Just a Tree

The weather forecast suggested high winds and low temperatures for our run today. We even did a pack check before we headed out. A simple twisted ankle in the mountains could be dangerous. We were lacking an emergency blanket, a plus as the outdoor shop was attached to a cafe and I needed a coffee fix.

The planned run was a long one, involving lots of hills. We started at a gentle trot through the woods, conscious that Rosemary knows how to pace better than me, being a super-duper adventure racer and all that. She noticed a pungent smell of goats cheese just as a herd of feral goats appeared. Well cool.

We were soon in Llanberis, blanket purchased and a passable espresso downed. Through a few Back streets and onto the first trail, we began our ascent of Moel Eilio. It's one the less popular mountains in Snowdonia because it doesn't poke through the 3000ft clouds and it's difficult to link up with other mountains. Rosemary started off really slowly and I was getting slightly impatient. That was until the hill got really steep and then her pace was slightly too quick. Fortunately there were plenty mushrooms and toadstools to examine, so there were plenty wee bits of recovery.....how I imagine a proper fartlek session to have originated in Finland. It started to get properly cold and windy as we reached the ridge so we donned jackets and continued upwards. The little enclosed cairn on the top of the mountain was initially perfect for a rest but windchill started to make it unbearable. A quick jelly sweetie and we set off down the mountain.

I typically hate descending because of tight quads but the sphagnum moss was really cushioned and the going was good. I was slightly childish at one stage when we had to cross a difficult barbed wire fence and I didn't like it. Reaching a small forest outcrop, we turned more westwards and through boggy marshland. Rosemary looked smug with her sealskinz socks on when cold peaty water was seeping through my socks. Now much lower, the temperature increased and the wind dropped. Our planned stop in Waunfawr was getting much closer, a perfect time to munch yesterday's homemade pizza.

10 minutes later, we reached the microbrewery pub which was almost deserted. I stupidly chose a full pint of a very nice Carmen Sutra ale which I would soon regret. It was a great pint and obvious why the pub was a CAMRA award winner.

However, on starting our run again, it started to schoogle in my tummy and I started to feel quite sick. Fortunately, going got tough under foot so it was acceptable to walk. We headed towards an invisible forest, discovering loads of stumps at the point it was shown on the map. I was expecting fire track as is typical in forests but instead we followed a tiny overgrown and boggy path which was surrounded by little pine treelings. Yay...a proper path...boo all uphill as we went into a walk for 10, run for 10.

My legs were now tired but we managed to get into a full run again until the technical descent towards Llanberis. We couldn't dilly-dally though as we would miss coffee and cake in the cafe. I was struggling to keep up though. We made it to the cafe with 20 minutes to spare, a quick slice of Victoria sponge and then it was time for the final push to Dinorwig.

Rosemary's stubborn side came out when we found our planned route blocked, a very steep ascent up a tramway into the high quarries. I was insistent that as there was a sign to say it was unsafe that we shouldn't use it...regardless of whether there was a real risk or not. She had a face on so I capitulated under severe protest. We saw more goats, including a rather fine horned billy one near the top.

Hitting the smooth trail at the top, I decided to up the pace into a proper run expecting Rosemary to follow closely on my heels. I turned a corner, kicked hard and raced down towards her dad's house. Rosemary is so competitive so I kept waiting for her to get involved in my little escapade. She didn't though and got upset at me for being such an unthinking evil thing, especially as she had waited for me on numerous hills. Dog house for Kirkland!