439 Miles / 706 km
Today was Mountain day! Peak 1/3. This would really mean I’m a third of the way through this trip/challenge/adventure/mid life crisis!
Today was the day no matter what. I didn’t have any other chance to climb this mountain… and low and behold the weather. It was cold, it was raining, it was windy. Oh it was windy.
Some fun Snowdonia facts to start you off with…
- There are 1497 miles of public footpaths within the park.
- It’s home to 9 mountain ranges
- Snowdon is the highest mountain at 1085m /3560 ft
- It is Wales’ longest established National Park (1951)
- Also the third largest National Park in the UK
- It’s home to Wales’ largest Lake ‘Bala Lake’
- 350,000 people take on Snowdon peak each year
- Eryri (the highland) is the welsh name for the NP.
- There are 6 main walking routes up to Snowdon Peak!
I didn’t start the hike up till 9am, my weather app told me the weather would be good till around 11 and then would get worse, so my aim was to be up and on the way down by 11. I shouldn’t have aimed so high… or I could beat the elements.
I took the Pyg track up (which is most often used with the 3 peak challenge) and was planning on taking the miners Track down. The hike up really wasn’t to bad, the elevation was gradual, and the views from what i could see were amazing. After about 30 mins I lost any sort of views and was met with whiteness. wind, rain and cloud. The rocks/steps were slippery, the mud was slippery and the wind wasn’t allowing me to move very far or in the direction I wanted. My determination to get to the stop was strong and I fought the elements the whole way up, managing to just take a photo at the top before the wind almost blew me straight back off. I was thankful for good rain and wind gear at the top thats for sure, and for those thermal layers. I was feeling cold but great to be at the top.
And the way down. I don’t have much to say then I should have taken the exact same trail down. You could see nothing at the top, everything became disorientated, and even though the trail I thought I was taking down was running parallel to the Pyg trail… it was not. I knew about 30 minutes into the down hill I was going the wrong way because I couldn’t see the lake, my instinct was telling me to go back up, but I couldn’t face the wind or rain and just wanted to get down. My body hurt, my mind was mush and I was being battered by the elements. I figured at this point the only way was down and then when I was out of the horrendous weather Id figure it out. Lesson learnt to actually buy a compass and carry it with me. 2 hours later I hit the bottom, completely lost but with signs of civilisation at least. I knew once the path turned into more of a dirt road that I was close to a road and I was! No idea where I was though, so I began knocking on a couple of doors at farms, but no answers until i get to a little National trust building – in the middle of the sticks, looks like the guy had just opened up the building as the keys were all in the locks. Anyway I find this guy who first tells me Im not too smart for not having a map… yes… correct. And then tells me the quickest way back to Pen-Y-Pass is to head to the main road and wait for a bus or walk the main road “its about 2 miles” So 2 miles seems doable and I chose to walk.. the bus timetable says it was coming for another 1.5 hours anyway. The walk was long, I was miles away. I knew where I was and it wasn’t where I wanted to be at all. I had come down the back side of the mountain. I walked the road way back and googling it later it actually says it was 4.4 miles. not exactly 2. My ankle was really bugging me at this point and the last 1 mile uphill was a struggle. But I was back at the hostel by 2.30. Maybe 1.5 hours later than I hoped, but alive and still just about able to walk. My body was hurting but I knew I had to get straight on with the ride or I wouldn’t do it all today.
1 PEAK DONE…. 2 TO GO. I HAVE SUMMITED SNOWDON!
23 miles…. easy….. The first 8 miles were downhill. Almost entirely. In fact I don’t think I peddled for the first 3 miles! after the 8 I had 15 left. the first 10 were okay but I was getting tired. The last 5 were hilly, and hard and took me over an hour. I walked alot of this last leg, and the finally uphill to the hostel was horrible. I was ready to pass out, or cry, or both. I was exhausted. I hadn’t really eaten food all day, drank water or anything. I hadn’t taken care of my body at all today. Which leads me to a favourite quote that a friend once told me and one I tend to take note of…
“The body keeps count and it always wins”
Glad to make it to Conwy at 6pm, I check in and head straight into town for food! I’ve been craving fish n chips all day, so straight down to the waterfront to seat by the water and eat! I felt almost instantly better! I got to walk around Conwy for a bit and see ‘The UK’s smallest house’ a beautiful castle and a lovely sunset. I went onto the bridge and sat over the edge eating my fish n chips… not really realising anything of it until a guy walks past and asks if I’m okay… I guess in the dark it didn’t look like I was eating and maybe I was contemplating a jump instead…. I got down and finished my food down by the docks! haaa.
Thats it. That’s another day. Slowly driving myself crazy. Heading out of Wale tomorrow and into Liverpool!! Where a friend from camp gets the pleasure of my company! And I sort of get a rest!! 🙂
