Sugar Loaf and The Blorenge

Hello! I have been quiet for around a month on here as I've, literally, not been caching! HOWEVER, yesterday was 'CacheWalker On Tour: Sugar, anyone?' event day, and so walktall, tarmacjohn and I set off early to head out to Abergavenny, located in the East of the Brecon Beacons national park, Wales.  

There was one thing on each of our minds: the weather. For the past week, the forecast was assuring us that we'd see heavy rain from 10pm. We were overjoyed when they changed their minds, promising a generous dry spell between 10am and 2pm, with heavy rain and thundery showers thereafter. They changed their minds, AGAIN, and we awoke to a prediction of rain for every hour of the day. Fantastic when you're heading out to climb a mountain (or two, in our case, as we had decided that we'd head over to the Blorenge after the Sugar Loaf event). 

Nevertheless, the weather remained dry on our drive over, and as the car ascended up the lower reaches of Sugar Loaf we were welcomed by jaw-dropping views behind us. However, as we parked the car and met up with other event attendees, we were disappointed to see that the view was fast being hidden by low cloud: and if we were having trouble seeing the views down here, would we be able to see anything at all 300m up on the summit?! 

It was a pleasant ascent up the mountain, in good company, and stories were shared as we approached  Sweet Spot and Mick's Stash, the two caches we'd planned to take in on this pre-event group walk. The landscape was lovely, the hillsides carpeted in fern, and we were now well above the tree-line, and approaching the summit. Sadly, though, we could not see further than 15m, thanks to the low cloud. It was great having Funk to Funky with us, as he's part of the local mountain rescue team, and so he could share some of his local knowledge with us! 

And after a last push upwards, we had done it: summited Sugar Loaf, at noon, marking the start of the official event! For about half an hour we had the whole summit to ourselves, which we admitted was a rarity. Details for the YOSM and Earthcache were jotted down, before a picnic lunch was enjoyed - whilst we couldn't see far, to our surprise it was STILL dry, against all odds! Therefore, we were having a good time anyway, as we continued to geo-chat.

Is that a view emerging from the low cloud?!

It was nice to see the clouds clearing a bit just as we were about to descend, which meant we could catch a glimpse of the fantastic view we'd seen in previous photographs! As we approached the car park on return, the cloud had lifted even more and the views were amazing - such a shame we couldn't take them in from the top.

View from Sugar Loaf car park; cloud now lifted - imagine them 300m further up!

From the parking, we continued to admire the views! We then bid farewell to our companions. In my opinion, it was a great event, and we were extremely lucky not to get soaked whatsoever! We found some quality caches in nice spots, and we did enjoy the glimpse of the views on the way back - admittedly, it was a shame we weren't met by sun today, but I feel that this didn't dampen our CacheWalker spirit. I wonder which mountain we'll tackle next?! Well, for myself, TJ and WT, the answer was looking straight at us...

That's where we're heading: The Blorenge from Sugar Loaf car park.

Off to the Blorenge - almost certainly to get wet! Whilst the forecast at one point had hinted the dry spell we had experienced, rain was always promised thereafter. However, we just had to grab a couple of special caches, so we decided to head over anyway! 

First, it was The Punchbowl Earthcache; a valley formed by a glacier, with a small lake left over from melt water, presumably. I won't go into Geological detail here - otherwise I'd be giving you the answers. It was an idyllic, peaceful spot though, and some locals turned up to go swimming just as we were leaving - brave souls!

The Punchbowl

One Blorenge gem down, another to go, and still no rain. TJ had noted that there was a lightening storm heading over from the East, but we were glad when twenty minutes later we found out it was actually heading North. From where we had parked, it was a very steep climb up The Blorenge. By now the cloud was really lifting, and there were some stunning views on our way up, lit by the sun which was trying to break through the higher clouds. Our target was The First in Wales, a cache placed in February 2001, just below the summit.

There were boulders everywhere - which one was it under? WT thought he spotted something, and I went to check it out - there was the cache (a large ammo can), filled with swag and TBs all these years later. This is now my oldest cache find, and what a location.

It's sad to think that you don't see caches like this one published these days. Gone are the treasure-troves at the end of a great adventure. It was a pleasure finding this cache whilst they still remain.

The First in Wales: nicer caches placed back then! 

To round off the day, we continued on to the summit to enjoy the far-reaching views and log the YOSM. There was even some sunshine, now! An absolutely brilliant spot to reflect on what has been a fantastic day, summiting two mountains, in good company, whilst picking up some superb caches. The Blorenge wins for me, but perhaps that's because we got to enjoy the views this time. Will have to return to Sugar Loaf soon, as they're meant to be even better over there! Really cannot believe we didn't get wet one bit, and were left wishing we had brought our sunglasses! Next time, don't listen to the weather forecast!

Sunshine?! Absolutely stunning views from The Blorenge summit! 

Griff Grof.