Being on Cnicht on Saturday was wonderful – I was going to just go straight up on the usual route I take from Beddgelert side, however on reaching the plateau at the bottom of Cnicht a hawk flew by me on my right at a really low level – it was gorgeous. I felt rather privileged to witness it, and also felt intuitively it was suggesting to me to take a closer look in that direction. I knew there were a couple of beautiful lakes over there that I had visited once, today they would look amazing so I followed his direction thinking I might have to miss the peak due to lack of time to do both.

The lakes were amazing – a thin layer of ice on them as you can see here, still and beautiful. It was very warm there though as it was so sheltered and I discovered two amazing spots to wild camp – really idyllic. I hope to go back there and camp over Easter sometime.

So thank you hawk for your guidance. Then returning to the main path after some excellent exploration I did some quick calculations using Nainsmiths formula and found I still had time to go to the peak of Cnicht and return to the car before dark. The top was spectacular in its 360 degree views and also lack of people – I meet about 8 people in total all day. It was so peaceful and calm. I could see the Moelwyns to one side and Snowdon to the other with its surrounding ranges.

The descent was more chilly though running into the wind which had a bit of a bite to it. I was thankful for the shelter and the warmth of the sun on the way up. More lakes looking incredible with the pale blue reflections of the sky, and excellent views too. The ground was fairly frozen still so much of the usual bogginess up there was solid and easy to walk on. One of the advantages of winter walking.

The whole day re-invigourated me and I felt like the cobwebs of winter hibernation had been blown away. I hope the spring and summer continue to bring us much of this glorious weather.

More photos from this day can be seen on my facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/SpiritualMountainWalking Have a look and please like my page to see other photos as they are posted. Thank you.