Interesting read DA. If memory serves me well, the place to look over the Badlands is from Clip. From there it looks like a fascinating area to explore and a nightmare to cross.
I enjoyed a walk from Trawsfynedd along the northern ridge including Moel Ysfarnygog to Clip and returned to Traws by dropping down to the N end of the path from the Roman Steps.
We did this in a v.good spell of weather, rather similar.
As for advice on processing RAW....my sympathies......having been conned out of my photo hosting site of choice, the iniquitous photobucket, which took me long enough to understand. I use GIMP for processing, I am saved the tortures installing a plugin for RAW by using free Canon software left over from my previous camera. So hope the new Panasonic, canon software, GIMP and Uncle John Cobbly an' all of software remain compatible.