Below: on the Miner's Trail through the Horseshoe on the way up Snowdon
Below: the lake at the base of Mt. Snowdon, happy happy ground!
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| Snowdonia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SNOWDON | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The big un itself... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Day two was nicer as far as the weather was concerned, and that, I am told, is one of the biggest difficulties when mountaineering. Jethro later told us that few people try Tryfan, even when the weather is nice - so we got a few bonus points. The mountain we were to do the second day was Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales and England. The difference between Snowdon and Tryfan is crazy, first off, to get to the trails to the summit is a good 2 mile hike, most of that gradual uphill that killed me the first day. Then the trail heads up what are known as the zigzags, essentially switchbacks, only on loose rocks and uneven trail and gradually eases as you reach the ridge to the summit. I tried from the beginning to take it at my own pace, which was great and very scenic, but once we got to the zigzags we had to decide whether or not we were going to actually climb the thing. I told the group that I would, for if I didn't then none of them did either, despite the fact I could hardly breathe, hardly walk and was dead tired. Something about climbing the highest mountain in the lower UK though really sparks the determination. So with tiny baby steps, I inched my way up the hill with shouts of encouragement from my group, staring up at the summit which had a small cloud swirling about it thinking that there was no way on earth that I could ever reach | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Above: a little spot of luck on the way up Mt. Snowdon Below: on the Miner's Trail through the Horseshoe on the way up Snowdon |
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| that thing. Once me made it up onto the ridge, I was in for a most interesting view. 50 blanched faces staring at me from inside a passenger train as though I were daft (which they may very well be correct) for actually climbing the mountain when I could have just as easily taken the toy train from the town below to within 60 feet of the summit, buy my "I climbed Snowdon" t-shirt and be home in time for tea, all for 13 pounds. I just smiled at them and turned away, actually quite proud that I was within reach of the summit and had done so on my own legs (though one of my group mates offered to carry me when I was having difficulty.) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I swelled with even more pride when I took that last step and then quite dizzy when the clouds parted for five seconds and I realised how very, very high I was. So I promptly got down and savoured in my victory inside the most expensive little cafe on the face of the planet, which is understood, seeing as how on top of the mountain, they have a bit of a monopoly. We trudged down the path, taking the quickest way down which involved quite a bit of scree surfing and tumbling, and took a scenic walk along the lakes back to the base camp where we were all treated with a very hot cup of Cadbury's, hugs all around, and realisation that I had actually climbed the highest mountain in all of Wales and England, Mt. Snowdon (3,580 + feet), had thoughts of turning back and didn't. I win. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Above: the clouds broke for approx. 2.3 minutes, allowing a brief moment in which, from the summit, we could see the Irish Sea to the Northwest. Below: the lake at the base of Mt. Snowdon, happy happy ground! |
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