A 6am start on a warm Saturday morning. A beautiful June day, and a pretty quiet path.
The Route
A perfect little circular, taking you Across the summits of Craig Llywd, Craig Cwn Amarch, Cadair Idris and Mynydd Moel on the path back down.
The Minffordd Path
I was taking on Cadair Idris in order to be able to summited all the mountains in the Welsh National Three Peak list, but I was well aware that I was going to quickly complete that list. So I had looked for other mountains classification to use as my baggie list.
Deciding that I was going to be working through the Nuttall Summits it was happy to see that this path crossed over a few others along the way.
Wild Camping Spot
Although wild camping is not allowed in the National Park, they do have some flexibility in that. The thing to remember is leave no trace. So taking extra precautions to make sure that you don’t affect the wild life or environment, that does mean that campfires are not often welcomed.
You should also attempt to arrive late and leave early in the morning, this is to ensure that your tent isn’t around when more people start on the paths. A natural coloured tent is also encouraged, but I have used my white Forclaz Trekking Tent for camping in the wild.
Mountain Views
I was lucky to have landed in this part of Wales on such a beautiful day. I could have spent my day taking a million photos of the surrounding landscape. The clear skies meant that I could see nothing but mountain tops for miles.
A rare photo of me
After the last year of posting about my hiking on instagram I have started to show my face a little more on posts. I’ve done some videos but I’m still not 100% confident on camera, is anyone?! This is one of my favourite photos though.
It was one of those days when I felt like an explorer, I was visiting a range that my dad had visited in his youth. I’m pretty certain my child hood self would be pretty happy with this kitted out look on top of a mountain.
Spectacular Paths
It’s always pretty cool to look back and see that paths you’ve taken. When it looks like this you, that adrenaline is still pumping and that sense of achievement is enormous.
Tucked away in the maze of rocks surrounding the summit, I found the most perfect lunch spot. It was still pretty early and it was a quiet summit, but this was a very peaceful spot, looking out over the Welsh mountains.
The Legends
Their are many legends around Cadair Idris but I think my favourite is the idea that if you spend a night on the mountain you either wake up a madman or a poet the next day.For centuries bards have been camping near the summit to capture this mystical power. Looking at the views and feeling inspired myself I can see how this legend might have began.