A 2021 Summary

2021 carried on in a manner similar to 2020.  Pandemic lockdowns and travel restrictions lessened opportunities for time on the hills with some days out feeling almost subversive.

At the start of 2021 I had 280 summits on my rather eclectic ticklist of ticklists with TRAIL 100 and Nuttall summits making up the bulk of desired tops.  2021 was very quiet from a point of view of additions to my list with no “new” summits being discovered.

Overall I :

            went on             9                                  walks

            walked              94.6                              miles

            ascended          23,192                          feet

            walked for         61 hrs 29 mins            (including rest stops !)

            reached            29                                 individual summits that I hadn’t been to before

            reached            0                                   individual summits that I had been to before

            reached            25                                 summits on my combined ticklist

            reached            1                                   previously unclimbed TRAIL 100 summits

            reached            20                                 previously unclimbed Nuttall summits

            drove                1942                             miles on trips to and from walks

The vast majority of this year’s walking occurred on the Pennines and Cheviots resulting in a significant increase of my expertise of traversing rolling peat moorland .  I completed the English TRAIL 100 summits on The Cheviot.

All of this meant that at the end of 2021, my ongoing ticklist dropped to 255 summits.

The Other Moel Eilio

 After the previous year’s cancellation due to pandemic restrictions the club’s annual post-Christmas day out made a welcome return in 2021.  Seven of us met up at Dolgarrog’s Adventure Parc Snowdonia, best known for its artificial surfing lagoon, and booted up before heading out on to the eastern foothills of the Carneddau. 

Seven of us wound our way up lanes and woodland paths to just above the remote pool on the Afon Porth-llwyd before easier walking led to the Coedty reservoir.  We stopped for lunch at the dam after which we followed the track uphill to the foot of the east ridge of Moel Eilio.  The wind was picking up and we worked our way up the slope into the clag to the summit where we only stayed for a few minutes before heading south-east towards flatter ground which was just tantalisingly in sight.  After reaching the fence line some of the more sensible members of the group decided to ascend a little to avoid following the challenging ground that the fence was leading over; their decision was justified as they found a much easier way down. 

We walked along easy tracks that led to, and under, the Llyn Cowlyd pipeline before gingerly making our way down the very steep roads leading to the Conwy valley, made greasy by the damp and decomposing leaf litter. 

The final mile was along the main road to the Adventure Parc where we unburdened our shoulders of rucksacks and feet of boots before indulging in coffees and hot chocolates in the café for a debrief and discussion of forthcoming post COVID-19 adventures.