Mostly Photos | Cody Duncan Photography

Reka – Vesterålen

December 19, 2016/0 Comments/in Climbing, Mostly Photos, Mountains, Norway/by Cody

Photo: Reka rising over the frozen landscape, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

An October visit by a friend from the south had introduced the name ‘Reka’ to our minds. Originally calling the mountain ‘Shrimp,’ the Norwegian translation from Reke, we later learned that the name comes from an older Sami word for shove – likely due to the shape of the mountainl. Anyhow, the idea was in our minds, now to wait for the weather.

In early November came a good weather window. And after going to a showing of the Reel Rock film tour in Svolvær on Monday night, we departed early Tuesday for Vesterålen.

Arriving around noon, the clear weather had brought arctic temperatures, much colder than we had on Lofoten! I found a place to park by the cemetery and then we began our hike into the frozen landscape. We only had rough directions, and the cold made these difficult to follow. At first we tried to go the direct route, across some tidal rocks at the end of a fjord, but the water was too high and the rocks too icy, so we needed another 45 minutes to make a detour around the end of the fjord, before picking up the trail again.

We had been hoping to make make camp just below the ridge, and the start of the proper climbing. But after several hours of hiking, and with the growing darkness, we arrived at a frozen bogland, with a small flowing stream, that we both thought would make a good base camp. We just needed to get up an hour earlier for the hike up to the ridge.

The world around us was cold and frozen, the low November sun no longer shining upon it. Luckily though, the frozen land let us find a nice flat spot for the tent, which in summer would otherwise be the middle of a horrendous bog.

Surrounded by fallen birch trees, we did our best to make a fire. But after some effort and multiple attempts, which even involved using my stove, we gave up. It was too cold and all the wood was covered in rime ice. But at least the effort of trying to make a fire kept us warm for a little while longer.

Later, the northern light arrived over camp, and I had to go out for at least a few photos.

The night was cold, Bitterly so. This was the first real night of winter for us. It didn’t help that my sleeping pad has developed a bit of a leak, and required multiple inflatings during the night; when I can feel the shivering cold soaking through my bones from the ground. I didn’t sleep much.

Ylva wakes up early as always, to cook a proper breakfast and have a hot cup of tea. I try and sleep longer, content with some frozen cheese and salami. By 07:00 we were out of the tent and ascending into the frozen landscape. We had no greater plans other than to see what we would find. The cold had taken the energy from both of us this night.

Arriving at the ridge, the sun brought warmth to our bodies. It was then that Ylva discovered that she had forgotten her climbing shoes in the tent! Anyhow, the day was still young and so we harnessed up.

I lead the first, easy pitch. No gear was really needed, but I put in a few pieces for peace of mind. Ylva arrived and then took the lead for pitch 2. Soon I followed and attempted pitch 3, but with our little info for the route, I wasn’t sure I was going the right way, as it seemed a bit too hard – and I couldn’t see any bolts, which should have been there. So I turned back. Ylva made an attempt in her mountain boots. But it was too hard and feeling too insecure. By now it was after 13:00 in the afternoon, and the shadows were growing long. So just a short way from the summit, we decided to turn around, and hopefully return another day.

The world was growing dark by the time we reached our base camp and packed up. Making quick progress, we descended the mountain as quickly as possible, but it still took us another 2+ hours, half of which by headlamp though the frozen landscape which sparkled like a disco light, until we reached my van again. Exhausted and cold.

We headed down to Sortland to try and find some food, ending up at some not very good pizza place, before continuing further home to Lofoten until I was too tired to drive anymore, and we found a place to camp for the night somewhere near Raftsundet.

