2 hours sleep, the airbed is virtualy deflated, the front room stinks of sweaty snoring bodies and stale beer, I'm out in the kitchen meeting the Stfford folk and trying to work out if they have a problem with us overloading the hut. It looks like good weather outside, so I make tea to try and raise the hut. Popular-ish idea in some quarters, not so in the majority!
Eventally, the usual eon of faffing happens but we do in fact set out on a walk. The Uberfeller being young and keen have decided to go and do Cader Idris. Vicky, Steve, Daly et al not being as young but still being as keen have driven towards Bala Lake and are going to walk back to teh hut along the Aran mountain ridge... Me, Pugs, the Dollytwins, Dollytwinsmate Fiona, Richard, Sophie and bloke are walking up past brown pants gully to the boggy plateau behind. The weather was good when we started but soon turns to sleet and a strong wind. Richard has holy boots and an epiphany. He heads back down the gully to do emergency food shopping and the rest off us head into the whiteout. The ground is dead boggy but the snow covers most of the deadly patches so it's like crossing a minefield of sudden death swamps. Everyone falls in at some point. I've got a 1:50 type map which doesnt have the fence marked alonside which I know has a duckboard path. It's hard naigating without a watch as well as avoiding a swampy dunking but we find the fence as well as Duncan and Karen who have set off earlier but seem to be having the same snow fun time experiences.
We get somewhere about 50 meters from the trig point on Aran Fawdwyy find a cairn, pretend it's teh top and hightail it back down into the lee, which is hard to find since the wind has changed direction and still seems to be in our faces. Funny, that innit! Always seems to happen. In the gathering gloom, I tell Meli a joke about a cliff and the shadows. Hmm, it wasnt funny then and it isnt now!
Eventually we are back in the hut, drinking tea and warming up. The others tun up, weather beaten and happy. I try to organise a gang of choppers as tonight is veggie stir-fry and sheery triffle night
Starter
A selction of finest left-over Walkabout Scotland summer season crisps
Main course
Ginger and garlic vegetable stir-fry with noodles
Stir-fry vegetables in black bean and soy sauce
Chilli and Leek Fiery Welsh Dragon
served with chips a single slice of tomato and special boiled rice
Desert
Pint of Sherry Triffle
Posh cheese, tea coffee, more sherry, port and beer
Evening entertainment consisted of a fine 80 verse rendition of Old Chicago Town, follwed by Sunshine Mountain, Ilkley Moor bah'tat, Yogi Bear, Shag a Wallaby and Singing in the Rain and followed by a long and very dance-able set by DJ DM on the dodgy Lulu kitchen cd player - even the Stafford MC crew joined in... and at by the end they were outnumbering Droopers (the Uberfellers being down to just Adele)...
At this point the spare bottle of sherry kicked in and the evenings events beacme a little hazy (details spared to save the innocent and teh not so innocent)
Sunday, was a little hazy too... Al and Duncan managed to be Droopers up a hill the rest of us sat around, slowly tidying up, drinking cupos of tea, making more chips and talking about but not going to the beach
An ace and truly inspiring trip!
