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| Climbing Mt.Snowdon |
Snowdonia Wales
Thursday 22nd
October 2015
The
smell of breakfast spurred me on to get out of my warm bed and head downstairs
straight away. the first thing I did though was head to the window to check if
the weather was fine; it was thankfully as I could see the beautiful mountains
once again in the distance feeling as though we were going to have a good day
ahead of us; it was still quite blustery though but nothing too severe. I
immediately packed my small rucksack with warm clothes and my binoculars
because today we would be climbing the monstrous Mt Snowdon; so we were hoping
the weather would be reasonable. This would be our biggest adventure on this
trip to Wales
and we were looking forward to the journey; my mother was quite nervous though
with lack of belief that she could do something like this. I assured her we
would be taking our time as it wouldn’t be a race to the top.
Breakfast
was over and we were ready to leave for the journey ahead of us. With
everything locked behind us we began walking straight towards one of the 6
routes up to Mt. Snowdon. We began right at the back of
the farm along the small group of trees as the path would lead us to the main
route we would be using; the Rhyd Ddu path. This would be the last time we
would be amongst the trees because we were now on the grassy meadows at the
foothills of Snowdon. The route was mainly mud
and grass to begin with hoping we were heading in the right direction. We
continued up the grassy area as the wind began to pick up; it wouldn’t bother
us though as we embraced this.
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| Snowdonia |
The
clouds were breaking up even more revealing a heavenly view of the sun peaking
over the hills to our right and huge sun raise spanning out towards us and
ahead of us giving us the feeling that it was providing us with a direction. Moments
later we had arrived at the Rhyd Ddu path and we were happy at the sight of a
sturdier and smooth rocky pathway. We were still climbing at the foothills area
so full of greenery but the long grass was behind us now. We realised as well
that there was nobody to be seen around us so we felt alone which I thought was
excellent. The incline slightly increased too but didn’t seem to slow us down;
especially not Smudge as she was off her leader running around enjoying the
freedom. I kept telling her she would regret it later but she wouldn’t listen
to me and continued running around.
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| Guiding Sun in Snowdonia |
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| Smudge Feeling Free |
We
were still climbing on the pathway and it was obvious that the higher we were,
the more breathtaking the views became. We had the habit of looking back and
witnessing how far we had walked. We were really enjoying the walk despite the
inclines constantly looking out for the footpath ahead of us seeing which way
it was going. As we continued on, the pathway became harder as we were climbing
steep steps which were turning left and right for a long while. We were walking
a bit slower at this point and we were quenched with thirst. We didn’t want to
use our water supply just yet as we didn’t bring a great amount with us to
begin with; so the alternative was to drink from the small network of streams flowing
down the mountain. It was quite funny trying to get down to the water to drink
it as it was either running down the footpath or flowing down awkward ditches. The
water was very clear and fresh as we dug in drinking it up like a sponge.
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| Snowdonia |
Moving
on, the gradient became steeper and then we had realised we were half way up.
There were quite a lot of walkers catching up to us as though they had done
this route before. We were taking our time though as the ground became a lot
wetter and slightly slippy too on the jagged rocks. The next section began to
test our endurance and morale as we were heading for yet another steep incline
up a stream and smooth rocks. A lot of people had passed us going up the stream
whereas we took our time avoiding any injuries; Smudge began to slow down too
which was quite sensible for her. So we climbed and climbed until the stream
was behind us and a new terrain of loose stones, patches of large rocks and
very short grass arrived. The air became colder too which made us all put our
warm jackets on and even our gloves; unfortunately for Smudge she didn’t have
anything warm to put on.
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| Snowdonia Trail |
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| Rhyd Ddu Path |
The
views were phenomenal at this point too and once more we looked back at how far
we walked; the farm was completely tiny. It was surreal how high and far we had
walked and then we came upon the harder section of the pathway. The path was a
hell of a lot steeper as we passed the ¾ mark. It was definitely slowing us
down especially with the strong cold wind pushing against us. We wouldn’t give
up though as we were eager to reach the top. At this point we were walking
amongst some beautiful mountain flowers with colours of white, purple and
yellow which we didn’t want to disturb. We also realised that the top of the
mountain was thick of cloud and we were heading straight for it.
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| Snowdonia |
A
long time had passed of gravelled terrain until we came upon flatter
grasslands. As soon as we got upon it, we were gobsmacked with what we had to
climb next. It was a very steep ridgeline with a 50 – 60 degree angle amongst a
jagged rocky path. My mother couldn’t get over the fact we had to climb up and
I could see she was nervous. I spurred her on though continuing on knowing the
great feeling she would feel being at the top. We were beginning to walk along
the ridgeline and then we clapped eyes on the monstrous sheer drop to our left.