Despite not making the summit, it was a fun adventure! And I look forward to going back in the longer days of summer to make another attempt…

Photo: Hiking into the frozen landscape towards Reka, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

Photo: Reka rises over our base camp, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

Photo: Attempt at an evening campfire in the frozen land, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

Photo: Northern lights shine over camp below Reka, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

Photo: At the bast of the climbing route on Reka, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

Photo: Happy in the sun at pitch 2 on Reka, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

Photo: Ylva on lead for pitch 2 on Reka, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

Photo: Last sunlight before turning around at pitch 3 on Reka, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

Photo: Down from the climb, our basecamp in deep shadows for the hike out, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

Lofoten Mørketid

December 14, 2016/0 Comments/in Landscape, Lofoten Islands, Mostly Photos, Norway/by Cody

Photo: Morning twilight over Blekktind and Flakstadpollen, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 2016

Lofoten has entered the time of year known as the Mørketid – literally translating to ‘dark time,’ but better known as the polar night. The sun no longer rises above the horizon and the ‘days’ become gradually darker and shorter until the winter solstice – the longest night of the year.

Most of December has been on the stormy and, for the arctic circle, warm side. Lots of wind and rain have been blowing through the fjord lately, my house moving and shaking as night after night of storms have passed. However, Sunday brought cold and clear skies over the islands.

With the sun below the horizon, the day is little more than a few hours of a soft twilight glow. But in fine weather such as this, the light is simply magical, and one forgets that the sun will never rise, as it doesn’t really need to.

The wind and rain are back again for the next week, but hopefully there will be some more days like this before the sun returns in early January.

Photo: Skjelfjord noon, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 2016

Photo: Skjelfjord twilight, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 2016

Photo: Stjerntind twilight, Lofoten Islands, Norway. December 2016

Norwegian Autumn FJords

April 28, 2015/0 Comments/in Landscape, Mostly Photos, Norway, Travel/by Cody

Photo: Autumn morning at Geirangerfjord, Geiranger, Norway. October 2014

Images from my October travels through the Norwegian fjords are now online in my archive gallery.

With all the time I have spent on Lofoten, I have never spent that much time in central Norway. There was so much bright colors and light, I hope to make it back again one of these years!

– NORWAY GALLERY –

Photo: Clearing storm over Aurlandsfjord, Aurland, Norway. October 2014

Favorite Images of 2014

January 5, 2015/0 Comments/in Landscape, Lofoten Islands, Mostly Photos, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Travel, Wales/by Cody

I welcomed in 2015 camping in the freezing cold temperatures outside Ouray, Colorado. Though I was in bed by 6:30pm, because it was simply too cold to do anything but sleep, it seemed a fitting end to the year and beginning of the next.

Here are some of my favorite images from 2014. Though I have gone to some effort to exclude most of my Lofoten Images, which I’ll post as a set of their own in a few more days over at 68north. Otherwise, it would be too easy for this list to be entirely made up of images from the Islands. But I also ended up a couple other places as well, so I thought I would separate the two collections.

2014 was fairly similar to the previous year. Once again, a majority of my focus was on the Lofoten Islands, staying for just over 2 months in total this year, split between winter and autumn.

In February, between visits to Lofoten, I attempted to make a ski tour on the Kungsleden trail in Sweden. It didn’t go too well and I never made it very far from Kebnekaise Fjällstation. But I still had some fun and look forward to making another attempt one of these years.

The spring saw me return to the Silesian countryside of south Poland and a brief visit to the Tatra mountains. The rest of the time I was in Wales.

In late August, I made my first visit to Tromsø, where I boarded a sailboat for a 2 week trip to Lofoten. It was absolutely fantastic, and I hope I find the time to make a proper writeup one of these days. After the sailing trip I remained on Lofoten for most of September. It was perhaps the best month of northern lights I’ve ever had on the islands, with night after night of aurora filled skies until the early morning hours.

One of the highlights of the year was a 10 day road trip though Norway in October, From Lofoten to Stavanger. I’ve never properly explored central Norway, only ever hitch-hiking or busses previously. So it was happy to finally begin to explore some places that I’ve wanted to visit for years. And the autumn color was some of the best I’ve ever seen, making up for the rather dull color on Lofoten this year.

I’ve missed out on celebrating the New Year on Scotland’s Outer Hebrides for the last 2 years now, which I slightly miss. So in an attempt to make up for it, I headed to Scotland in October, only to be blasted by wind and rain for nearly 2 weeks straight until I finally lost all motivation and headed south to Wales before returning to California.

