I win again.
Right: This section of the path is scattered with waterfalls, in case you hadn't noticed. All of them breathtaking, especially if you fall in.
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| Snowdonia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BEAR HUNTERS TRACK | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Rolling on a river... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Our last day was a sinch comparatively - we hiked a good 6 miles over the river (don't ask me the name, I couldn't spell it if I tried) and through the woods stopping every now and then at the various waterfalls and to chase the sheep. Funny, though, that on the day with the most clearly defined trails, the most basic of mountaineering exercises, it would be the day that we got lost. We designed our own trail and cut it into legs, each leg was the responsibility of two people to navigate and lead. The one member of the group who was like super-boy-scout mountain man decided to take us | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This is a place I wouldn't mind living... tucked into the woods in Snowdonia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| on a detour to add a little challenge... we got onto the detour, but he missed the the trail head to get off (tee hee). To get back on the path we had to tramp down a very steep hill of brambles and fallen trees that formed a bit of a web over a marsh - one wrong step and your extra socks would be of great use. And they were. We eventually got back to the river, which got us right back to the path (easy landmark) and at the most spectacular Swallow Falls for a midday snack, a place to which I encourage all of you to hike up your trousers and go upon finishing my lengthy note. Then it was my turn to guide... he he he....Now you must remember at this moment in time, I was walking with my pack on my back, my very, very bruised knees, a sore ankle, little cuts on my hands from the brambles, and the weariness of climbing two mountains the two previous days. We had originally picked a path that went up a few hills, but after asking myself what I was smoking when I came up | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| with that idea and after seeing the rather mutinious group after suggesting it, we elected to take a path that was marked on the map as being "historical" and "seasonal," which sounded oh so very exciting. Turns out the path was the trail the old bear hunters used before they killed them all off and turned them into hats for the Royal Guard. Just so you know, the last bear in Wales was killed in like, oh, 1931. By historical, I believe they meant "Hasn't been used since..." and by seasonal, they were referring to the flooding river that washes out the path. So really, there was very little of a path - it kept hiding and I'd have to go chasing it, beating down the surrounding brush to make way, every now and then sinking to my knees in marsh - wondering all the while why this was labeled "optional course" instead of "training for jungle warfare 101." Still, it was a lot of fun. We ended up in the town of Betws y Coed, waited for the bus while the locals stopped and stared, granted we looked like the Swamp Thing's extended family. After a nice cleanup, we ended our three days in a local pub, a toothful of gin to ease the muscles and a good friendly atomsphere to share our adventures for the day. And that was Snowdonia. An incredible, wonderful, indescriptable experience, to sit back and say "Wow, I did this." Me!?! Never, never never never in my wildest dreams, okay, but ONLY in my dreams would something like this happen, that I would and could push myself through barriers I didn't even know existed - I just am in awe. It's nuts. And to think, he he, this was class! I win again. |
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| wouldn't mind living here either, at Swallow Falls | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Spectacular Snowdonia unfurls below the hill, just before we missed the trail head. I think we were too busy paying attention to the scenery instead of concentrating on the path Right: This section of the path is scattered with waterfalls, in case you hadn't noticed. All of them breathtaking, especially if you fall in. |
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