Singing in the rain will probably come next.  Last night the forecast was for a little rain ending about 3 a.m.; this morning at 8:00 it was still raining and the forecast was for rain until about 2:00.  We considered putting off our hike in the Snowdonia Park until the afternoon but since we had to pack for our early departure tomorrow, we decided to go ahead and hit the trail.  Really how bad could it be and besides we would get the full Welsh hiking experience.  It was actually kind of bad but we did get that experience as there were numerous Welsh folks out hiking with us in the cold driving rain, including three- and four-year-old children and some hikers wearing shorts.  (They could have been bathing suits which would have made more sense.)

Our planned hike was on the Nant Gwynant and Yr Aran trail, a little over six miles according to AllTrails with an elevation gain of 2755 feet.  That distance and height gained assumes you are going to the top of Yr Aran which was not in our plans.  Our intent was to take the walk all the way up a valley to a pass and then not complete the steep ascent to the top from there.  (We have clearly lost our edge.)  We pulled into the trailhead car park when it was lightly raining and several groups were getting ready to set out.  We started getting our gear together and the rain became a downpour.  We hastened back into the car while the Welsh hikers simply headed out.  These people would fit right into the Juneau outdoor scene.  After 15 minutes it let up so we got out and finished putting our gear together along with some new arrivals to the car park.  Then another downpour came and we jumped back into the car while the new arrivals set out.  We are feeling inadequate; dry but inadequate.  After another 15 minutes the rain let up and we started off before it could intimidate us once again.

The trail wound up a valley along the side of a hill and above a pretty big stream cascading in a series of waterfalls.  Oddly, even with all the rain the trail was pretty manageable as it was sufficiently rocky that one could walk without sinking into mud or wading through puddles.  Unfortunately the rain continued at intervals leaving us pretty wet.  We thought back to our initial trip packing when we debated rain pants and finally decided no.  For the first part of the walk we were on part of the Watkin Path.  This was the first trail created in Wales in 1898 and goes over seven miles all the way to the summit of Mount Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales.  (That sounds more impressive than it actually is since Mount Snowdon is only about 3,500 feet in altitude.)  That part of the trail is wide, gradual, and covered in rocks; it travels like a superhighway of trails.  However, after a couple of miles we had to branch off on a standard trail, which is to say narrow, muddy, and awkward.

It continued to rain intermittently, though hard, and eventually, faced with rain, mud and a bunch of sheep, we decided to turn around short of the pass.  The return trip was pleasant excepting the time we were passed by a group of four which included three kids ages 5 - 8.  The day was a little rough but we feel like we got the real Welsh hiking experience, a good way to end our time in Wales.  On the way home we stopped in the little town of Beddgelert where we had seen a gelato shop when driving through before.  We deserved a treat after the wet walk we'd had.  It was actually one of the nicest little towns we've seen and the sun even came back out.  Tomorrow we are back to England, in particular to Shrewsbury, the haunt of Brother Cadfael those many years ago.