It was a sunny and calm start to the day which meant a leisurely morning for me. I'd have to wait til low water before I could attempt to cross the Menai straight. Taking my time i made breakfast and enjoyed a couple of mugs of coffee packed up the tent which was now beginning to feel homely. I still wasn't sure exactly how it should be folded but I'dnow settled on a method i was reasonably happy with.
Having not camped to far away from the water it didn't take me long to reach the shore to see what it was I'd be tackling that morning. The sky was clear, the sun was beaming and the waters calm. The perfect conditions i had been hoping for had blessed me. Dropping my pack to the ground i sat down to study the current and seek out obstacles and obstructions. The notorious Menai straight wasn't exactly living up to my expectations. In fact the crossing I'd made a couple of days earlier at silver bay was more of a challenge. I checked the time and gave the coastguard a quick call to confirm high water. 11:08am came the reply. It was now 10:30am and time to get hoolley unpack and ready. A slight sea breeze aided my efforts filling the inflator bag quickly and effortlessly.
I climbed in and fixed the spray deck down. A speed boat thundered past sending an enormous wake my way. Several words sprang to mind and a few were uttered.
Pushing off i turned into the wake as it continued to roll in and began to paddle, all the time ready to react to whatever situation the straights threw at me. Another speed boat hurtled passed whom received a stern scoured look i can tell you. I was soon halfway across when an under current I'd not expected began to draw me in to exactly where i hoped i would end up, on a slipway on the far side beneath an old fort. All in all i couldn't have asked for a more perfect paddle.
With hoolley packed away i hiked triumphantly along the stony beach gazing back across to the shores of Anglesey. Feeling a little cocky i called out "no island too big, no island too small!". It seemed fitting at the time but on reflection with nobody to hear I'd say completely pointless. This wasn't Europe for example, now that is a big island!
The stony beach stretched on and was getting tougher under foot the further i hiked. I was also feeling unusually hungrier too, the further i hiked. Coming across a small river i decided to stop and treat myself to a rehydrated chicken korma with rice.
It seemed to take an eternity boiling the water but once revitalised i carried on to conquer the stony nemesis that proceeded ahead of me beyond the horizon and out of sight. Time passed quickly and before too long i found myself near Trefor and staring at a mountain, a roadway zig zagging up and out of sight. I remembered plotting this particular mountain on Google earth while I'd been planning my initial route over a year previous and remembered thinking it was the stuff legends were made of. Its rocky outline against the clear blue sky appeared daunting and ominous. As i got closer it loomed over me.
Reaching Trefor i once again picked up the coastal path which was now to take me up along the cliffs above the calm sea. Beginning the hike around the coastline towards the mountain which i could now clearly see had been cut away to form a quarry i met an elderly gentleman walking his dog. He was a local who'd lived in the village all his life and who walked the hills around everyday. He liked walking and often picked long hiking trips in Scotland. Whilst chatting he advised that i stopped on a flat piece of grass at the bottom of the mountain near to three holiday cottages that were currently vacant. It would be a steep start to the following day but he didn't think I'd make it to the summit that evening especially with the enormous pack i was carrying.
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