long it will retain that con- dition. The makers of Rain-Check anoraks haven't heard of the figure-of-eight knot and so one of the plastic tags came off the hood drawstring. The overtrousers, by Bryncir Pro- ducts, were Medium size and I have a 30-inch waist, but they were far to tight and I had to cut the elastic and attach tapes. (Bryncir later replaced them free of charge). They were pulled on over size 9 boots. The inner con- densation was a nuisance, as usual. Other clothing was adequate, but I missed the change of socks I didn't take and had to endure wet feet every night until I got into the sleeping-bag.
I had and inch of candle for tent lighting and it wasn't enough when evenings darkened at 8. The little torch, one of the last-minute addi- tions, turned out to be indispensable. The other, a bit of foam rubber, was equally so. Some spillage is likely when you brew-up in the tent, and it's bound to get to the sleeping-bag unless you soak it up promptly. Lastly, for those who shave, the 7-oz battery shaver (4 HP7 batteries) gave 14 more shaves after the five I had on the journey, so it would last a three-week trip.
To sum up, the "Seventy-Plus, Twenty- Minus" plan works excellently for back- packing journeys up to a week in duration. The only thing I missed, and that not acutely, was a change of footwear. As for Glyndwr's Way, I'm already planning to walk it in the reverse direction — and, I hope, in more con- genial weather — next year.
(and only one local) in five days. Nor, indeed, could I see any signs that the path had been walked before.
The Under-20 Gear
Now some notes on my equipment. The vis- ion of a leisurely saunter through golden Sep- tember days vanished early, and the journey became more like a survival test; but I had no serious failures or shortages and the minor ones didn't rob me of enjoyable walking and snug camping. The 43-year-old Good Com- panions tent behaved perfectly in conditions of gale and rain (surely a notable tribute to Blacks' material and workmanship) and the Viking sleeping-bag always kept me warm o' nights. My home-made pack-frame was a complete success but the cheap nylon pack (£6, made in Japan) was beginning to reveal its weaknesses by the end of the walk and the D-ring sewing had in two places been replaced with bits of wire culled from old fences. The Surfrider (Taiwan) which I took instead of a Karrimat was a poorer article than the one I used for three weeks I used without trouble in 1974, and developed another slow puncture on the last night. When it wasn't leaking, however, it was as good as a Slumberland.
I found my supplies of plain food perfectly adequate. They were supplemented by a "ploughman's lunch" at Llanidloes — which, incidentally, is the only place on this route where you can stock-up satisfactorily. I did 13 brew-ups with the Bleuet S200, and on test afterwards the Gaz cartridge gave a good boiling flame for a further 36 minutes, say 6 more brews. For a solo backpacker using boiled eggs and Quick soups as basic, therefore, a cartridge should last for a week's journey.
