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.With my mate suffering from the cold and repairs to do after the storms i decided to head out and break in my new boots. Had a look on WH to see where i could go.With the forecast of Storm/Gale force winds i thought something local would be a better choice. Beinn Bheula was the closest Corbett and one yet to climb,choice made.
The route on WH starts from Lochgoilhead but i knew there was a path signposted from Invernoaden on Loch Eck side to Lochgoilhead so Invernoaden,south of Glenbranter was my start point. I downloaded WH route to MMap,then edited to add the section from Invernoaden,job done,8.5kms to summit. That should break the boots in
Parking in at the FCS carpark at Invernoaden(A815),i waited for the torrential rain to stop before getting out to get my gear on. Left the car at 08.40 and headed up the forestry road. The road zig zags its way up hill, followed by a longer straight that took me to a small concrete bridge. Its just round this that you leave the road and head onto the path.
Some good views of Loch Eck from Forestry road.
Sign at turn off
From here i left the road and headed up the path,well more of a wet quad track. This leads to a gate at the end of tree line. Over the gate the path is marked with posts,get to one and you can see the next and so on. There really isn't a path,just the posts to guide you and the conditions were very wet..............well it has been raining from Julember !!!
It was so wet underfoot i was getting fed up with the slow progress. Took a wee look and GPS to get a heading to meet up with WH route. I had to head down hill to try and cut across but this was even worse under foot !!! Bogs,bogs and more Bogs !!! So it was a retreat back to the post trail. I followed the posts till i got to the fence that cut across in the direction of the WH route.
Creag Sgoilte,Marker post and Fence.
I cut across following the fence line,the strong winds had now been joined by the unwelcome hail/rain.!! I stopped for shelter behind a rock for a packet of crisps and a wee drink. This is where i joined the WH route.
On the go again,turns out i'd stopped at the plane wreckage.
As i got ready to start the climb up Creag Sgoilte the Clag came in which made the navigation round the rocks interesting but found my way to the top no problem in what was now snow. Nothing heavy,just unpleasant in the wind. It was head down and onwards as i headed over to Beinn Bheula. All of a sudden,the Clag blew over giving me a chance to see where i was going and a few quick pictures. The east side holding onto its snow.
No time at all and i had arrived at the summit.
The weather held for a few minutes,but had closed in again before i left.
Lookin back at Creag Sgoilte
To feck with stayin up there for long,was time for a sharp exit. Lookin for somewhere to shelter to get into a warmer jacket i found these wee prints...
Hope it wasn't a monster !!
Back the way i came,looking over to Cruach nam Miseag,i'm 99.9% sure i seen someone on top,this was about 12.30ish.
Back at the car 6 hours later. Boots were giving me some hassle on the inside left ankle. Another great walk,made better by the clearing weather at the top,all be it..... brief.
Cheers.