A short 2-day trek of the hills and lakes north of Blaenau Ffestiniog.
The outward line is a new route to Moel Penamnen, ascending through the valley of the Afon Hafod-llian and approaching the summit via the broad north-east ridge.
The second part ascends Foel-fras and crosses southwards to Llyn Bowydd for an easy descent to Blaenau via the maze of quarry tracks above the town.
The first trip of 2025 after a long winter layoff, combined with health issues including an intractable foot problem and a marked drop in fitness, required a short adaptable route with good options. As it turned out, this trip was very instructive and we took the shortest option for the second day. Slackpacking is a term we have sometimes coined for a very relaxed and modest approach to backpacking, it seems this will be the new modus operandi from now on.
The weather in the last couple of weeks had been striking: clear blue skies but with quite strong cold winds in the hills. We just caught the last two days of clear conditions when the wind had subsided and the days were very warm, an excellent and enjoyable first trip of the year.