Long long ago, there was this brilliant idea Melissa Brackley and Angela Owczarzak had to set out on a 5 day backpacking excursion across the country of Wales. Thus begins the Tall Tale of these two crazy broads.
So the two settlers began their journey at 8:45am on the first Sunday of April. Conditions were fair, mild wind, partly cloudy skies, but two spirits with high morale were smiling with excitement. They set out to the town of Machynlleth (mouth full, yeah, pronounce that in Welsh), which was roughly 45 minutes away by coach. In this town, after asking a few locals and following the map given to them, they were happily trudging along the path, with two backpacks, food, a tent, sleeping bags, food, and warm clothing. The Glydwyrs Way was the name of the trail, named after a leader from Wales long ago, who they don¡¦t really know if he died or not along the trail(old myth). This should have been warning number one for the youngins, but no. They believed their beauty and ambition could spite the myth and they would be able to prosper. After setting out down the main street in Machynlleth it became a narrower road and the rolling hills were gorgeous. The town of Forge was a mere mile away with a beautiful creek running under the bridge. Turning down another side road the trail seemed more peaceful, and the settlers were glad to be out of the way of motor vehicle dodging. More rolling hills, singing of Disney songs, and the faint sound of baby sheep led the women to believe their plan was good and stable. However, danger was lurking. After about 2 miles the paved trail turned into a dirt trail, but¡Kthe previous day it had rained. But the two set forth, sinking their sneakers into the mud, and swearing to get the best of it. It didn¡¦t get better though, the field in which to cross was complete mud and the winds of mother nature ripped through the hills. They could barely hear each other, moving to level ground was unspeakable, and the sheep just stared them down. After the wind gave no mercy, and mist began to fog up the sight, one went down. Angie couldn¡¦t help herself, she slid and fell on her right knee, but was able to regain her composure after laughing a bit¡K.and screaming¡Kat the top of her lungs. Morale even then was slipping, but neither wanted to admit it. Then¡KMelissa went down¡Kone knee into the moist ground¡Kthe sheep just stared. Laughter filled the air, and mother nature was not pleased. She ripped more wind and more rain and the two were drenched in the middle of the field with mud covered tennis shoes, mud covered knees, and mud covered¡K.souls (hahahaha, joke, get it? Soles of shoes? Yeah.) Slowly they knew that the path was cursed, and mother nature laid her final blow which took Angie¡¦s feet right from under her and into the mud she sat. Laughter once again filled the air and the two realized their imminent future was not looking as fruitful as they had planned. After much laughing and screaming the two decided that it as not yet time, that the days ahead were too grim, and maybe a different future was in store for them.
Moral of the Story is¡Ksometimes all you can do is scream, laugh, and sit in the muddy field with sheep when life gets you down.
By far, one of the most hilarious mornings ever. After I went down for the count in the mud, Melissa and I headed back down the road to go back to Machynlleth. It continued to rain, it got very, very cold, and we were freezing. As we arrived in Forge an elderly couple on their way to church saw us and were good Samaritans. They were kind of enough to pick us up and dropped us off at the clock tower. After running all over town trying to find a way back to Aberystwyth for an hour, a bus finally came and we came back home, still full of mud and damp beyond all belief. I took the hottest bath I could make and passed out for a good two hours. I may have only braved the backpacking trip for, if at most, 2 hours, but those were the most miserable and hilarious experiences ever.
The new plan for the next couple of days is to do day hikes in the Aberystwyth area, and camp out in my kitchen ļ. Later this week we may trek to North Wales to see some of the castles up there before Melissa and I head our separate ways. All in all, this break started off crazy, but memorable.
The real moral of the story is¡Kevery story can be told like the game Oregon trail and it makes you feel better.
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