Tryfan

Whaaaaat an awesome day.

I had the luck to have such a sunny day off, and Kat, my placement partner in crime, had the evening shift, and so had the morning off. We decided yesterday to hike up Tryfan (pron. trivan). At 917m it's not the highest mountain about, but it is a very, very fun climb. Way better than Snowdon.

We set off at 9, and were under the seemingly vertical cliffs 15 minutes later. We stared up, and kept on going - the north face is almost all a hands and feet scramble, with a few bits (depending on what route you take) where you have to have some wits about you. The views down the Ogwen valley continued to get better and better, and the added weight of my antiquated dSLR was more than justified.

On the way up we passed a few overhanging cantilever rocks, which we stopped at to take photos. Quite nerve-wracking to climb along, knowing the space below you and the fact you're only relying on the internal strength of the rock!

Onwards and upwards, and to Adam and Eve - the two rocks we're standing on above. These poke out of the summit, and can be seen for miles around. They say once you climb you have to jump between the two, which is easier said than done when you can see the drop that lies behind and to the left and right!! Still, we obliged, and got some pretty good photos for the book of faces.

After lunch we headed back down the easy way, and round the back of Tryfan to the car. Back home by 2.

It was still gloriously sunny, and I headed out to explore Llyn Elsie, which I had heard good things about. After climbing the steep and sweaty incline and passing terrain that looked more at home in the Pyrenees , I reached the lake. This is actually a reservoir that serves the town with drinking water, and swimming is prohibited, but I was very tempted despite the signs warning of blue-green algae. I lay and basked in the sun, and (finally) polished of the epic that is Blood Meridian by Cormac McArthy. Amazingly good book, but I took my time!

I was reluctant to leave, but headed back home to get some food. That's the drawback of being cooked for - if you don't let them know you'll be late, you might not get supper. And I had no reserves in the fridge! Still, ate it in the sun with the others, and then lay back on the roof and listened to some new music.

Good Day Indeed.