It had a fantastic view nonetheless but quite horrifying to see it knowing one
wrong move would result in us falling down it. We began the epic climb to the
top and I could see my mother was struggling so we took our time. The route
ahead was disappearing too as we were level with the clouds and I was quite
excited to be in amongst it. We wrapped ourselves even more at this point with
thicker coats and I immediately felt sorry for Smudge the most as she taking on
all the elements thrown at her; she still looked happy marking this down as her
greatest walk ever.
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| Breathtaking Snowdonia |
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| Snowdonia |
The
spectacular views we had below us disappeared as we charged into the clouds. It
was so surreal to witness mother natures forces in front of us as the wind and
clouds rapidly rushed over the ridgeline. We began to feel pain in our legs and
knees at this point but it still wouldn’t push us back; we did take regular
breaks though constantly reassuring my mother as she lost morale for a moment.
The higher we climbed, the harder and deafening the wind became as we got the
full brunt of it. We couldn’t really tell how far we had to go as we could only
see 20 – 30 metres in front of us. To be honest it was good for my mother to
not see further just incase we were precariously hanging over a deadly drop.
Speaking of which, the pathway became a lot smaller and more rough which was
definitely a challenge of its own and made my mother more petrified. I pushed
her on officially naming her ‘Mam-Wise the brave’ hugging her, praising her and
giving her positivity and confidence to carry on.
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| Rhyd Ddu Pathway |
To
our surprise, the clouds broke up slightly revealing an absolute monstrous drop
with such mesmerising views which I was staring at. My mother was even brave
enough to take a gander and couldn’t believe how high up we were. This was
definitely the area we had to watch our footing with so we focused hard for the
next 15 minutes; then we came to a fork in the pathway. Great I thought as both
ways looked as though they were moving up. There was no sign indicating which
way to go and there was nobody around for help. So I took the lead and took the
left path which brought us to a steep rock area. I climbed it and realised it
was the correct path to take. Calling my mother and Smudge over we all began to
walk again. To be honest at this point it was truly peaceful as we were tucked
behind a wall of rocks and grass meaning we avoided the deafening wind and the
fact nobody was around. We spent a moment here making sure my mother was still
confident to move on though she had no choice really as she couldn’t turn back
now. It was a great feeling too once we got moving knowing we were closing in
on the summit.
Luckily
for us at this point, the land became slightly flatter and wider and we were
now on loose stones again. At this point also we could hear a faint sound of a
trains whistle. It was the Snowdon railway
train from Llanberis and it sounded like it was quite close. We could still
only see 20 – 30 metres ahead of us but as we continued up becoming more tired
in the process, a building emerged through the dense cloud and there it was;
the end of our trail. It was an overwhelming sight to see especially for my
mother as I could see a smile appear on her face with disbelief that she
climbed Mt. Snowdon. It gave her a great boost and
pushed her up the stairway to the building.
However,
this wasn’t the very top because as we arrived at the building there was a very
small set of concrete stairs lead to the very top where a plinth was located.
It was even colder at this moment but we walked up towards the stairs together.
My mother didn’t want to go up the stairs and I said to her “you haven’t walked
all this way to look at the very top from below; let’s finish this together”.
So we climbed holding our heads high with a sense of achievement and pride in
our hearts as we stood at the plinth; the emotions we felt there was truly
outstanding. We all did it and hugged each other as well as Smudge who was
freezing her paws off. We were definitely the three explorers; me as ‘Shaun the
eagle traveller’, Mother as ‘Mam-Wise the brave’ and Smudge as ‘Smudge of the
elements’. There were people making there way up to the plinth who had used the
train looking smug but we felt as though they didn’t deserve this feeling.
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| The Three Explorers |
We
soon headed back down the steps and towards the building to seek shelter from
the cold wind and be able to have a nice hot cup of tea. However, we would be
disappointed as the building wouldn’t accept dogs. I wasn’t happy about that so
I had my mother bring Smudge into the entrance part to try and keep Smudge warm
because I could see she was shaking. I spoke to my mother about getting back
down using the train to Llanberis to save the walk back down. I was completely shocked
with the price of an adult ticket stating it was £20. Then I became more
frustrated at the fact no dogs were allowed on the train. My mother was
gobsmacked too when I told her the news and then reality hit us realising we
had to walk back down. Someone overheard our conversation and actually praised
us stating that the Rhyd Ddu pathway was one of the hardest routes up to the
top. He also advised us to take the Llanberis pathway which would take a hell
of a lot longer but very easy too.
