A fairly recently-commenced hobby of mine is hillwalking. I think I should blog more about it, mainly because there isn’t a whole lot of decent stuff about it on the internet and I could offer my two pence to the world.
So, hillwalking is essentially hiking up mountains. Mountains aren’t really that mahoosive in England (hence it being hillwalking rather than mountaineering), so you may think its pretty pointless without trekking over to the Himalayas. You’d be wrong. British peaks are still pretty varied in terrain and climate, and offer some wonderful views and silently peaceful spots. I’m not normally one for hiking, but hillwalking is somewhat more rewarding and interesting.
Firstly, there’s the kit. As a self-confessed geek, I love comparing gadgets and finding the best performance-to-price ratios when buying something new. There’s a similar process involved here: getting the best clothing for the job is sometimes a matter of comparing specs and brands to find the best waterproof for the job. Finding the right clothing is more complicated than just throwing a coat on and hiking on up. You’ve got to wear the right layers for the weather, and the layers have to to do the right job and do it well, ie, wick sweat away from your body, or waterproof without keeping in sweat. This page can explain better than me through the medium of diagram.
Anyway, apart from the geekiness of fabric specifications, there’s the wonderful views, which need to be seen for themselves – photography sometimes just cannot hold the epicness. The utter silence on less crowded mountains. The achievement of making it the way up, then sitting down overlooking the world with a pasty and a hot cup of tea. Aah.
Anyway, enough waffling introduction. This Monday I went up Snowdon, and the weather was fantastic – something I’m told is unknown of up there, as its meant to be one of the wettest climates in Britain. Snowdon is something of a “tourist mountain”. It has a fecking train going right up, and a pretty big cafe/gift shop perched at the top. The top gets pretty crowded as well, even when the train isn’t running. Its not a bad mountain, as it does look spectacular, but its fairly easy from most angles and the fact that no less than fifty people are already standing at the top by the time you get there cheapens it somewhat. Regardless, here, have some photos. Unfortunately my camera broke halfway up, so I haven’t got any from the top.
Next week, we’re going for a few days in the Lake District, which should be excellent. I’ll be going up Scafell Pike and Bowfell, and maybe somewhere else. We shall see!
