HILL AND MOUNTAIN HIKING

14th September 2008: Snowdon, via the Rhyd Ddu Path

Start: Rhyd Ddu 190m, Finish: Snowdon Rangers Station

Highest point: Snowdon Summit, 1085m

Distance: circa 15 kms

Weather: Fine and mild, cloud building

Vertical altitude gain: circa 1060m

Time: 6 hrs 10 mins

Bistro in Beddgelert

My first walk up Snowdon in August 2008 was the result of internet contact. And so was my second less than an a month later.

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 Beddgelert

This time the walk was also as a result of internet contact over long period of time via the UK Ramblers Association Discussion Forum . For the Sunday walk six of us would be on the Rhyd Ddu path to Snowdon, not far from my comfortable B&B in the Beddgelert Bistro, (centre behind the bridge in previous photo). Beddgelert, (above), itself draws it's name from a sad story!

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 continued Snowdon via the Rhyd Ddu path Snowdon via the Rhyd Ddu path Snowdon via the Rhyd Ddu path Snowdon via the Rhyd Ddu path

The start of the Ryd Ddu path was in , well, Rhyd Ddu, and started off gently and in lovely scenery.

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 Snowdon via the Rhyd Ddu path Snowdon via the Rhyd Ddu path

We headed up the continuing fairly gentle, but at times slighty rockier track in a generally easterly direction. Here in the area of Pen ar Lon, under still mainly deep blue skies, although the cloud was building!

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 Snowdon Rhyd Ddu path looking back down towards Rhyd Ddu

As we gained quite a lot of height the view back down towards our Rhyd Ddu starting point became superb. With the small lake of Llyn-y-Gader and the Mynydd behind.

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 Snowdon Rhyd Ddu path

As we started to approach the Bwlch Main (ridge) the route was perhaps at it's steepest, with some lovely steep rocky slopes to walk past.

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 Bwlch main

Looking North East was the Bwlch main ridge that formed almost the last part of the Rhyd Ddu path up to the summit of Snowdon.

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 View West from Rhyd Ddu path

Looking down from here gave a superb view back down over part of our route up and towards the reservoir of Llyn Cwellyn. Behind is the mountain of Myndd Mawr and behind that the sea is clearly visible.

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 continued Bwlch Main ridge on Rhyd Ddu path to Snowdon

I hadn't been over a mountain ridge for a couple of years and wasn't sure how my vertigo would cope with Bwlch Main. But the side slopes were not like cliff faces, and the exposure only slight, so I just enjoyed the walk.

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 Snowdon via the Rhyd Ddu path Snowdon via the Rhyd Ddu path

Further onto the short Bwlch main ridge, so reminiscent of the very many similar paths I have enjoyed in the mountains of Bavaria, Germany. Right hand photo is the view back to where we had come form.

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 View ENE from Snowdon Bwlch Main

With clouds now bubbling up the view ENE towards Pen-y-Pass saw shafts of sun bursting through the cloud, and parts of the PYG and Miners' tracks glistening brightly.

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 View from Bwlch Main Snowdon to the route of the Snowdon Rangers Path

Looking West was the reservoir at Llyn Cwellyn, and in front of that the general direction of our return route, the Snowdon Rangers Path.

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 View from Rhyd Ddu path Snowdon, North to Llanberis and Lyn Peris, (Reservoir).

Northwards was a lovely view towards Llanberis and the large reservoir of Lyn Peris. And the foreground rocks mark the general area of the summit of the steep scree slope section of the Watkins path up the mountain.

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 KentYeti on the summit of Snowdon

It was then but a short few steps for me, (aka KentYeti), to get to the summit and stand by the trig point! We did not linger, heading down a few metres to find somewhere to sit and enjoy our various lunches.

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 View East from near to Snowdon Summit

Cloud may have arrived but it didn't spoil the view East to, (left), the fearsome ridge at Grib Goch, with below that, the Pyg track and the Miners Track up from Pen Y Pass to the summit.

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 Garnedd Ugain

Lunch restored my strength. Enough to point to an adjacent summit. And being told it was Garnedd Ugain, (1065m), my suggestion that I should be allowed to struggle up to it's summit was "enthusiastically" met by the others!

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 Track up to Garnedd Ugain

And so off we went. Me taking the photo from my usual position at the back of the small group I was walking with!

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 Descending the Snowdon Rangers Path

After "summiting" Garnedd Ugain we were heading back down off Snowdon. We used the Snowdon Rangers Path as it would leave us not far from our Rhyd Ddu starting point.

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 Mynydd Mawr behind Llyn Cwellyn

I'd come up the Snowdon Rangers Path around a month earlier, in heavy rain, low cloud and strong winds. So now I had the chance to enjoy the various views, including Mynydd Mawr behind the reservoir at Llyn Cwellyn.

Snowdon continued
Snowdon walk, 14th Sept 2008 Halfway House

As we approached the bottom of the valley and the Snowdon Rangers Station, and ex South African Railways 2 foot gauge garratt steam loco passed the local station on it's Welsh Highland Railway train. A train we could maybe have caught back to our starting point at Rhyd Ddu if we had been a few minutes earlier back from ending a really enjoyable day on Snowdon.

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