Ysgafell Wen

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.

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.

Cnicht and Llyn yr Adar from the north top

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.

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.