What ascending a mountain teaches you - My Trip to Tanzania (Post 16) - Lifestyle Monday
Hello everybody and welcome back to another blog post,
On my holiday in Wales, I went on a lot of walks to keep up with the distance that I need to complete for my sponsored walk. This is a part of my fundraising for my expedition to Northern Tanzania in the summer of 2022. If you would like to give a donation, the link to the fundraising page, along with all the information, will be at the bottom of this post. Thank you, and enjoy the rest of this post. 😊
If you follow me on Instagram (@jujupage1), you would have already seen the photos that I took of my hike up the Penygader mountain, whilst I was on my half term family holiday in Wales. As I'm writing this post, I've just got back from my holiday and I'm ready to tell you what I learnt from hiking the Penygader mountain.
Penygader mountain was located approximately 20 minutes away from our chalet in Cwrt, where we were staying for the week. When we parked our car at the base of the mountain it was very difficult to grasp the scale of our hike as the slope was covered with trees and it was 9:00am and rather cloudy. However, later I found out that the mountain was around 893m tall! It's not exactly Mount Everest but for a group of amateur walkers, it was indeed a challenge. "But not one we can't conquer," we naively told ourselves. My mum shouted "I feel like I can do this" and I calmly took photos of the scenic route we had entered at the beginning of the hike. Clearly we were all blissfully unaware of the calamity that we were now headed for.😂
Penygader can be ascended via the ridge that encircles the large lake. Prior to our hike, my dad said that apparently as soon as you can see the lake, you have reached the half way point of the hike. The truth is, the viewing of the lake marks the end of the easy route and the beginning of an up hill battle (literally). It is not the half way point of the hike but probably a third of the total 3 hours that we took to struggle up to the peak. Like all mountains, Penygader is very deceptive because from the outside it looks easy but it's quite the opposite and every peak you climb you realise is not the last. Happiness and joy was written all over my face as I climbed the step ladder on the penultimate peak, thinking that in 2 hours and 10 minutes I had completed the climb. It was a time to celebrate. Confusion struck my face when I saw more people walking further off into the distance. My dad asked one of the experienced hikers how much of the hike was left, lamenting to her in the process of how bored me, my mum, and my sister had all become. The statement "still a bit to go unfortunately, sorry to be the bearer of bad news," is something you don't want to hear at that particular moment in time. My sister, in vexed emotion, called my dad a liar for allowing us to believe that we had finished and a kind old man walking by said "don't worry, you're nearly there." 😂 My mum was swearing to herself in the far distance, complaining about how it was such a shame that the clouds were in the way of the lovely view. You have absolutely no idea how embarrassed I was walking with two women moaning behind me. I was very annoyed myself but I had come this far so I was determined to reach the top. So off we went, slipping, tripping, and scrambling accross loose stones and rocky shards, in an agonising wind, until we finally reached the summit.
By the time we had reached the peak, the fluctuations in emotions had become very clear. After another 40 minutes or so of anger, me, my mum, and my sister, were all laughing gaily in and amongst a crowd of silent and respectful British climbers. My dad looked like he wanted the mountain to swallow him up in that very moment. We were eating our sausages that we cooked that morning barely holding them in our hands that were numbed by the cold. We ate by a wall, sheltered by the wind, and had immediately forgotten the pain we were in just a few moments prior. When we had finished eating and drinking, we packed up and got up. A young child energetically climbed the steps to the summit shouting "I can climb this mountain on my own!" I took some photos of the view as the strong wind began to push the clouds away and out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mum spring back into action in the same "I feel like I can do this" attitude that she had convinced herself at the very beginning of the hike. The descent has got to be easier, I let my head tell myself.
The descent, unsurprisingly, ended up being yet another 3 hours of pain and torture. Another serious argument was about to arise when we began walking away from our original route, disorientated by the fog that now surrounded us. My mum and my sister were shouting to my dad, adamant that we were in fact on the right route but when we turned round we realised that our path was on the other side of the slope. So we trudged back to where the other people were walking and began our slow descent. My ankles contorted in all different positions as I slipped and kept on jamming them in-between rocks. My dad's knees were hurting and everyone was getting pretty fed up at this point. We passed some other walkers on the way down and they asked us how long it took for us to reach the top in total. To save them the bother, we didn't lie so we said it took us 3 long hours. For good walkers, it would take a minimum of 2 hours and 5 minutes to hike that mountain. They looked shocked and exhausted already. 😂
24,000 steps and 6 hours later, we finally reached the bottom. We took a quick toilet break, before kicking off our walking boots and dunking our feat in the clear, icy cold mountain stream that was flowing from the hills. I was hesitant to do this at first but I think it saved me from a lot of pain. By the end of the day, my ankles were swollen and bruised but at least my legs didn't ache!
In the evening, my family and I went to the Seabreeze restaurant in the nearby seaside town of Aberdovey, to enjoy a nice, fulfilling evening meal. One of the most disappointing aspects of Wales is that after a long walk, there are hardly any pubs open to enjoy a nice meal. If you go to the Peak District or the Lake District, there are plenty of pubs open to capitalise on the crowds of tourists that come in after a long walk. In Wales, you phone up nearby pubs at the peak of the half term holiday and they'll say that they're not serving food today. I don't know why that is the case but I find it a bit of a shame to be completely honest. There are so many run down places in Wales that could be helped by a growing catering industry that could probably thrive even in the height of a pandemic. But I suppose that's what makes Wales so beautiful because it is run down and rugged, and void of places full of people. Seabreeze was a delightful surprise after a tiresome long day. They had many delicious seafood dishes and other specialities. I had callimary as a starter and steak for a main. It was super tasty and well-cooked by the chef. It also didn't come at an extortionate price like you would usually see in Cambridge.
So, now that you've heard the full story, what can be learnt from ascending a mountain? It is oversaid but when you climb a mountain you can't help but notice the strange similarities between the mountain and your own entity. The uphill battles, rocky slopes, deceptive paths, and the bad weather that all come with hiking a mountain like Penygader can reflect on your own life challenges. If reaching the top of Penygader was easy, it would have certainly not felt as rewarding as it did. This makes me think, sometimes in life, to achieve great things you've got to do great things and it certainly doesn't come from nothing. It was a great thing to reach the top of the mountain and it came with a great effort that we were prepared to put in (even if we did bicker in between). 😂💜 It's a cliché message but one worth repeating.
Here are some photos from the entire trip 🙂:
Drinking a J2O at the local pub because they served no food! 😂💜
Eating a delicious fish and chips in Aberdovey.
Found some large jellyfish that were sadly washed up on the beach. There were so many of them and it was so strange!
We made some pancakes with nestle hot chocolate powder and lemon and honey. We ate them after a long walk in the hills, whilst watching the Meg on Netflix. 😂
Aberystwyth. The home of our favourite police drama, Hinterland! This was where the police station was filmed.
This was the view by the church.
Seeing Penygader from Dolgellau.
Eating a nice burger at a restaurant in Dolgellau. 🍔👍
Having an iced bun from a traditional Welsh bakery to finish the holiday!
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for leaving your comments! I really enjoy reading your positive and constructive messages. They really make my day! 💜