Sunday Stroll, Gog. Gwynedd Trail, 19th June

We had been waiting a while for the Gog. Gwynedd Trail by Clueless_Goose to be published and at the end of May the 20 cache series went live. As there are very few circular geocaching series in this area it was suggested that it would be fun to do as a group, since Covid we have all missed the social side of geocaching. An invitation to join us was placed on the website but we didn’t make it an official event. Due to the recommended parking being limited we decided to start the series at number 12 to allow us to park at Bangor Rugby Club.

GC9T6FW #12 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Styling it Out by Clueless_Goose Letterbox D1.5/T1.5

The first cache was a letterbox, a nice straight forward find, once the administration complete we followed the footpath along side the A55, dodging the over hanging foliage, before turning right. This path ran alongside the rugby pitch, unlike the neatly mown pitch the grass was waist high. Next a couple of fields full of sheep and then into a pretty residential lane before arriving at the bottom of the hill.

GC9T9PZ #13 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Bottom of the Hill by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T1

The advanced parties first sweep of GZ drew a blank, but an on form Ali soon discovered this very sneaky hide. We then continued down the road to the railway bridge.

GC9T9QD #14 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Riveting Stuff by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T2

Here we all concentrated too much on the ‘red herrings’ and not paying enough attention to the direction of the arrow or the distance! We got there in the end, coordinates are spot on for this cleverly disguised cache. For the next cache, a multi, it was a short walk down to the end of lane before crossing the very busy road.

GC9T9RB #15 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Be Ceffyl Now! by Clueless_Goose Multi D2/T1.5

At the clue item, well worth a look, Dave confesses he had already acquired the coordinates for the final. All back across the busy road to GZ. This one took us far longer than it should. We have all heard the saying ‘that too many cooks spoil the broth’, this was a case of too many geocachers can’t find the cache!

GC9T9RZ #16 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Stick ’em Up! by Clueless_Goose Traditional D3.5/T1.5

We continued along the quiet road before taking the footpath that runs along side the railway line. At GZ we found several Holly trees, all looking likely hiding places……. the title of the cache is a very good clue! A lovely custom made cache that blends in so well. Here the footpath leaves the railway line, a short walk across a field and we were at St. Cross Church.

GC9TABC Church Micro 14382…Tal-y-bont by Clueless_Goose Wherigo D2.5/T1.5

While we all fumbled around trying to get the phone apps and GPS to load the Wherigo cartridge, Bryan was off through the gate into the very well kept churchyard, needless to say we all followed. The cache was an easy find, the admin completed and cache replaced just as the Sunday service congregation filed out of the church. From here we headed down the quiet lane opposite.

GC9T9TE #18 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Don’t Slate It Now! by Clueless_Goose Letterbox D2/T2

The quiet lane proved to be anything but! We witnessed some awful reversing and driving from some very ‘pushy’ people. This cache is at the beginning of a footpath, Bryan lead the advanced party through the waist high vegetation and very stingy stinging nettles for a quick find. We then continued to the end of the lane where we found the clue item for next cache, a multi.

GC9T9WE #19 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Pay up by Clueless_Goose Multi D2.5/ T1.5

Again Dave had been very busy doing his home homework, coordinates noted we followed the road and crossed the A55. Here we stopped off for another cache not in the series.

GC2BMR9 A55 Frustration – J12 – Hendre Hall by Frosty Jack Traditional D2/T1.5

Some of us had already found this cache and thought it was going to be quick find. We only found it by looking at recent photos, I’m sure it was in a different location when we found it way back in 2014.

It was then up the hill to sign the log on the multi. The grey skies had disappeared and with the sunshine temperatures were rising, we were all glad of the shade as we slogged up the hill. By starting at 12 we had managed to acquire 3 of the bonus numbers, with a study of the map and clue we decided it was worth taking a look for the bonus.

GC9T9XF BONWS Gog. Gwynedd Trail by Clueless_Goose Mystery D2/T2

After an intensive search of a large area Bryan shouted those magic words, “Got it!” What a beautiful spot and a perfect place for our picnic lunch.

We continued up to the top of the hill, turned right into another narrow lane and followed a beautiful slate fence, where we found some fascinating graffiti carved into the upright slate.

