I have lost my sister

Have you seen her?

Have you heard her?

This sister walking by my sister

Will always be her sister

While she’s on her way

On a road of different sisters

As she changes day by day.

Walking Snowdonia Slate Trail

Is not as hard to do

As living with a sister

Who no longer

Knows it’s you

Have you seen my sister?

It could be me or you.

D is for Dementia, and for Distress, and for Donate

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

My Son Toby is my guide while Trekking the Slate Trail to highlight

the challenging paths that Dementia Carers face every day.

Their Dedication and kindness constantly goes beyond,

and I, for one, cannot thank them enough - please Donate.

To all of my wonderful supporters .. Thank you more than I can say, and Diolch, diolch, diolch!! and again, ac eto!

My sister's road has led us to her new home.

I must thank, again, the kind and caring staff at her new home. It has been a busy month. Diolch hefyd wrth y Pobl mor caredig a gofalus y mis yma yn ei cartref newydd.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

The Trek start was from PORTH PENRHYN to BETHESDA, and we passed through Glasinfryn and Tregarth, via a tunnel leading onto paths alongside the road to Bethesda (6 miles). We walked alongside a busy river (Afon Ogwen), through the wood, then past old crawiau fences (upright slate slabs connected with wire 'plaited' in and around them) to the main road and the beautiful slate buildings on the left. We took the steep footpath (Yr Ocar) to Mynydd Llandegai (3 miles), and past the rows of cottages where Slate Quarry workers once lived. We crossed the extremely challenging moor below slate tips to Dinorwic. My fake hips required crutches for such tiring boggy ground; but my Berghaus Boots kept me dry. This was one of the most gruelling sections of the Trek. The Marchlyn Dam road led, through farmland and past pretty Welsh cottages, to Dinorwic. A steep rocky track took us through woodland, and the stunning Slate quarries to Llanberis, on the way we met a group of12 smelly Welsh Mountain goats resting from a busy day. We passed by the Quarry hospital and adjoining buildings to arrive at the Llanberis Slate Quarry Museum. LLANBERIS to WAUNFAWR. Next day we followed steep lanes and tracks, and large Slate tips, to join the North Wales Pilgrim's Way which we shared for a while. Toby's daughter Cicely joined us, such a treat - a great assistance finding waymarkers! The terrain was varied with stunning views, but very demanding on energy, and we needed good eyesight to spot the waymarkers. The tough, steep lanes, long tedious mountain tracks, and struggles across soggy moor which seemed endless, became a scramble onto slate slopes. We skirted a Quarry where we saw Slate buildings containing huge slabs of it, and remains of ancient machines among other Slate slabs, on the ground. The going became boggy, and less steep, before we finally gained the streets of Waunfawr (6 miles). My amazing Boots took it all in their stride (pun), although my legs did ache. WAUNFAWR to NANTLLE. Walking alongside a river, we crossed over a small bridge, and followed a track to some large fields where we had to go uphill through bracken and into a forest, scramble over fallen tree trunks, and on to a tarmac road. This led to a field and a fenced off flooded quarry pit.The route progressed in similar fashion until we reached the slopes of Nantlle Slate quarries and buildings. We finally reached a kinder track across the valley, but the miles were finding my weak spots while we continued through fields, over stiles, kissing gates, streams, and at least one wooden bridge. Because I have a condition which stops me from being exposed to the sun, I was fortunate that most of the sections were walked on 'merciful' days of dullness. Those conditions remained until we reached Beddgelert. BEDDGELERT to CROESOR Having left the town and followed signs to start walking and scrambling along the left side of the fast flowing Aberglaslyn River, one of the most interesting sections of the Trek. The weather was such that many people were draped on the huge boulders, or paddling, or walking the same path as ours. I had a bit of difficulty balancing on the mainly slippery going, and had to grab the steel 'hand-holds' (or Toby's) that appeared occasionally. We left the trail at Aberglaslyn Bridge to follow waymarks that eventually reached a road marked Nantmor and more steep tarmac - I don't enjoy 'steep' nor 'tarmac', and, by this time, I was extremely hot with the sun bearing down on my back. We struggled up a steep hill of dense bracken, growing on very uneven ground, and took shelter under a tree, to fuel up with a cheese and pickle sandwich; Toby frequently stopped for me to glug water - noticeably going without himself, until we reached somewhere to replenish the bottle. At one stop, I surprised him by finding a catchment hole of rushing water; he quickly dropped to his knees to fill-up but, as he did that I went to grab the back of his belt to stop him going too far down but, instead, almost pushed him in. To give me some shade, Toby pulled a gaiter out of his 'sac' and fitted it to cover my head and shoulders, which worked well. After following a walled track, the going levelled out onto the Drover's Road across the open moor. Now began the worst part of the day. Either side of us grew dense, bristly bracken, much taller than