The usual Friday evening rush from London saw most of us arrive at Idwal Cottage just before midnight. Paul had made his way there earlier in the day and was already in bed when we arrived. Within half an hour of arriving all of us had our heads down trying to get some sleep.
Saturday morning we were up early, peering out from the window to see what the weather might bring. The mountain tops were covered in mist but thankfully it was dry. For Paul and I breakfast was a rushed affair, since this was a linear walk we needed to leave a vehicle at the end point.
Back at the hostel there was just enough time to buy some chocolate bars, flapjacks and water before we all gathered outside before 9:30am. You could tell summer was over, there was a chill in the air I'd not felt for many months.
Soon the legs were pumping as the walk began quite steeply. Layers began to be removed as we quickly gained height. Progress was slow and I began to think it could be a long day. Eventually we had reached the first of our seven 3000ft peaks of the day, Pen yr Ole Wen (3110ft / 948m). High up on the ridge the wind was gusting, almost as if it was trying to rip us from the mountain.
We continued North and then began to head North East towards summit number two, Carnedd Dafydd (3425ft / 1044m). The mist began to clear and for the first time we could see some of the fantastic views on offer. It may have been my imagination but I actually began to feel quite warm!
Our pace beginning to quicken it was not too long before we had reached peak number three, Carnedd Llewellyn (3490ft / 1064m). From here we headed sharply west to our fourth summit, Yr Elen (3156ft / 962m), which my eyes had been drawn to for some time, it being isolated from the main ridge as it is. We stopped briefly on the summit to enjoy the views.
Wanting to ensure we finished before dark we pressed on, retracing our steps back to the ridge before heading North to summit five, Foel Grach (3202ft / 976m). It was obvious that the terrain for the second half of the walk was easier and looking at the downhill section on the map we all felt confident in finishing in daylight.
A short walk North led us to summit number six, Garnedd Uchaf (3038ft / 926m). The weather was really spectacular now, some of us were down to short sleeves as we felt the warmth of the sun on our skin. Spirits high, we headed North East to our final 3000ft summit, that of Foel Fras (3090ft / 942m). Since this was the last of the Welsh 3000's it seemed right to record the moment on camera.
Paul, Larry, Devin & Geoff on summit of Foel Fras - Photo by Gary Box
The walk became easy from here onwards, gradually losing height as we passed Drum cairn continuing North West towards a disused quarry before picking up the North Wales Path as we veered West towards the car which was parked in the village of Abergwyngregyn.
As we reached the village we located the car, leaving our rucksacks in Paul's ample boot. Tired but satisfied we all agreed we deserved a pint and as luck would have it The Aber Falls was open. Rather than return to the hostel to spruce up for dinner we decided to spend an hour or two in the pub, ordering our evening meal, drinking and chatting about the great day we'd had. Finally it was time to head back to our hostel, making a detour at a petrol station where we bought some supplies for breakfast the next morning, and some lager for that evening.
Back in our room the lager flowed along with the conversation. Larry told us about his interest in Native American history and how he would have liked the opportunity to study it. Boys being boys, we were also interested to learn about his experiences in the Officers Training Corps, particularly the strengths and weaknesses of the SA90 rifle. The drinking and conversation finally came to an end when the other guy sharing our dorm wanted his bed back.
After breakfast on Sunday we agreed to have a relaxing day, starting off by looking around the shops in Betws-y-Coed. I bought a new map case but Geoff really splashed out, buying a huge tent capable of sleeping something like 12-16 people. Shopping over we decided to head to Conwy Falls for a very short walk through the woodlands and past the waterfalls. The notice boards tell you about the fish pass that was built to aid the migration of salmon and trout to pass upstream to their breeding grounds. Geoff even saw a huge salmon leap as we listened to the noise of the falls.
Our short walk over we decided to head homeward breaking the journey once for a Sunday roast. We were back in London at a decent time, glad the weekend had gone well.
Article submitted by Gary Box
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