Hiking in honour of young people and our mental health and community services
On a rainy weekend in August, Dr Katarzyna S. Adamczyk, (Kasia), a Specialist Counselling Psychologist in Gender, who works with the Trans Support Service at Mersey Care undertook an unforgettable fundraising event – the Snowdon at Night Mersey Cares Challenge – to raise funds for our mental health and community services.
Kasia, was inspired to fundraise for Mersey Cares to support and empower young people who are experiencing mental health challenges; to show them they are valued and supported by a caring community.
Ahead of the weekend, she shared:
"I’m raising funds to support programmes that empower young people who have experienced challenges with their mental health — helping them build confidence, develop new skills, and take the first steps toward their careers.
We all want to feel like we’re making a difference. I’ll be hiking in honour of these young people, to remind them — and all of us — that they each have something valuable and beautiful to offer the world.
Let’s help them move forward with hope and strength."
The Challenge: 9 Miles in the Dark and Driving Rain
On a night when the heavens opened and showed no sign of relenting, Kasia joined around 150 other participants to climb Wales’ highest peak, Snowdon, standing 1,085 meters above sea level. Their mission: to reach the summit in time to watch the sun rise over Snowdonia’s breathtaking landscape.
Led by Global Adventures, the challenge began just after midnight. Battling relentless rain and treacherous conditions, the team pushed on and reached the summit in just three and a half hours—an hour before sunrise.
"We reached the summit at 4:30am, an hour ahead of the sunrise," said Kasia. "We were the first group to get there. Initially, we wanted to wait for the sun to rise, but because it was lashing down, we decided to head back. In hindsight, it was the right call—it never stopped raining!"
Even for Kasia, an experienced hiker, the conditions were gruelling. "We walked for four hours in thick rain," she recalled. "We were absolutely drenched from head to toe—shoes full of water, coats soaked through!"
The hike even dethroned her previous ‘wettest trek,’ which had been in Scotland. "That was definitely my rainiest hike yet," she laughed. "Wales has officially beaten Scotland on that one!"
Despite the soaking, spirits lifted at the finish line. "Thankfully, we were greeted with prosecco and medals," Kasia said. "That definitely put smiles back on our faces!"
From Hiking in Scotland to Snowdon at Sunrise
Kasia, who works therapeutically with trans, non-binary and gender-questioning people, was inspired to sign up for the Snowdon at Night Challenge after seeing our ‘Make It Mersey Cares’ campaign earlier this year.
“This year, I promised myself to do some of the things that I have wanted to do but did not have time or resources. I wanted to be a little more selfish, do something for myself, and push myself," she said.
"I love challenges, and the sense of contributing and making a difference, so when I saw the Snowdon Challenge I thought: this is perfect, and so I signed up!”
It's just sort of like bringing a little bit of extraordinary into your ordinary life."
Kasia's love of hiking began during the pandemic, when she lived in Scotland and explored the Munros – mountains over 3,000 feet. She soon discovered the physical and mental health benefits that hiking in the great outdoors offered and never looked back. Ahead of the Snowdon challenge she has been preparing by attending a number of group hikes in the Welsh mountains as well as strength training focused on her legs and core.
Taking on the Challenge – and Fundraising for the First Time
For Kasia, the fundraising element of the Snowdon challenge was just as important as the challenge itself - although she admits, asking people to sponsor her efforts did take her out of her comfort zone.
"You can climb Snowdon any time, but doing it for charity made it feel more meaningful," she explained. "I’d never fundraised before so I felt nervous about asking people for donations and putting myself out there, wondering if anyone would support me. But I decided to just do it, thinking: no, I can make this happen!"
The Impact of Hiking
The impact hiking has had on Kasia since she began during the pandemic has been seismic, and she's a true advocate of the activity for supporting better health and wellbeing as well as connecting with nature, the self, and for building confidence. She also credits hiking and its benefits with supporting her work as a Counselling Psychologist, enabling her to better support the people she works with.
“Hiking helped to build my confidence, built my resilience and showed me what I can achieve. It helps you to see things from a bigger perspective, because from the top of a mountain you can see everything clearly," she said.
"You get to see that so many things are just small stuff. You reconnect with yourself and with the essence of life – and that really helps me. It grounds me and fills me with joy and hope – and you need that when you work with clients who are struggling to see that.
"They may be feeling somewhere in the valleys, and you are able to stand at the top of the mountain and say, ‘Listen, you just need to follow the journey and you will get here as well.’”
All funds raised help Mersey Cares support mental health and community services across Cheshire and Merseyside, supporting initiatives that go beyond the scope of NHS funding.