2015 will be off to a quick start. Next week, I’ll already be on my way back to Lofoten to co-guide a photo tour for Muench Workshops. After that, I’ll stay on the Islands until the end of February to work on my own photography and hopefully climb a few mountains.

Photo: Evening comes to Kebnekaise Fjällstation, Lapland, Sweden. February 2014

Photo: Old barn in field, Silesia, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Approaching storm over field, Silesia, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Opole City Hall, Silesia, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Hiker on Bannau Sir Gaer, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

Photo: Welsh mountain pony at sunset, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

Photo: Northern lights over coast, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 2014

Photo: Alpine farm above Norddalsfjord, Møre go Romsdal, Norway. October 2014

Photo: Nigardsbreen glacier, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. October 2014

Photo: Clearing storm over Aurlandsfjord, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. October 2014

Poland – Tatra Mountains – Part 2

September 17, 2014/0 Comments/in hiking, Landscape, Mostly Photos, Mountains, Poland/by Cody

Photo: Nearing the summit of Koscielec, Tatra Mountains, Poland. May 2014

Perhaps there had been too many beers Friday night in Zakopane, so it was a slow start to get moving on Saturday morning. Eventually the four of us were loaded into the car and on the way to the trailhead for the Five Lakes Valley in the Polish Tatra mountains.

Some roadworks led to some detours which extended the drive time. But at some point we decided to call the hut to make sure there was room. It was May, early in the season and a questionable weather forecast, but better to be safe. At some point in the last year or so, rules changed in some of the huts: from – always having space, even if you sleep in the dining room, to – hut is full, you need to have a room.

Pulling off the road in one of the few places with phone reception, we finally contacted the hut. Full. Shit! Next try was to Morskie Oko hut. Also Full. Double shit! There went those plans.

Having a map with me, I suggested we try Murowaniec hut, located on the ‘front’ side of the mountains, a few hours hike above Zakopane. Luckily there were beds available. And so a couple hours after we left Zakopane, we were driving back into the town to begin our hike.

The suspect weather had cleared into a nice sunny day by the time we finally got onto the trail, well, more of a fairly well worn path through the forest – the Tatra are a popular hiking destination. Sometime afternoon we finally arrived at Murowaniec hut to a scene I am familiar with from hiking the Alps, benches of people sitting in the sun eating home cooked food with a glass of beer or two. The food did smell good, and we were hungry, so after checking into our room for the night, we were ready to get something to eat.

Never having been to this part of the mountains, I wasn’t really sure what to do with the remainder of the day. I had been up on Kasprovy Wierch, so wasn’t really interested in hiking up there again, and it looked really crowded up on the ridge anyhow. There was still a lot of snow in all the gullies, so without winter gear we had a fairly limited list of possibilities. I pointed out an interesting looking peak above the hut, but it turned out not to have a trail to the summit, so a fairly difficult bushwhack through the dense dwarf pines would have been required. FInally, Jack pointed towards a tall, and from our angle, quite steep looking mountain, the 2155 meter high peak of Koscielec.

Still with a few spiderwebs of snow covering the face, it seemed like the best option, or at least we would go as far as we could. Backpacks bag on – overnight stuff – we hit the trail in mid afternoon.

While I appreciate the wilderness we have in the mountains of California, sometime I like being able to hike, for the sake of hiking. This is the experience in the Polish Tatra mountains. Criss crossed with a seeming endless series of sign posted trails, all are well build and maintained, something like mountain sidewalks.

After an hour or so of hiking we reached a small pass at the base of the mountain. The angle didn’t look too bad anymore, but I could tell we’d have a few sections of snow to negotiate.

The next hour was spent going up, up, and a bit more up, as the trail wound its way higher on the mountain. For the most part the route was simple going, with maybe a short scramble here and there. And of course, ever improving views as we came closer to the summit. It had been t-shirt weather thus far, but the winds picked up as we neared the summit so it was back into a fleece again, which was good, as I was probably getting pretty sunburnt anyhow!

About five o’clock, with the sinking afternoon sun we arrived at the summit. Wonderful views in every direction, but especially towards the 2301 meter peak of Swinica, still covered with a healthy layer of snow.

