National Discovery Award – North Wales – 14th to 20th August 2010
On 14th August 17 Senior and Rover Scouts arrived in the heart of the Snowdonia National Park to be greeted by clear blue skies and the rare view of the summit of Snowdon with the sun going down behind it. Camping by a lake in the lea of Snowdon we planned our routes, 4 days and 3 nights of gruelling walking crossing the Glyders and Snowdon itself and taking in some of the remote parts of the area, crossing bogs and discovering hidden valleys. But before we put on Expedition packs carrying 4 days of food, fuel, tents, stoves and sleeping bags we had a warm up day scaling Tryfan with our 2 Mountain Leaders, one of the great rugged climbs with fantastic views, but with easy access from the road. Confidence bolstered, we set out on the Monday from different start points and camping at different wild camping sites each night. We were very much on our own and in proper mountain country and all of us at some time felt tired or in pain, hungry or cold and got wet in the rain and mud, but the training we had gone through over the years, the encouragement we got at our check points and the combined incentive of getting the Discovery Award and passing Gold or Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award Expeditions kept us going. Most of us achieved the target we had set ourselves to complete all 4 days or 3 days for the Silver DofE and after a final exhausting day we celebrated our achievements at an awards dinner at a local hotel and bathed our feet in a warm shower.
