Friday night I walked up Snowdon with a guide and 7 others. We left the parking lot at 16.15 in warm sunshine, to walk up the Llanberis Path. Here’s a map of the summit and paths.
I chose to go with a tour guide as I don’t know the terrain, tho I have lived here in North Wales now for nearly a year. In that year, several people have died here, and on nearby mountains (Tryfan especially). But it was a calm, 18C, pleasant night to walk up, no wind at all, spend some time to watch the sunset, and reflect on the year and on university, and on life.
It took 4 hours to go 5 miles up the Llanberis path to the summit at 1,085metres.
But it was amazing. I saw sheep.
And I saw some of the countryside from the rocky path.
Snowdon, per wikipedia:
Snowdon (Welsh: Yr Wyddfa, pronounced [ər ˈwɪðva]) is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of 1,085 metres (3,560 ft) above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri) in Gwynedd. It is the busiest mountain in the United Kingdom and the third most visited attraction in Wales, with 582,000 people visiting annually.[3] It is designated as a national nature reserve for its rare flora and fauna.
The rocks that form Snowdon were produced by volcanoes in the Ordovician period, and the massif has been extensively sculpted by glaciation, forming the pyramidal peak of Snowdon and the arêtes of Crib Goch and Y Lliwedd. The cliff faces on Snowdon, including Clogwyn Du'r Arddu, are significant for rock climbing and the mountain was used by Edmund Hillary in training for the 1953 ascent of Mount Everest.
And I watched the sun go down on a year that for me has been more difficult than not, but filled with joy and learning and new experiences.
We walked back starting at 21.30 — the temperature dropped only to about 5C. Got back to the parking lot at midnight. Was exhausted, but made it home and slept soundly.
This walk was a trek for me to celebrate that I made it through my Master’s Marine Environmental Protection classes, and am on to my thesis writing now. This walk was a trek emotionally to honour the fact that I made a lot of changes in my life in the past year — for myself. It was to honour my recent birthday, my health, loving friends, and this year, what would have been my grandmother’s 116th birthday, she was an amazing lady. This walk was a trek for me to say “I did it.” And most importantly, this trek was to close a chapter on a painful breakup 14 months ago that has made me determined to live my life alone amongst great friends and family and companion animals from here on out as a single lady who’s living and learning and getting on with things — for myself. It was a small trek on a longer journey of exploration.
Thanks for reading.