We took our time on the summit as the weather was near perfect before we eventually figured it was time to head back down. Before leaving the hut, we noticed a sign saying, ‘kitchen closes at 21:30.’ Without further inquiry, we figured this would be the last time to order dinner. A dinner I was greatly looking forward to from my memories of my last trip to the Tatra!

Descent was a little more complicated than the ascent and took a little more time than I thought. The sky was growing dark as we arrived back at the hut a little before nine o’clock. I was somewhat shocked to see a full on party going on in the dining hall, even with a live band.

Now looking forward to a good meal, we went up to order, only to be informed that there was only one selection of soup available – a sauerkraut soup that I don’t care for very much. When asking about the 21:30 closing time, we were informed that was when the whole dining hall closed. Shit! 10 hours hiking in the mountains and I couldn’t even get dinner. I guess malted barley water would have to suffice, along with the remainder of my hiking food.

Luckily the presence of the live band meant the dining room stayed open later, so we could at least enjoy a few drinks, somewhat to the protest of the hut warden, who could have been doing good business with the full house crowd, but chose to close the bar, only returning sporadically and serving drinks when sufficiently harassed by enough people shaking money at her.

Sometime after 11pm my head finally hit the pillow. Jack and I had discussed some place of getting up for sunrise, maybe even hiking up Kasprovy Wierch, we would see. But by the early morning hours the hut began to creek and the windows bang in the increasing winds. With barely a hint of morning light I got up to checkout the sky. Fully grey, and the trees were doing quite a dance. At that, I was content to stay in my sleeping bag for a while!

A lazy hike out of the mountains and back to Zakopane followed. We headed to a place to grab lunch (another pizza for me) and as we headed inside, thunder began to rumble and rain fall. Good timing getting down the mountain I guess.

We got dropped of by Jack in Krakow, where I then ended up on a standing room only mini-bus, I was one of the ones standing, back to Katowice before a tram back to Chorzow.

Overall, not the trip planned, but a good one none the less. Zakopane is such a wonderful mountain town, and in the spring it is nice and green yet the streets, while still crowded, are not overly crowded. I wished I had had a few more days just to hang out there and enjoy a bit of mountain town life. Maybe next time…

Photo: Heading up the trail to Murowaniec hut, Tatra Mountains, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Afternoon nap outside Murowaniec hut, Tatra Mountains, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Hiking towards Koscielec, Tatra Mountains, Poland. May 2014

Photo: The 2155 meter high Koscielec rises in the distance, Tatra Mountains, Poland. may 2014

Photo: On the summit of Koscielec, Tatra mountains, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Panoramic view from the summit of Koscielec, Tatra Mountains, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Murowaniec hut, Tatra Mountains, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Resting outside a mountain cabin, Tatra Mountains, Poland. May 2014

Poland – Tatra Mountains – Part 1

September 10, 2014/0 Comments/in hiking, Landscape, Mostly Photos, Mountains, Poland/by Cody

Photo: Stormy spring sky over the Polish Tatra mountains, near Kasprovy Wierch, Poland. May 2014

My first trip to the Polish Tatra mountains was in the late autumn of 2011 when I was making was way south from Estonia, through Latvia and Lithuania, before an epic, 18 hour bus ride to visit my friend Jack in Jaroslaw, located in the south east corner of Poland, more of less closer to Ukraine than anything else. After a few days in the nearby Bieszczady mountains, we headed west to the high peaks of the Tatra.

Being November, we weren’t sure what to expect, but 2011 happened to be an unusually warm autumn in Europe and so we had snow free travel up to the hut at the Five Lakes Valley (Dolinie Pięciu Stawów) for our first night in the mountains. The next day we continued on towards Morskie Oko hut, thinking about hiking Poland’s highest mountain, Rysy, before deciding conditions weren’t too good.

While somewhat small compared to the Alps, the Tatra left an impression on me as a wild and rugged set of peaks with some stunning views from the high summits.

Returning to Poland this May, I made plans to meet with Jack in the mountains again. Staying in Chorzow, near Katowice, it took half a day on Polish busses to arrive in Zakopane, where we would spend Friday night before heading further into the mountains.

