It all started with an idea God gave me about 18 months ago. The idea was to raise funds for CAP by doing a sponsored walk up (and down) Mount Snowdon. It took some time for the plan to take shape, but once I committed to it, I found that it took on a life of its own. I sent out emails to gauge interest about 2 months before the chosen date, and to be honest, there wasn’t much! I had guides, now I needed walkers, then I could think about logistics.
One morning I bumped into a work colleague, Linda, in the car park and told her about the plan. She said “that sounds wonderful; I’ve been wanting to do something like this for ages! Can I come?” Slowly the list of walkers began to grow, Donna, Pete and Grant agreed to join us!
Pam, who manages a day centre, very graciously agreed to lend us their centre minibus. A massive thanks to our three drivers: Linda, Donna and Michael who took turns driving on the day. (We got a parking ticket, but hey!)
The day arrived, and we set out at 5am and arrived at Mount Snowdon at about 11:30, we started our ascent up the Pyg track at 12pm. Our guide Natalie was ill and couldn’t be with us on the day so Hard Core Pete and James stepped up and did the job! These two young men were our shepherds for the day, they set the pace but they were patient, encouraging and always willing to stop and help those who were struggling. At one point James was carrying 5 ruck sacks. The climb was harder than most of us expected but it was a good day and we all made it up and down the mountain. We got back to Sutton at around 1.30 in the morning, and home shortly after.
The best part of the trip for me was getting to know people better. The sense of being part of a team and supporting each other was very special. The climb itself was a great parallel for the Christian life with all its challenges. There are times when you just run out of fuel and all you can do is sit, rest, refuel then get up and keep going. At these times the friends around you make all the difference.
We raised somewhere in the region of £2000 for CAP, so a huge thank you, to all who took part and all who gave!
- Hilarie Leong