Tuesday 23 March 2010

Day 2

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Day 2
Rain, rain and more rain. It was relentless during the night and was just as bad in the morning. Feeling a little hungover we packed the tent and jumped into the car to dry out. Desperately hungry, we hit the road in search of food. The plan was to get to Scafell at some point and Hike the following day.
The drive to Scafell was long but we eventually arrived around 1430hrs. The national trust campsite is located at the base of the peak besides another lake and between majestically high hills. We read the weather report for the afternoon and it suggested it would be perfect to hike. Despite the peak being covered it was supposed to clear by late afternoon.
We quickly erected the wet tent and packed our bags in preparation to hike. Knowing we had a tight schedule we plodding on at a fast pace. Numerous hikers where on the way down and they all stated the view on the top was nonexistent. There were some disapproving shakes of the head, suggesting its too late to be hiking and that I should not be wearing shorts.
We were both feeling sore from yesterdays effort but carried on. The peak started to clear and out spirits lifted. We hadn’t seen another hiker for some time and the feeling of being on the peak along was great. As we made it to a ridge the wind picked up and the temperature plummeted. The snow was getting hip deep but the peak was getting closer.
As we went over another ridge the summit came into view and to my surprise a man was standing there. My first thoughts were that he was a hard core hiker waiting for the sun to set. As I approached he appeared a little scared and confused. We acknowledged each other and then his phone rang. Ben and I savoured the moment and tried to hide from the biting wind. The views were amazing and we were so happy the cloud had stayed away.
I could hear the man was in trouble and it became apparent that he did not know how to get down and had been left by his group. The mountain rescue called him back and we told him that we can get him back to our campsite.
Keen to get off the summit before the impending cloud blocks our route, we head back down. Once out of the snow and wind we stop and celebrate with a beer and watch the sun drop.

Day 1


Scafell and Snowdon Trek
Friday 19th March 2010

With the weather changing on a hourly basis the only thing to do was set off early. I picked Ben up at 6am and we discussed the weather and decided to conquer Snowdon before Scafell. Snowdon is located in the northern part of Wales and stands at 1085m high.
The forecast stated that cloud and rain would visit the area in the afternoon so we had to complete the 5 hour drive and hike the mountain before the weather turned. The drive was relatively uneventful and we were eager to see the mountain for the first time and discover whether the peak was under cloud or not.
To our delight, we saw a huge hill and were relieved to see the peak was clear only to later discover that this was not Snowdon!!
We parked at the base of the hill and discovered that we were already at an elevation of around 300m. With our bags packed we began following the Pygs Track. The first glimpse of Snowdon occurred after a few hundred meters of steep and rocky trails. As predicted the top could not be seen but we decided to carry on and reassess the situation when we get closer.
We passed many people stating they were unable to summit due to the icy conditions. Ben and I got to the point were we had to make the decision to push on or turn back. The track was completely covered in snow and was relatively steep. We decided to solider on and enjoyed trekking through the difficult terrain. As we approached the peak the cloud had fully engulfed us and our visibility was zero.
After 1hr40mins we made it to the top and sat there enjoying the moment. After a brief rest we started our decent in search of Bens jumper that he appeared to have lost on the way up. His bag flew open near the start so we had a good idea where it was. Surprisingly, the jumper had been found and placed on a big rock to dry.
We drove to the campsite and set up the tent. Unfortunately the rain came down and stopped us from starting the fire. Instead, we put on our waterproof clothes and had a few cheeky drinks before retiring to bed.