GC9T4GO #1 Gog. Gwynedd Trail by Clueless_Goose Traditional D1/T1.5

The views from here were stunning, an easy find for Elaine as we all admired the scenery and read the beautifully carved graffiti.

GC9T4JN #2 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Gate by Clueless_Goose Traditional D1.5/T2

The advance party were signing the log book as the stragglers that had spent too much time admiring the views, taking photos and reading the graffiti arrived at GZ. We continued down the lane taking another right turn into a farm.

GC9T4K9 #3 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Keep Me Posted by Clueless_Goose Traditional D1.5/T2

At the gate there is several clue items which were intensively searched before Dave spotted the very well hidden cache, lucky it is still bright and shiny, if better camouflaged we would never have found it. Once through the farmyard the trail is not quite so obvious, luckily we had Dave, who is a Slate Trail Warden, to keep us heading in the right direction.

It was some distance before the next cache, we followed a very old track/road for part of the way through beautiful countryside before turning off to cross a field to arrive at #4 a solved Mystery/Puzzle cache.

GC9T4M0 #4 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – A Place by the Fire by Clueless_Goose Mystery D2/T2

Hmmm…… We made this one far harder than it is. We looked, we extended the search area, and then repeated and repeated to find the cache. A very pretty spot which gave us all a chance to cool off before heading up another hill.

It was now very warm, we all had come over dressed not expecting warm sunshine and we were all glad to reach the top of the hill where there was a cool breeze. Here we took the footpath into the fields, some admired the views while the advance party headed for GZ to begin the search before the rear guard arrived.

GC9T4N8 # 5 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Prickly Customer by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T2.5

Dave and Bryan drew the short straw and braved the prickles to find another lovely custom made container. We continued following the footpath to the next cache #6.

GC9T6AJ # 6 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – A Fairy Good Cache by Clueless_Goose Traditional D1.5/2.5

The title of the cache had given us a big clue to what we were looking for, another well crafted cache that we all appreciated, so nice to find something a bit different. Near to GZ is a unique style, we believe the upright to be made of railway signal lever.

The trail continued with more beautiful scenery before we arrived at the next cache #7.

GC9T6B1 # 7 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Best Zipline in N. Wales by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T1.5

This cache made us all smile, Elaine did the honours, before we continued taking the advice found on the cache page, we didn’t follow the arrow but turned left. A very short distance we turned right following the lane past some beautiful gardens with some exotic looking plants. Another right turn onto the footpath that took us past some very old oak trees plus many different specimen conifers. Was this once a grand park?

GC9T6B8 # 8 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Rest & Recharge by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T2

The name of the cache made sense once the cache had been found, another fun container. A fairly short walk to the next.

GC9T6E5 #9 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Sws Sws xx by Clueless_Goose Traditional D2/T1.5

On the way to the cache Dave explained to us non-Welsh speakers what ‘Sws Sws’ meant and where the likely location of the container might be. His guess was correct so a very easy find of another custom made container. (Sws Sws – Kiss Kiss)

Then the nightmare of trying to cross the road…….. not just once but twice!

After the stress of crossing the road it was lovely to reach such a beautiful, peaceful spot on the Afon Ogwen. Here we took a few minutes to enjoy the surroundings before continuing up the hill on the long walk to the next cache.

GC9T6EJ #10 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Sheep’s Lunchbox by Clueless_Goose Traditional D1.5/T2

We had negotiated several tight kissing gates to get here but this one I think trapped us all, the farmer has fixed an old inner tube to act as a spring to keep the gate shut and really it wants to stay shut! The cache was a nice easy find.

The walk to the next, our final cache, followed the course of the Afon Ogwen but due to to the woodland there was no views of the river until the final stretch of the path.

GC9TQP7 #11 Gog. Gwynedd Trail – Pont Ogwen by Clueless_Goose Puzzle D2.5/T3.5

Oh What fun we had here……… We tried the above and the below. This one was a real team effort, tricky to spot and retrieve. I’m amazed no one got wet! A great cache to finish our day on. After spending a few minutes enjoying the area we made our way back to Rugby Club via the concrete road for a well deserved panad.

We can highly recommend this series, the caches are a good mix of types, sizes and containers, including the only Wherigo Church Micro in the area.

We would also like to take the opportunity to say a very BIG THANK YOU to Jack, Clueless_Goose for setting this series, we all appreciate the effort that has gone into giving us such a fun adventure.