Snowdon

Wales is really a beautiful country! Today, I got to see just part of what makes it so beautiful.

At the beginning of the year, Jessica, a couple other Fulbrighters and myself climbed a large hill in the Lake District. As nice bookends to our year, Jessica and I have meet up in Llanberis in Northern Wales to climb a mountain.

This morning, after a delicious breakfast at our B&B, we set off to climb Snowdon, the tallest peak in Wales, 1085 meters tall. It was a long, steady climb with several difficult straight up bits. Just shy of three hours of climbing brought us into the clouds with cooler temps as we touched the very top of the mountain. 

It was such an accomplishment, and despite the ache in my thighs, I felt elated! Unfortunately, the clouds were so thick that all around us was pure white, but that just meant we knew we were high up. Thankfully there was a cafe at the top where we refueled ourselves and purchased "I climbed Snowdon" buttons before returning down the mountain. 

While the view from atop was disappointing, the view on the way down was stunning and made up for the lack of visibility at the top!  What a glorious day in a beautiful country! 

I feel like I've climbed all sorts of metaphorical mountains this year, but climbing a physical one alongside a great friend was a great way to end the year!

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