Day 36 - Snowdon Finale!

The day has finally come! My last big challenge, Snowdon itself. For this I was joined by Peter, and my mum drove us to the start. We began by driving South to Beddgelert. Past Snowdon Ranger was a short section my dad walked that I hadn't thus far. Here is his description:

I wasn’t sure about Pitt’s head but I definitely spotted Lion Rock:

Now for Snowdon itself. Here is Dad’s day…

We had studied the various options and decided to go for a different path than my Dad, partly because we had both separately climbed the Llanberis path in the past and fancied a change, and also partly because it worked for our own planning and arrangements. The path we settled on was the famous Pyg track.

Mum dropped us off at Pen-y-Pass, the same place I’d began my walk to Llanberis a couple of days before. I waved goodbye to her and she went off to spend the day in Beddgelert.

And so we set off along the Pyg track. The first part was easy enough and the path well made.

There was a long steep section and then the path flattened out again as we walked in the shadow of Crib Goch, the lethal ridge walk that’s the toughest of the routes up Snowdon. From here we had great views over Llyn Llydaw.

The track was fairly challenging throughout, getting more so as we neared the base of Snowdon itself. Much of it involved proper climbing rather than simply walking. For over an hour we rose steadily higher until we faced the steepest part, the ascent of the Eastern face of the mountain. The summit is hidden in clouds in the second pic below.

At the crest of the ridge, we found ourselves up in the clouds with no visibility and surrounded by people - although we had shared the Pyg Track with a few other hikers, here we were joined by the people who had taken all the other paths (6 main ones and several smaller ones) and it was decidedly busy up there.

The Summit Hotel was closed this year as the S.M.R. was undergoing maintenance although it still ran up to the penultimate station. Nonetheless many people had made the climb, whether or my aided by the railway, and we had to queue for a spot at the summit itself!

It was too busy to linger at the top for long but we had a look around us (brief gaps in the clouds gave glimpses of the surrounding mountains), and took a couple of pictures. Only when I’d come away from the clouds and had a chance to stop and relax a little did it really hit me… I had done it! I had walked for 5 weeks all around Wales and finally made it here, to the highest point in the country, and more personally, to the end of my adventure. It was a truly triumphant moment!

I couldn't see a bloody thing but I was there, at the top of the world and the end of my challenge. What a crazy adventure it has been getting here!

The summit was too crowded and cold to relax in so we headed down a little. The clouds lifted just as we started the descent and we were finally able to enjoy some of those famous views.

We decided to descent via the Snowdon Ranger track, as it took us back towards where we were staying in Waunfaur. It began by following the railway, where we saw a maintenence train repairing the line.

We then found a quiet rocky outcrop with a fantastic outlook to sit and eat our packed lunch. It didn't take long to befriend a seagull who enjoyed eating my sandwich crusts.

Compared to the Pyg, the Snowdon Ranger track was a longer, flatter, easier path with no climbing and less interesting views (though still a few nice ones) - we were glad we hadn't gone up it but it made for a good downhill route.

After a couple of hours we rejoined the route from Llanberis that I’d walked yesterday and soon saw Lake Cwellyn.

And after a long, hard slog of a day, we were greeted at the end by the welcome sight of my mum awaiting us in the car.

We went home, relaxed a little and then went out in the evening to join my auntie Jane with husband Glen and my cousin Lewis, who had all driven down for a few days to support me at the end. We had a meal at the Black Boy Inn, a 16th century pub in Caernarvon.

It was a lovely meal, washed down by some celebration drinks, and somebody took a picture of us all there but I can’t for the life of me find the picture or whose camera or phone it was taken on. Hopefully it will turn up. Nonetheless I shall remember that meal and the feeling of elation that surrounded it, but also the disappointment for it was all over, my long journey was done and I couldn't make sense then or what it had all meant.

That night was straight to bed as I was totally exhausted.

Previous
Previous

Day 37 - Return Journey

Next
Next

Day 35 - Llanberis to Waunfaur