The weather forecast was so-so, actually rather poor. Arriving on Friday afternoon in Zakopane, the skies overhead were heavy and dark. Being lazy, and with a few hours of daylight left, we took the cable car to the summit of Kasprovy Wierch to at least get a few mountain photos.

The trip was also to do a bit of scouting for the next day’s hike, as one of the possibilities was to cross from Kasprovy Wierch over into FIve Lakes Valley and stay in the hut for the night. But from up high, it was evident that without winter gear, there was still too much snow up high for the journey to be possible. So it was back down to Zakopane for a pizza and some beers (and a Kebab on the way back to the guesthouse).

We made plans to head to Five Lakes Valley in the morning.

Photo: Spring in the Tatra mountains, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Snow covered Swinica, Tatra mountains, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Dark sky over the Slovakian side of the Tatra mountains, near Kasprovy Wierch, Poland. May 2014

Opole – Poland

August 28, 2014/0 Comments/in Cities, Mostly Photos, Poland, Travel/by Cody

Photo: Town Hall and Rynek Market square, Opole, Upper Silesia, Poland. May 2014

My first, and brief visit to Opole was in May 2013 when I visited the Polish state archives looking for a bit of my family history. I had know the town by name, but knew little more about the place. On the day I visited the streets were full of young students celebrating something or another, so I didn’t have the chance to take too many photos – I was mostly in the archives looking at old microfilms anyhow – but upon this first impression, I knew Opole was a place that I would like to have a chance to spend a bit more time in.

Fast forward to May of this year when I somewhat unexpectedly found myself in Poland again (for a wedding). I wanted to do a bit more exploring of the Silesian countryside where part of my family comes from, so instead of making the usual day trip from Chorzow (my somewhat industrial home base in Poland), I decided it would be a bit nicer to spend a few nights in Opole, two to be exact.

Typically in my European travels I’m a backpacker through and through. And while the hostel representation in eastern Europe has greatly expanded since my first travels in 2006/2007, there are still some cities that are completely off the charts for travelers. Opole is one of those places. It seems that for backpackers, Poland only consists of Krakow, and perhaps Warsw, Gdansk or Wrocław. But beyond that, much Poland remains an empty zone for hostels, as the backpacker route continues on to Prague – also skipping one of my favorite cities in the Czech Republic, Olomouc.

Luckily, hotels in Poland, if you book through Polish websites, are not too hard on the budget. We found something reasonable and just outside the city center for our two nights in in Opole.

Opole itself is a wonderful town! While the city center is quite small and compact, it is evident that it has received a fair amount of EU funding for some revitalization, no doubt due to the strong German roots of the city and its historical importance as the capital of Upper Silesia.

For me as a photographer I found the streets wonderfully void of people standing in the way of my photos during dusk, while at the same time, the restaurants we chose for dinner filled up with a lively crowd of university students each night, which I’m sure picks up even more on the weekends (I was there mid week). My timing was even good enough to coincide with a visit from the Polish president – who’s entourage passed me by as I was walking down one of the streets.

I’m pretty sure I’ll return again one of these days, as a base for a bit more exploration of the SIlesian countryside. Though I think I will also have to make a visit to Wrocław a priority as well.

Photo: Town Hall tower rises above the city center, Opole, Upper Silesia, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Colorful buildings line Rynek market square, Opole, Upper Silesia, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Town Hall building, Opole, Upper Silesia, Poland. May 2014

Photo: City center at night, Opole, Upper Silesia, Poland. May 2014

Silesian Fields

July 7, 2014/0 Comments/in Landscape, Mostly Photos, Poland, Travel/by Cody

Photo: Dark skies over green fields, Opole Voivodship, Upper Silesia, Poland. May 2014

I stopped along the side of the road in the village of Ligota Bialska (Formerly Ellguth), deep into the southern reaches of the former region of Upper Silesia, to take a quick photo of the WW1 memorial and record the names of the fallen in search of my families distant connections. From a farm building across the street I hear a shout and then two men begin approaching our rental car. Though we rented the car in Katowice, the obvious ‘W’ (Warsaw) license plate of the rental agency denoted us as distant foreigners in this quiet, rural part of Poland.

