Because Kevin was not up to any scrambling or long-distance walking on tough ground, we had only one route available, the shortest approach from the top of Bealach na Gaoithe:
Weather was far from friendly today, with frequent showers passing over western Scotland and low cloud over the summits. We didn't see much from the small parking area on Bealach na Gaoithe, apart from Loch Diabaigas Airde:
There is a path to start with, but very soon it peters out in the bumpy ground full of lochs, lochans and rocky outcrops. Perfect terrain to practice navigating in misty weather
The walk starts here:
We had our old GPS route so could simply follow our own footsteps. The area just above the pass is rather wet:
Loch nan Tri-Eileanan:
We walked through the first of many showers, but on a positive note, Kevin captured a rainbow:
Our target Graham was still covered in cloud and we didn't really expect it to clear. It was more a walk to assess Kevin's back and burn off some extra calories...
As we came closer to the steeper section, we heard a stag roar... Soon, several deer voices answered from different directions. We noticed one young, single male on the hillside above us...
...and another one, on the flatter, grassy ground to the right of us...
...but only later, when we gained height, we spotted the monarch of the glen (and a few females) grazing close to the summit of An Ruadh-mheallan. Sadly as soon as they sniffed us, they took off and we didn't manage any decent close-ups.
Monarch in the mist:
Back to our personal experience with the Graham... as the ground steepened, it became waterlogged and very slippery so care is needed here, especially in rainy conditions we had:
There was a glimmer of hope for the views when between the showers the cloud lifted slightly to reveal the northern end of Skye:
...but soon we realized that it wasn't meant to be today. Looking down with clag "glued" to the tops of Beinn Damph and Beinn Shieldag:
View back to the lumpy-bumpy area around the Windy Pass:
The climb proper is only 300m so it didn't take us long to reach the rocky summit of An Ruadh-mheallan:
The summit area is surprisingly flat and on a good day, it would be a great viewpoint, sadly today the views were limited...
Beinn Alligin (or what we could see of it):
Loch na h-Uamhaig:
Lucy on the summit:
As it stopped raining, we spent some time sitting by the cairn hoping maybe the clag might lift a bit more, but we lost the patience eventually and headed down the wet slopes, carefully placing our feet on steeper sections. Lower down, we took a slightly different line, thinking maybe it would be less squelchy, but this whole area is like a sponge, no dry line one could follow...
I stopped to admire a strangely positioned rock. How does it not tumble down?
Looking back to the bulky shape of An Ruadh-mheallan:
Back to Loch nan Tri-Eileanan:
Kevin on a rocky hillock above Loch nan Tri-Eileanan. He enjoyed the outing despite wet conditions and was very optimistic about his recovery:
Looking west from the viewpoint above Bealach na Gaoithe:
It was a relief to see Kevin able to move without pain (and moaning) but this was as much as I could allow him to do today. We drove home in good mood despite the grey, depressing conditions outside. Hopefully, we thought, the following weekend brings more decent weather!
The following weekend was not as good as we had hoped, but it was good enough for a long-awaited return trip to Bennachie, where we investigated two plane crash sites, not without silly mishaps! TR in progress
For more views from An Ruadh-mheallan, here is my old report with better pictures:
https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=79405