me. The path was so narrow that I felt short of air and I had a real struggle especially when the path began to rise. I kept my eyes on the hill ahead. The going was a rough, rocky path and when that was obstructed by a fence, we avoided it to enter a wood via another rocky path and onto a forest track. By the time we reached the tarmac road, where we turned left opposite a sign pointing the way to a wedding venue, I was almost staggering. On our way down on the last leg to Croesor, we were overtaken by what we thought was the Sherpa bus and flagged it down, only to find that it was the transport for the wedding party. The driver gave us a lift all the way down to the pub full of the wedding party, where I shocked Toby by ordering a gin and tonic! CROESOR to TANYGRISIAU This section was one of the more challenging of the trail, being on long distances of constant uphill slog. It began on a long steep track which I had been dreading, but only needed one stop halfway. We kept on upwards on the stone Quarry track to the Croesor mine and Slate buildings to our right. We were surrounded by Slate on the ground, rusty parts of machinery, and some impressively high and beautifully built Slate buildings. Now, rough going carried us onto boggy ground and more of the mine including a huge waterwheel. After about 5 miles we passed Cwmorthin Lake and a fast flowing river where we were overtaken by some of our friends on bicycles. Toby was carrying a golf brolly as he expected strong sun later in the day, and he opened it to hold it above my head. I felt like the Queen of Sheba but was very grateful. We reached a ruined cottage, alongside several dumped vehicles, then followed a narrow path with almost impassable bracken either side, and followed a river before coming to a tarmac road alongside train tracks. We continued downhill to where we came to the welcome Lakeside Café. We could not believe the number of motor-bikes in the Café car park. What a treat. TANYGRISIAU to BLAENAU-FFESTINIOG. 10miles - 6hrs The different terrain of paths, stone walls, and stiles took us all the while uphill. Hidden waymarkers made the route difficult to follow towards the Village Centre and the Ffestiniog Railway Station. Spotting waymarkers became quite a game. Gran (I have 9) kept heading off in the wrong direction and turning to find Toby (sneakily triumphant) heading in another direction. The ‘wild’ river was on our left, with an extremely narrow path between trees and the sheer drop to the bottom of the ‘ravine’. Looking at moving water can give me vertigo, so I had to crawl along while clutching at blades of grass! We re-entered the forest and uphill, over fields and stiles, to the end of the section. between stone-walled lanes, gates, over stiles and bridges, until we crossed a bridge over a river which, to me, became a raging torrent with some of the most picturesque scenes in a gorge I’ve ever seen. LLANFFESTINIOG to PENMACHNO. Whenever I got stuck, a 'Toby-hand' would always appear; as essential as my light and waterproof Trusty Boots This was a harsh, draining day. The going was steep, and seriously boggy with thick reeds making for energy sapping slow progress from farm fields and gates until we reached the Cwm Cynfal Nature Reserve. We crossed a pretty wooden bridge over a stunning river under the great viaduct. Signs directed us to the main road, and I was already lagging behind by now. We carried on uphill for some time to a section of very boggy ground with tall bracken which forced me to fight my way through. It was a relief to come out onto more rocky ground before arriving at a lake (Llyn Morwynion) where we crossed the dam. Following on, we had to almost climb the lower parts of some crags to avoid slipping onto the ground below. We carried on through rush-growth and boggy ground for a long section, until we reached a Waterworks; and, later, the Afon Gamallt. Muddy going ended at a lake, and signs led us to an abandoned Quarry and the impressive entrance to Manod Quarry; by this time, it was almost dark. A wide track led us down the steep incline to the Rhiwbach Quarry where we passed the Slate tips and structures including a very tall Slate stack; we continued through a forest and on to the village of Cwm Penmachno using a steep stoney track. The remainder of the trail to Penmachno consisted mainly of Forest track covered in beautiful Autumn leaves. The most gruelling day, non-stop except for two 20 minute butty breaks. 13.2 miles 9 hours. PENMACHNO - BETWS Y COED. Nicky joined us. The route followed well marked signs over lanes and fields before reaching a narrow path between the stone boundary of a boggy field and overhanging forestry. More lanes took us through more forestry to Conway Falls Cafe - closed, no cuppa! Then back into trees and a long walk above the Conway river, and through to Betws y Coed, and tea and scones.5miles BETWS to CAPEL-CURIG: and to OGWEN LAKE Nicky came too. There was light rain most of the day. We started the section from the far side of Pont-y-Pair Bridge and turned left into the forest to follow a wide boardwalk and a path leading to the stunning wooden Miner’s Bridge. A well marked forest trail climbed along steep paths where we met other walkers coming the other way. It continued for a mile or so along a lane, before steeper forest tracks, and crossing two wooden bridges over streams. After walking a very narrow path, thankfully fenced between