We explained my interest in the memorial. That I was looking for traces of my family.

‘Hindera? Yes, I think I knew of some Hinderas. Over in Smicz.’ The old man muttered through his few remaining teeth.

‘Ahh, yes, the name seems familiar.’ His friend interjected.

‘Do you know of still any around?’ We asked.

‘Hmm, no. It has been a long time. You’ll probably find them in the cemetery by now…’ The old man replied.

And so we continued on through the Silesian countryside. The Spring sky dark and heavy with rain. I was in search of the dead; names now long forgotten. Upper Silesia is a lonely part of Europe. Formerly the eastern most expansion of the German Empire and now an empty part of Poland. Just to the south lies the Czech border, whose mountains rise along the horizon, above fields of barley, wheat, rapeseed, and corn. The green and yellow fields contrasted with the blue and black sky overhead. A storm was approaching.

We passed the villages that I have only seen by name in birth, marriage, and death records of my ancestors: Grabina/Grabine, Otoki/Ottok, Ligota Bialska/Ellguth, Biala Prudnicka/Zülz, Wasilowice/Waschelwitz, Smicz/Schmitsch, Wilowice/ Mühlsdorf, Kolnowice/Kohlsdorf. Tiny, one road towns of crumbling brick buildings and potholed streets. You’re more likely to see tractors than cars driving along the roads. The locals watch you out of the corner of their eye, as the rental car was far too nice to be owned by any resident. What were we doing there?

The addition of the historic German names in 2005 to many of the villages seems to have come at the distain of some locals, and more than once, I noticed the German version of the town name covered in black spay paint. It appears history still holds bitter memories for some.

We drove further south to Prudnik, now just 5 kilometers north of the Czech border. After driving in a few circles we next headed west towards Nysa. Just outside of town the sky erupted. Lightning cracked and thunder rumbled all around us. I made a quick turn off onto a farmer’s dirt road and into a field where I attempted to photograph the action. I was just on the edge of the storm but soon that cold breeze picked up and a bolt of lightning hit a little to close for comfort. Heavy drops of rain began to fall. I thought of my ancestors, leaving these fields for a new home in Nebraska in the 1880’s and 90’s. They may have moved a content away, but still they remained in a familiar land.

The storm passed and as we reached Nysa a bit of sun was beginning to shine. The cities cathedral, beautiful and imposing, rose high above the city center. But the place overall was a bit too busy for my liking. And so we took the narrow country roads back north to Opole. The rain caught up to use once again. This time without any drama, just grey, liquid skies which lasted into the night.

If it weren’t for an historic family connection, then there is little doubt that I never would have heard of, much less visited, Polish Silesia. And while you wont ever see any of these town names appearing in guide books or magazine articles, there is still a wealth of history and a lifetime of stories to be discovered in this lonely corner of Europe. I have little doubt that I’ll be back again.

Photo: Abandoned house in the village of Grabina/Grabine, Opole Voivodship, Upper Silesia, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Wind and Curtain, Grabina/Grabine, Opole Voivodship, Upper Silesia, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Bales of hay, Grabina/Grabine, Opole Voivodship, Upper Silesia, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Spring thunderstorm over field, near Laskowiec, Opole Voivodship, Upper Silesia, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Approaching storm over field, near Prudnik, Opole Voivodship, Upper Silesia, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Nysa Cathedral, Nysa, Opole Voivodship, Upper Silesia, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Lone barn in field, Opole Voivodship, Upper Silesia, Poland. May 2014

Brecon Beacons National Park – Mynydd Llangorse

May 16, 2014/0 Comments/in hiking, Landscape, Mostly Photos, Mountains, Wales/by Cody

Photo: Watching sunset over Llangorse lake from Mynydd Llangorse, Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

With the long days of summer just around the corner it’s now possible to head out into the Black Mountains for quick evening hikes from here in Hay-on-Wye. Normally, the default hike is Twmpa or Hay Bluff, the quickest mountains two reach, just down the road and the very eastern border of Brecon Beacons national park. With rainy days often spent at the climbing gym at llangorse, I’ve often had my eye of the isolated peaks of Mynydd Troed and Mynydd Llangorse for some time. And looking for something new to wander around to break out of the normal routine, I finally made the effort to get there.