We
took on his advice and parted ways thanking him. We were starving at this point
and took a seat sheltered from the wind trying to keep Smudge warm. All of a
sudden, I seemed to be quite snappy and becoming angry. I didn’t know if it was
because I was freezing myself or the fact we couldn’t get the train down with
Smudge. My mother and I were kind of arguing at the fact that I wanted her to
get the train down and I would walk with Smudge but she didn’t want too. So we
soon picked ourselves up for the very long walk using the Llanberis pathway. I
could see my mother was tired especially knowing we would have to take a very
long route back but yet again I reassured her that this pathway was going to be
easy on us all.
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| Snowdonia |
The
wind was overwhelming as we began our descent on a smooth rocky pathway. It
felt quite goof to be walking down the mountain rather than the treacherous
Rhyd Ddu path; we still had to take care where we were stepping in some areas
on the route down. As we were walking down, we could hear the distinct sound of
the Snowdonia train making its way down passed us and heading for Llanberis. It
was very beautiful to see amongst the mountain views but I was discreetly
cursing it for not accepting dogs. Along the way my mother began to complain
about her aching knees and she became quite upset at the sight of a bad section
of very loose stones and a steep decline. I felt sorry for her but I stated
that constantly stopping would only cause more problems; so again I urged her
on to keep moving forward as well as praising her for what she had done so far.
Despite this setback, the views were phenomenal as well as the fact this was
still the easiest way down.
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| Llanberis Trail |
A
very long while had passed as we were below the cold clouds and strong winds
until we were level with the green lands and farm fields still far below us. At
this point we could see the town of Llanberis
far in the distance. It was still miles away but again we continued on as I
began to experience pain in my knees; god knows what Smudge was feeling with
her little paws. The pathway became a hell of a lot better too as it was very
large smooth rocks but still it would prove quite difficult for my mother
making her way down. A most welcoming sight of a small building was dead ahead
of us and as we closed in, we realised it was a small café with toilets.
Perfect we thought as we made our way inside and ordered a very nice hot cup of
tea. We rested for a long while still praising my mother and then once again we
picked ourselves up and began the final section of the pathway. The lower down
the mountain we walked, the warmer it became and it felt amazing. What else was
amazing to us was the sight of Mt.
Snowdon’s summit behind
us. We were completely overwhelmed with how far we had walked knowing the end
was in our sights.
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| Snowdonia |
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| Me and Mt. Snowdon in the Distance |
By
this point though the sun was at its last stages of setting and the small town
ahead of us was lit up by street lights. I could see my mother just wanted this
to be over with now and then right in front of us was a wooden gate marking the
start/end of the route. We had made it but still we had to make our way to the
town centre. My bearings helped us pass through the confusing roads and housing
estates as we made it to the central area. Our next concern was figuring out a
way back to our farmhouse as it was 15 mile away. We originally planned on
using public transport but as we approached a bus stop nearby, we had missed
the last one by 45 minutes. Great we thought as we continued through towards
the high street.
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| Llanberis Town |
Luckily
though I had the sense to take note of a taxi phone number I sighted on the
way. It was pitch black at this point and my mother was panicking thinking we
would never get back to the farm. What made me laugh was when she thought we
would have to spend the night on a park bench. After laughing I then told her
that I received a taxi number and then I rang it immediately. With luck someone
answered and so stating my name, location and destination, we sat and waited
for a taxi to pull up. My mother was worried about the price for the journey
but I wasn’t as I just wanted to get back.
A
short time had passed and then a taxi pulled up to us. What an incredible
feeling it was to sit in the taxi and be driven back to or farm. No sooner than
we left Smudge fell asleep in the very warm taxi. My mother and I were talking
to the taxi driver and he stated that we are not the only people who get into
these situations as they get it all the time. He was amazed at what we had
accomplished today and then without realising, he pulled up at the farms gate.
We left the taxi paying the man about £30 for the journey and we made the last
quarter mile walk to our front door. Words couldn’t describe the overwhelming
feeling of entering the farm, flaring the wood burner up and finally relaxing
feeling at peace. Smudge was out for the count next to me as the warm fire
heated us all up.
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| 'Smudge of the Elements' Fast Asleep |
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| Blazing Fire |
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