Pants, dog food tins, dog fouling bags, T-shirts and picnic leftovers. This is the type of rubbish that visitors to the Snowdonia National Park leave behind to be collected by others.

An army of volunteers goes out on weekends during the holiday season - between Easter and September - to pick up the mess and to make sure people are safe on the mountain.

North Wales Pioneer: Volunteers often find large crows of people in the mountainsVolunteers often find large crows of people in the mountains

Although she works full-time, one of the people who volunteers in the Epark on weekends is Elin Prysor Williams.

Elin collects all kinds of rubbish, she told our sister title, Corgi Cymru: “Picnic things most of the time. But we've also come across a number of more random things too. ”

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The Pyg Trail is one of the shortest up Yr Wyddfa and starts from Pen-y-Pass. It is the most challenging route and Elin recently climbed it, collecting rubbish as she went.

"I came across a tin of Winalot dog food opened," Elin said. "I just don't understand why someone would feed a dog half way up Yr Wyddfa. It's weird… people leave lots of clothes too, things like pants and t-shirts.”

North Wales Pioneer: An army of Caru Eryri volunteers go out every weekend to clear up the mess left behind by visitorsAn army of Caru Eryri volunteers go out every weekend to clear up the mess left behind by visitors

According to Elin, they have to be very careful when it comes to discarded underwear: "Someone might have soiled their trousers and just left them there. I can't imagine any other scenario that fits in with just leaving a pair of pants on Yr Wyddfa... ”

As well as collecting rubbish, Elin assists climbers who have gone missing or who look like they are are likely to.

North Wales Pioneer: The notorious Crib Goch in Eryri with its 1,000ft drop on either side. Photo: No Limits PhotographyThe notorious Crib Goch in Eryri with its 1,000ft drop on either side. Photo: No Limits Photography

"A lot of people end up going up places like Crib Goch by accident on weekends,” she said.

“The path breaks, and one way keeps going on the Pyg and the other one goes up Crib Goch. Lots tend to follow the crowd and if the people are on their way towards Crib Goch, others will just follow them.”

One of the wardens' jobs is to talk to people to see if they know where they’re going, she said.

"You can see they’re in two minds - they stick out like a sore thumb. And sometimes there's bad weather too - I've been up and the wind just cuts you in half."

North Wales Pioneer: Caru Eryri volunteers often end up climbing the mountains of Eryri in order to keep them cleanCaru Eryri volunteers often end up climbing the mountains of Eryri in order to keep them clean

According to Elin, when visitors have come to the area specifically to summit Yr Wyddfa, they are then "determined" to do so.

"There are times when I've had to say: ‘I don’t think it's your day to go to the summit today’. Keeping people safe, collecting rubbish and identifying any problems with the actual path errors, and informing the (paid) wardens are the main responsibilities," she said.

Etta Trumper is the Snowdonia National Park Authority's Volunteering and Well-being Officer.  She is responsible for recruiting and training the people who give up their time for free.

"We have seen an increase in visitor numbers since the lockdown period, which has meant more parking problems and of course more litter," she said.

North Wales Pioneer: The dedicated litter pickers of Caru EryriThe dedicated litter pickers of Caru Eryri

After every weekend litter pick, the haul is weighed.

"We keep a log,” said Etta. "I haven't seen this year’s one yet but I have the litter data from the 2021 season, which started at Easter and ran until September.

The data in question is for Caru Eryri volunteers only, and includes what Etta calls "hot spots". These are namely the areas of Llyn Ogwen, Cwm Idwal, Yr Wyddfa trails to about half way up, Llyn Dinas, the Aberglaslyn area of Beddgelert, Cadair Idris and Llyn Tegid.

"There's more than a tonne of random and unusual things. Mostly, drink cans, bottles, lots of dog poo bags… tissues, wet wipes. It's not hard for people to take the stuff back down - they've taken it up there haven’t they?"