Arriving at the small parking area between both peaks, I decided to head up the lower Mynydd Llangorse, at 515 meters, as the views towards Llangorse lakes seemed to be more promising. A short ascent leads to the mountain’s ridge and fantastic views of the gently rolling hills and Hedged-in fields of the Welsh countrside. In the distant west, the flat, table-like summit of Pen Y Fan rose into the mist.

A strange, soft light covered the last, fading off into the hazy distant mountain peaks. At times, the sun would break through the clouds, casting beams of light over the land in typical Welsh fashion. Sunset looked like it would be promising, so I stayed up on the mountain, often surrounded by the wild Welsh mountain ponies, grazing away on the spring grass, until strangely pink sun sunk below the horizon. Now I’m just waiting for a day with some nice puffy clouds to head back again.

For more images from Mynydd Llangorse, and the rest of the Brecon Beacons national park, you can visit my Welsh image archive: HERE

Photo: Views over the scenic Welsh countryside, Mynydd Llangorse, Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

Photo: Rays of light break through the clouds, Mynydd Llangorse, Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

Photo: Old stone wall on Mynydd Llangorse, Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

Photo: Welsh mountain pony at sunset, Mynydd Llangorse, Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

Brecon Beacons National Park – Black Mountain

May 12, 2014/0 Comments/in hiking, Landscape, Mostly Photos, Mountains, Wales/by Cody

Photo: View along the Carmarthen Fans, Black Mountain, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

The Black Mountain – Y Mynydd Du, the strangely singularl named mountain range, not to be confused with the Black Mountains or Black Mountain itself, on the Western edge of south Wales’ Brecon Beacons national park is home to the some of the most stunning and wild mountains of the national park. While the central peaks of the Brecons Beacons can have a near endless train of people heading up on a sunny Sunday afternoon, the Black Mountain receives only a fraction of the foot traffic which is one of the reasons that they are my favourite mountains in the region to hike.

When a fair weathered day presented itself a few weekends back, I headed west to hike one my favourite route: Bannau Sir Gaer – Camarthen Fans. Often I hike in from the east, as it’s quick to get there, and often just ascend Fan Brycheiniog before returning, but this time I wanted to wait around until sunset, and so decided to hike in from the west via Llyn Y Fan Fach. From Llyn Y Fan Fach, the trail ascends to Waun Lefrith, with scenic view of the entire Camarthen Fans, before continuing on to the first high point at Picws Du. From here the trail descends before climbing again to Fan Foel and eventually on to the high point of the range, the 802 meter high Fan Brycheiniog.

Instead of descending the mountains and heading back to the car park, I decided to head back up Picws Du and back along the Camarthen Fan ridge to Waun Lefrith where I was hoping to wait for sunset. Buts as the afternoon hours passed, heavy clouds began rolling in from the west, and it was evident that any sunset would be unlikely. So after 7:00pm, as the spring sky was beginning to darken I began to head back down the mountain, slightly hurried by the calling of dinner.

For more images from Black Mountain, and the rest of the Brecon Beacons national park, you can visit my Welsh image archive: HERE

Photo: Hiking above Llyn Y Fan Fach, Black Mountain, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

Photo: Llyn Y Fan Fach and Carmarthen Fans, Black Mountain, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

Photo: View along Carmarthen Fans, Black Mountain, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

Photo: Rock outcropping, Black Mountain, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

Photo: Last light touchest the summit of Fan Foel, Black Mountain, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales

Reka – Vesterålen

Lofoten Mørketid

Norwegian Autumn FJords

Favorite Images of 2014

Poland – Tatra Mountains – Part 2

Poland – Tatra Mountains – Part 1

Opole – Poland

Silesian Fields

Brecon Beacons National Park – Mynydd Llangorse

Brecon Beacons National Park – Black Mountain

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New on the Blog

Seasons On Lofoten Winter eBook

Kungsleden Trail eBook

Website Search

Stock Image Seach