My fundraising hike up Snowdon is postponed until next year due to the pandemic so nonetheless my training continues. I am raising money for the horticultural charity Perennial as it is a cause dear to my heart. As we did not manage to go up Snowdon due to poor weather when we were in Wales in May, we decided to find somewhere a bit hilly close to home. Kinder Scout is about an hour and a half from home so we planned a route and set off.
The day was set to be sunny so we had hats and sun cream and lunch and snacks and water and and and - we went prepared. We got there mid morning and set off along the well marked path. After some discussion we decided we would go up Jacob's Ladder and that was probably a hard bit. Always best in my view to do that first and then the rest is hopefully more straightforward.
It is fair to say that I found Jacob's Ladder quite challenging. I did it, but I did have to stop every now and again to have enough energy to keep going. People ran past me, people cycled down at great speed close by and I just had to keep going. I suddenly felt incredibly unfit after thinking that I was doing quite well with my walking. It was a bit dis-spiriting if I am honest.
We walked past cairns and admired the stunning views.
We found a rock to stop and have lunch by.
The landscape is just so beautiful, and also a bit 'Star Trek alien planet-ish'.
and we made it to the top! We were so chuffed with ourselves!
and on we went. We walked along the Kinder Downfall and followed the stream into Edale Moor, where we might have got a little worried that we lost the path, only to be told there was no path by a very kind passing walker who helped allay our concerns. We were so glad we had brought map and compass with us. It was a salutary lesson in being properly prepared when going out for a day of walking. I might have spent the next few days muttering 'there is no path' in a 'there is no spoon' Matrix type way.
We headed south and made it to a path that would take us back into Edale and where our car was parked. The descent made my knees hurt more than I had expected. At one point my legs started to get that jelly feeling and we had to stop and eat some of our snacks to keep our energy up. After only a couple of minutes we were sufficiently recovered to finish our walk.
We got home very tired but very happy. It was a fantastic walk but also an important learning experience. I realised that it was good that Snowdon had been postponed because I am not as ready for it as I had hoped I was. We need to return to Kinder Scout and do Jacob's Ladder again and we have to keep walking. It really matters to me that I achieve this walk.
My justgiving page can be found here: please support me and donate if you can. All the money raised goes directly to Perennial as I have paid for the trip myself.
