We were joined this time by our friend Greg, who is also a lover of the outdoors and it was nice to have someone else with us on this occasion. The drive took us around 3 hours and whilst I read, Michael hyped up The Watkin Route which we planned to traverse once more.

We pulled up in Morrisons near the coast to buy food and in our true style, find somewhere to sleep for the night. This was an improvement on our trip last year where we didn't have a place to camp nor a barbecue AFTER coming down from the mountain. Greg quickly found what looked like a reasonable spot right below the Watkin Route and so it was that we set up camp at an unmanned National Trust campsite just outside of Beddgelert. It was a really pleasant place attracting many hiking groups who either had already climbed Snowdon or were, like us, planning to make their way up the following day. 

We avoided hiking Snowdon on the Saturday due to really poor visibility and instead headed into Beddgelert where we took a short walk around the village. 

Not satisfied with the stroll we had, we donned our hiking boots and bags and made our way past the train tracks and into the hills. Whenever I go hiking with Michael, which is obviously a lot, he always manages to find a route that involves bogs and this one was very heavy with them. We lost the route several times and I honestly couldn't tell you exactly where we went, but we got some pretty good views. 

After reaching the first hill and looking down on Beddgelert we considered turning back as we'd only put 4 hours on the car, but as it had only been an hour and a half we were sure we could reach the other end of the circular route we were following in that time...

...but we ended up coming very close to getting a parking ticket because of that decision to continue. 

We walked on climbing and descending hills and trying our hardest, using both GPS and our ordinance surgery map, to find the route we needed to go. We found that this clearly wasn't a well walked area as where both our maps said there would be a footpath, there was nothing but rolling hills and sheep. We of course weren't concerned as we knew we could turn back if it started to seem like we were one step away from becoming completely lost. We found a semblance of a footpath which led us to a rather creepy abandoned house but didn't take any photos just in case the owner was actually just a very untidy person. 

We poked around only a little and then walked on, following what was now a wonderfully clear footpath. It was only about half a mile down that Michael decided to check his map and discover that whilst this was indeed a footpath, it wasn't the one we needed. The one we had meant to go down was, of course, just a field. We made our way back up the hill and then took a wide diversion from a field of moody looking cows guarding their calves. 

This is where we found ourselves in the boggiest and most overgrown land that we have ever experienced. In a dry area, Greg and Michael, whom are both over 6ft, moaned about the length of the grass which came up to their waists, whilst I, toddling along at 5ft 3, was basically being swallowed up by it. Further down we found the ideal combination of overgrown grass and bog which easily could have actually swallowed me up. I utilised my previous experience and aimed for the grass roots that provided a stable island before gently tip toeing my way to the next tuft and soon onto dry land. Greg also tried this method but it unfortunately failed him, and he instead found his leg half way down a peat bog. He managed to make his way to dry land too, but now had an unknown amount of miles to cover with a very sodden foot. 

Our spirits were still high and made higher when we entered what can only be described as the enchanted forest. I don't think I've ever felt so surrounded by nature before. It felt like a human hadn't set foot in this woodland for decades, though I'm sure they had. But it just had that sense of being untouched by the modern world. 

We walked through in awe. 

We finally came to civilisation and strolled along a road for a sort period of time before finding another mystical area that provided us with a direct route back to Beddgellert. This was a very beautiful river and was clearly much more well known than the woodland we had just come from, as we passed many walkers along the route. 

I hear a lot of people say that it can feel like you're abroad in some parts of the UK and on this walk, it truly did at times. The river we passed felt like walking above the Ollyantaytambo river in Peru, and the woodland we walked through felt very similar to the Cloud Forest on the Inca Trail, though a few thousand feet lower. 

We eventually made our way back to Beddgellert with about 15 minutes until our parking was up. We headed for a BBQ back at camp and stayed up a little late having a few drinks. 

The next day, we took Greg on one of the few routes he had not yet hiked up to Snowdon. I felt a lot more focused and ready to push myself this time. Last year, the hike up to Snowdon was one of the first things we did in preparation for our training for Peru, however, this time round, we've done a 10 mile hike almost every weekend for the past 4 weeks and I've had nearly a year of cycling to work. Plus, I've hiked the Inca Trail. 

I didn't need to stop after every small incline and I found I had so much more willpower. I was flat out exhausted when hiking this path previously but this year I felt I just needed a few breathers after a steep climb and I was ready to go again. The biggest challenge for us last year was scrabbling the loose scree up to the top, however, to our huge disappointment, and to Greg's after we'd told him how challenging it was, we came to discover that The Watkin Path had clearly had new rock put down and was in the process of having steps installed. 

I understand that safety is hugely important on these kind of hikes but I'm of the opinion that you shouldn't try to do something unless you're entirely confident in your abilities. Michael and I almost turned back last year when we saw what we had to do, not because we weren't sure that we could do it, but because we we're scared. There's a difference between the nerves you feel in the face of something that is challenging - you can be nervous about undertaking though know that you have the ability to do so, or you can be nervous because you know it's beyond your skillset. This is supposed to be a challenging walk and scramble and I thought it was a shame that steps were being installed to accommodate all levels of ability. 

Rant over, but once at the top a heavy fog came quickly overhead and we had an entirely different view of the ground below us. 

We sat down for lunch and waited for the fog to lift, which it did after only a short while. We then packed up and headed down the mountain on the Rhyd Ddu path, the same we had unknowingly used the previous year. Last year we had been trying to follow The Llanberis Path on the map but had clearly diverted onto Rhyd Dhu without realising. 

It was a fairly peaceful descent with very few people around. As we came to the bottom Michael and I were again shocked to see that a severely boggy area we had had no choice to cross last year was also being laid with steps. Whilst the steps again do make the walk easier, I actually don't have much of an argument regarding these ones as no one really likes walking through and jumping over bogs!

By the end of the hike we looked at the clock to discover that it had only taken us 5 and a half hours, with a pit stop for a snack and lunch at the top. This was a huge improvement on last year where we'd taken almost 7 hours! 

I was so proud of myself and felt absolutely elated that I had, for the most part, managed to keep up to the pace of Michael and Greg. I'm heading off on our 11 day hike with so much more confidence in my abilities. 

Have you hiked Snowdon? Which route did you take and how did you find it?

MissIsGoode