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Some people might think we were asking for a serious dose of foot rot to cross a bog infested bealach and walk down a normally sodden glen just after 3 days of incredibly heavy rain, but, being a team that likes a challenge, that's what we set out to do
. Admittedly there was a good weather forecast, and autumn days in the hills are not to be missed. The hills of choice were Am Bathach and Ciste Dhubh, we figured these would make a good walk now the clocks have gone back and the days are getting all too short.
A trip up A Chralaig and Mullach Fraoch-choire in June had given us a good view of the Chest and its Corbett – we'd even wondered about tagging them onto the route we were doing – but in the event I'm glad we left them for a return trip in the autumn.
A pleasure about walking in Glen Sheil is no 'long walk in', just park the car and head up. We set off on a beautiful morning just at the back o'nine.
View of the Cluanie Inn nestled at the foot of the South Glen Shiel ridge
I love the jewel-like colours of autumn, wonderful shades of copper, bronze, gold and green
Western end of Loch Cluanie basking in sunlight
The WH directions for the path up Am Bathach seemed straightforward enough, but we managed to miss the path and ended up the wrong side of a deer fence – with no sign of a stile
. Fortunately we spotted a place where the dogs could get under the fence and we climbed over it. After that bit of limbering up we headed up to the ridge we should have been on for a sight of A Chralaig with a dusting of the white stuff.
Am Bathach is a lovely undulating walk, several false tops and enough steep bits to convince us that this was a bit more serious than the usual dog walk.
View of Am Bathach (ridge in the centre) taken from A Chralaig last summer
Once we were high enough on the main ridge there were beautiful views of the route to our 2 goals of the day
As well as views across to Mullach Fraoch-choire
And over to the east end of the Brothers ridge
It seemed like no time before we were at the top of Am Bathach and looking with pleasure at the sight of Ciste Dhubh
(From the top of Am Bathach the Bealach Choinnich isn't visible otherwise the pleasure might have been somewhat spoilt.
)
We paused for snacks and taking in the views.
Mullach Fraoch-choire with pinacles
Beinn Fadda
Although the sky wasn't the beautiful shade of blue it had been when we started the cloud was high and the tops clear, good to be out on the hills.
We didn't hang about too long – we wanted to be off the hills by 4pm, so we left Am Bathach (verdict - a very enjoyable Corbett) and headed over the summit towards Bealach Choinnich.
What can I say about this blasted bealach? Wet, wet wet isn't wet enough
. I must be honest I groaned inwardly (while maintaing a face of calm stoicism) when I saw how wet it was and how wide it was. This is not somewhere to be lost in the clag.
Roger surveying the bealach on the way back
We followed a path off Am Bathach and across the bealach without too much difficulty, losing it heading up the short steep section on the lower slopes of Ciste Dhubh – but that's because the path had turned into a water fall. Once above the crags the path was obvious again and the teraine much easier (and drier). The views ahead were stunning, with An Cnapach and Ciste Dhubh looking sooooo inviting.
An Cnapach
Ciste Dhubh
Both looking handsome in the autumn sunshine
The route to the top showing the bypass for An Cnapach
We took the bypass only to save time – but An Cnapach would be a good little detour.
Looking back at An Cnapach and Am Bathach with colours glistening in the sun.
Over to A Chralaig and Loch Cluanie
Biggles eyeing up the route of the final ascent
By this point I was really loving being out on these hills, they are beautiful, with their own drama and stunning vantage points for eastern Kintail and over into Glen Affric and points north and west. The path up to the tiny pointed summit of Ciste Dhubh was very clear – even Biggles was happy to bounce along it (probably relieved he wasn't going to be asked to leap up the cliffs).
Summit view (Biggles posing as mountaineer, Bertie looking for lunch)
Even the odd spot of snow at 979 metres
Over lunch we discussed plans for next year, to do a backpacking trek from Loch Affric to the youth hostel
To climb the remoter Affric hills
and then walk out to the west, perhaps including Beinn Fadda
We were sitting facing north and gazing at the wonderful tangle of mountains in front of us
enjoying the wonderful autumn colours so we hadn't noticed what was going on behind us …
Mist rising up the glen of An Caorann Mor and just wafting over the lip of Ciste Dhubh's summit. There was no low cloud and no wind – this seemed to be a ground fog wafting up on thermals. It wasn't particularly thick – we could see it swirling around and moving quickly, dissipating once it got over the summit.
Was this going to be our bad weather training day after all??
We decided that since lunch was over and I'd had some fun with the camera it was really time to go face the boggy bealach and the wet walk down An Caorann Beag. (We could have opted to come of Ciste Dhubh to the east and walk down An Caorann Mor, but experience coming down this glen in the summer suggested it would be just as boggy.)
View of Corie nan Euan - Brothers Ridge
The Michelin tyre woman on a walk
We negotiated the bealach successfully and found a path we'd spotted in the morning which we guessed would take us out to the glen – we followed it and it did … not that it was a path really more of a burn. The walk out was clear from here – just go along this beautiful copper glen to the loch at the end.
The Alt a' Caorann Beag is clear in the photo – the path isn't visible but it looked like the Alt's baby brother in a hurry to grow up. Hardly surprising really there were lots of wee burns running of the hillsides and the water needed to go somewhere – even if that somewhere was a path. At least we were walking down the east side of the glen – the west side had far more burns running off the hills.
To be honest the walk out was not where near as much fun as the walk over Am Bathach and Ciste Dhubh, but the glen was beautiful in the autumn light, the dogs were happy to quater the ground and we were happy that they flushed out nothing
. These hills had really been worth the effort and we were back at the car by 4pm. Even better we'd had them to ourselves. We could guess from the wee car park that other people were out on the neighbouring hills but we met no one on this beautiful walk.
… and the threatened foot rot – just another media scare ...
