Walking up Snowdon.

It just so happened that during my process for this work, me and my friends decided to climb up Mount Snowdon. I consider myself to be quite an active person, I go to the gym regularly, I have developed a practice based on walking for the past 2 years, I have completed my Duke of Edinburgh award, and I did a performance where I walked constantly for 12 hours - however, I still knew that Snowdon would be a challenge for me.

After 15 minutes of constant uphill walking, I had to sit on a verge and have a break with my friend Caleb. The rest of the group were all still raring to go, they had barely got started, but me and Caleb were ready for the climb to be over. We were very genuinely considering going back to the car at the bottom and waiting for the rest of the group to get back, but we managed to find our motivation and carry on.

We were using a guide that we found on the internet to reach the top of the mountain, which had interesting facts at points along the trail, for example;
 "As you get closer to Bwlch Cwm Brwynog, Llyn Ffynnon y Gwas lake will come into sight on your right. The name means ‘the lake of the servant’s spring’, and it is thought that it was named after a shepherd who drowned in its waters while washing his master’s sheep. The remains of an old stone sheepfold can be seen on the northern end of the lake – perhaps proof that there is truth behind the story…" (Snowdonia.gov.wales, 2016).
These fun facts would be announced to the group every so often, with Charles acting as our tour guide (the only thing he was missing was saying "And on your left..."!), and they actually provided a great distraction and lightened the spirits of the group.

Little things like this really kept me going throughout the climb, and without the support of my friends I really doubt I would have made it to the top. When we did reach the top, we felt a massive sense of achievement. We took group photos, had a well earned break, and then began the descent - which was actually harder than the way up. Climbing up Snowdon was one of the hardest things I have ever done, and something that I am really proud of doing. It has also given me inspiration for walking practice projects in the future.