a worrying drop and steep cliffs, we were treated to a brilliant surprise when we arrived at the Swallow-Falls. We sat on the seat on the viewing area to have a butty and water. As we left, I got my over-trousers out from Toby’s rucksack and turned them into a ‘sleeveless’ waterproof jacket. It worked well; I considered starting a new fashion which gives most things more than one use. Following the well-signed forest route, we eventually climbed the steps to the A5 and Ty Hyll (The Ugly House) onto the steep lane along forest road with more paths and the occasional house. I lost count of the stiles we climbed; I was hot and flagging a bit. We crossed a stream on stepping stones then met a muddy path, still uphill, until I was just putting one foot in front of the other. We eventually reached open moorland, which I recognized, so I perked up knowing that a cuppa wasn’t too far away through some fields to Capel Curig. Once there, we dropped in to Siabod Café for pots of tea, and a sandwich. Refreshed, we felt brave enough to tackle the next stage, simply because it was on kind level paths all the way to Ogwen Lake.Then, leaving the car behind Joe Brown’s, we met two cyclists coming the other way and stopped to greet them. It turned out they had ‘followed’ our trail earlier on in the day. One of the guys kindly donated to this charity by time I got home, as did three of my friends who were in Siabod Café. Many thanks to you all again! An added pleasure was the lack of a need to search for markers - we were being welcomed home. So we marched on to become part of the wild but peaceful mountain scenery to the beginning of Ogwen Lake, where Nicky and I sat under a tree in the cold wind and rain in the car park while Toby hitched back to Capel to retrieve his car.10miles6 hrs. OGWEN to BETHESDA. The first section was extremely demanding from the start. Finding the trail after passing the climbing hut was difficult to follow, partly because the steep area was rocky underfoot, and boggy. We climbed over the stile straight into bogs, rocks, boulders, more stiles, amazing views, more bogs and areas of unavoidable ‘paddling’. I seemed to spend as much time scrambling on hands and feet and even fell full stretch on my front! For me, it was a tiring challenge from one end of the lake to the other. Even when I thought I had reached the end, I was faced with a bit of a low-level rock climb before I could gain the stile to the road. We carried on straight to Bethesda after calling in at Ogwen Cottage for cake, tea, and a wee, before setting out for our ‘final’ section to Bethesda. OGWEN to BETHESDA. Apart from one steep downhill section, this part was straight forward, and on level tarmac. I carried on with my normal marching stride, until we joined the Lon Las Ogwen (Ogwen’s Green ‘Leisure’ Lane -- No motorised vehicles). Here there is a long uphill gradient which then turns downhill below the Penrhyn Quarry slate tips. This is where I fell onto my front for the second time. A man riding an electric bicycle almost pushed me sideways onto the verge where I tripped over a tree root and landed flat forwards again – no damage, not even to my pride. Well, I had just completed more than 10 miles!! We turned right to gain the road and cross it into a wood leading to the road, and Bethesda – the rightful--- END, but we missed the middle part of the first section to reduce the mileage, and here is our extended version: BETHESDA to LLANFAIRFECHAN. Through the back of Bethesda we wound our way to the lane leading to Rachub, where we followed the route to Llanllechid, turned right to head for the massive slate wall below Bryn Hall, onto a vast moorland and a herd of mountain ponies. Maintaining higher ground to avoid the bogs, we followed the grassy track for miles, through green fields, high above the A55. On the way we had seen Penrhyn Quarry behind us, and its endless slate structures, tips, and workings. Now, we had splendid views of the sea and Anglesey, mountains above us, and impressive 'clumps' of forest. Toby stopped me, and said "That's it! You've done it, the end of the Snowdonia Slate Trail!". Toby had arranged a lunch at the Pavilion on Llanfairfechan Promenade, so we had many more miles to go, including incredibly steep paths, from the hill above Aber, and the unforgiving silky sand along the beach route and bird sactuary, to a well earned breakfast after a welcome mug of tea from Mike and cafe owner Tim Scott, a well loved supporter, who made a super breakfast for the four of us, many thanks Tim with a big bear hug. Thank you, for the technical wizzadry to Jude and Alison, and to all of our kind supporters - so encouraging and generous. Thank you "Mike the Taxi" for always 'being there" at the end of the day. Thanks for the company and glugs of water, Cicely and Nicky. Thank you Toby - my Scout and Guide, for your faith in "Mam" to blindly follow, and for the care, during all of the 100 miles, not forgetting the Golf Brolly!! Most of all - Thanks to my Trusty Boots for helping me to look forward to every single mile with 100% confidence'. My sister, Faunne, accompanied us all the way. Many thanks again to Justgiving and its opportunities to thank you all from my heart. Diolch yn fawr o fy nghalon. There are some new photos in the Gallery. £50 to reach the target, and my Grandchildren are adding the final gifts to all of my fellow carers. and we wish you what you wish yourselves.