THE DAY HAD BEEN HARD, the hardest of the two weeks so far. From 7am until 8pm I spent the entire time with my chin tucked into my chest and my eyes fixed on the ground whilst the wind blasted rain straight at me. The section through Cwmorthin, the abandoned slate quarry, had been particularly difficult, with all the paths through the slate tips drowned in cascading white water and low cloud making me work hard to locate the 13 mountains of the Moelwynion that I needed to climb throughout the course of the day.
Still, I’d made it to Beddgelert, and that tough day was behind me. I was about to enjoy my first hotel so far on my attempt to climb all 189 of Wales’ mountains in one trip. It would be the chance for my first bath since setting off on foot from the South Wales coast on a sunny day in mid-September. I was ‘looking forward’ to giving my blisters and scratches some much needed TLC.
With the tub filling, a glass of whisky over my left shoulder and a Guinness on my right, I was
