In the morning we were greeted by a variety of foods and everyone was buzzing for today’s activities and wondering what would come of us by the end of the day. We split into two groups, four boys in one with Mr Alderson and the other four girls and a boy with Keith. We began the day singing on our little trip to the start of our journey of Navigation. (Keith’s was the best! (our group))
Now it was a race against time, well between the groups, 3 maps were given to each group and we were charge of navigation instead of the adults leading us. We started in Beddgelert and Mr Alderson’s begun in Pont Bethania. We started our journey heading towards Gelert’s Grave. Then using our mapping skills we navigated our way down the river bank, past gushing water which was very cold! But no one fell off! We also passed a steam train which was very noisy and made us jump.
The awesome group (us) begun the Cwm Bychan walk which was equally as relaxing as challenging, stopping for needed water breaks and to take in the scenery; it was a once in a lifetime experience.
After a good few hours of walking and climbing over a variety of different terrains, we beat the boys to the middle spot where we had lunch and met other climbers, surprising because some of us lagged behind but still persevered onwards.
After lunch we continued on our journey, using the maps and relying on our abilities to make a decision on which way to go, Keith’s group, walked quickly and efficiently heading down the mountain, we came across a large lake called Llyn Dinas and posed for a few pictures. One person decided to wade in a little further and almost ended up falling in face first (she also slipped a lot, more times than everyone else combined in our group!)
Finally we were so close! We felt like we could beat the other group and Keith and the rest of us, continued onwards, only to get stuck in the mud. We waded through the slushy brown stuff and even came across poo a few times. Nasty! Our boots sunk into the slush as if it were sinking sand. A few of us got our foot stuck and needed help getting out. Later on, we had the choice of going down a muddy path or a nice path, one girl made the decision to head down the muddy one with the saying “let’s be Peppa Pig enthusiast” followed by the group making many pig snorts and jumping up and down in muddy puddles. Followed by Keith who just looked at us as if we were crazy people who escaped from the nut house.
After a little longer, mud covered (Angel and Tayla had a mud fight!) Ryan spotted the van and started leading us to freedom, boarding our sacred ride, we discovered we had to change mini buses and that we were to head to the boys ending point, our starting point. Instead we were beaten by a mere 15 minutes and drove straight past them, Keith and Mr Alderson, switched mini buses followed by their respective groups and headed back to the Centre. Music, singing and mud, it was rather fun actually!
(Mr Alderson on arrival crashed his minibus into the wall of the lodge…creating a terrible bang! Luckily we weren’t in there!)

By Candice Dennis and Elizabeth Allen

Excitedly, we awoke, curious to what the Mountains would bring upon us. When we came down to a hearty breakfast everyone was discussing the main topic. Which Mountain? Walking or Scrambling? Large or small? Easy or hard? When it finally came and we were all gathered in our groups not knowing what mountain but only knowing what kit to wear! We were beckoned to the minibus, thrilled but nervous as we were heading towards the adventurous Mountain.
We arrived 15 minutes later, buzzing to see which challenge lied ahead, no-one was unhappy with the task that was chosen. We gazed up to see the might and beuty of the mountain, we were to conquer the “Towering Tryfan”. With great teamwork and courage, we set off up the 3000ft monster, scrambling and hiking at a steady pace, helping each other with the difficult battle the Tryfan threw at us.
Leaping from boulder to boulder, members of our group were getting tired which caused a halt to our trek. As a team we overcame this problem by having strong resilience and many drink breaks! After the hiking of the uneven stone steps, the real mission began, scrambling was here at last! In a zigzagging fashion we flying through the mountain until we realised we only overcame 900ft in 2 hours. We were annoyed the mountain was winning but we carried on with our goal to reach the peak point, two giant boulders next to a 3000ft descent of the mountain they were known as the all-powerful “Adam and Eve”.
Aching and discouraged, we finally reached the top of the mountain and clambered up to Adam and Eve… all we can really say is that they lived up to their name. We were all excited yet hungry and so we finally had lunch. A 30-minute break really helped us all get revitalised and prepared for what came next as we were halfway through our task the real challenge came … the descent.
Walking down the spectacular scenery overwhelmed us, we were higher than the birds and touching the clouds. We were free. But like usual, all positives cause a negative! We were tired and slipping and stumbling down the stone stairway to hell. Crumbling rocks fell from underneath our feet. A almost straight 3000ft descent began, and it was scary! We persevered with it and luckily all came out alive! This memory will stay with us forever. Finally, we reached the end, and with a joyful, singing minibus home. We were greeted with a tasty dinner.

Jon Hart and Okly Deal

The day started off with an early wake up to a delicious first breakfast of a wealthy size portion of sausage, hash browns and baked beans. Then we were put into groups that we would spend the week with exploring North Wales. We were really pleased with our group as we were put in with people we love spending time with, after finding out this we were expecting a packed full day full of fun.
At the foot of the mountain we looked up to see a mountain towering over us, the group was full of excitement but also slight nerves. We went straight in with the action and headed towards our goal of the peak however slightly veering off course on our way as people had certain needs.
As we were climbing up the mountain some people started to slack behind as they were not up to the challenge. However, they came back strong as the spirit of the group was high, everyone kept going, until the peak of the mountain where we had a lunch break. The lunches were very kindly made by the kitchen staff back at The Kent Mountain Centre, everyone had at least two things they were happy to eat and enjoy whilst doing so. During our lunch break our Team leader Mr Alderson spoke of a fighter plane that crashed upon the peak of Carnedd Dafydd in the 1940s and some ruins still remain today on the Mountain side.
After a long, hard search for any remains of the plane we were led by Mr Alderson and Keith who found the engine of the wreckage. We were exited but carried on because of time, we were making our way down the steep slope when some of us came across a small stream where most of us refreshed and chilled our bodies before finishing our challenge.
After a few slips and falls Blake slipped unfortunately into a hole full of boggy water but was determined to finish so carried on. When the quicker members of the group became closer to the bottom, they waited for everyone in order to finish it together as team Hailstones.

By Blake Leahy and Finlay Jarman-Hume