Three
days after abandoning the plan to end my walk with a traverse of Ysgafell Wen I
returned to finish the job. This time I
started from Gelli-lago in the west.
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| Craig Llyn-llagi |
I
followed the path towards Llyn Llagi and then aimed for the switchback of the
path up to Llyn yr Adar which was initially hard to find. I overshot the turn and climbed too high but
from above the path was much easier to see.
Although the path looked a lot less accessible than it actually was I
was soon at the shore of the Llyn.
 |
| Llyn yr Adar |
The
lessened visibility coaxed me to take a bearing towards Ysgafell Wen and I
touched the tops of all of the likely candidates for the highpoint within the
larger of the 670-metre contour rings. A
short drop to the col and then up to the pronounced outcrop saw me on the
Nuttall summit.
 |
| Ysgafell Wen summit |
 |
| Cnicht (in the distance) from Ysgafell Wen |
It
didn’t take long to reach the north top and then the far north top before
continuing across some mildly boggy terrain (as most of the day turned out to
be!) to take aim for the WASHIS summit of Moel Meirch. The cloud base had risen affording
ever-improving views with Cnicht and the summits of my previous walk
particularly caught the eye.
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| Cnicht and Llyn yr Adar from the north top |
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| Moel Druman, Ysgafell Wen and the north top from the far north top |
The
final ascent was not well defined; the lack of classification of the hill
obviously deters visitors and therefore only indistinct tracks, if any, found
their way across the heather and jumbled rocks.
 |
| Moel Meirch |
It
is obvious which is the highpoint, it being an impressive looking pyramidal
tor, especially when seen from the east.
Actually reaching the top takes an easy scramble from the more
accessible western side. And the juxtaposition of the top block and Yr Aran
gave the opportunity for some interesting photographic compositions.
 |
| Moel Meirch summit rock |
Descending
the valley eating jelly babies, the cloud was lifting from Snowdon and Lliwedd;
Crib Goch was already in clear view.
Snowdon was clear for about half an hour before the cloud descended
again, but I managed to take plenty of photos.
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| Yr Aran, Snowdon, Lliwedd and Crib Goch |
 |
| Snowdon, Lliwedd and Crib Goch |
The final off-road walking needed some careful
navigation, using field boundaries as the major aid to keep on course but once
on the road, the last kilometre gave me the chance to cover some ground quickly
before eventually reaching the car and a welcome removal of boots.
