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Weather forecast for Sunday was almost perfect. The "almost" bit was wind, according to MetOffice - 45 to 50 mph and incraesing 60 mph
This alone was off-putting and additionally, two days earlier I suffered from a minor leg injury while jogging. Nothing really serious but it hurt
therefore our weekend trip was more than a questionmark...
But as I updated Kevin's list of hills climbed, I realised he's already ticked off a total of 99 Munros and it ment his next one would be the magical number 100. Surely, I could not miss an opportunity to bag another mountain if it was my husband's big step "into the hundreds"
They say that all cats are born to be wild so no wonder I picked a very remote Munro for our little expedition. I had seen Ben Klibreck once before, last year when we drove past it to climb Ben Hope - and I remember I was impressed by its neat shape. All I wanted now was to leave the civilisation behind for a few hours and get lost in the wilderness (not literally though
).
We started our walk from Vagastie Bridge, where there is a little car park. Surprisingly, we were all alone, not a car or a person in sight. Maybe they were scared off by the nasty wind?
- The bridge
- Ben Klibreck from A836 by Vagastie bridge
The first pull up Cnoc Sgriodain was quite boggy. We spotted a wet track heading up the hill and we stayed on its side. When we reached the top of Cnoc Sgriodain, cold wind became even more annoying
, so we quickly took some snapshots and carried on along the ridge.
- Ben Klibreck from Cnoc Sgriodain
- Looking southwest
- Ben Loyal
- The cairn of Cnoc Sgriodain
As we descended into the bealach, we had to meander a bit among peat hags. For most of the time we stayed close to vehicle tracks as they helped us to avoid the boggiest parts. Once past the wet area, we tackled the steepish slope of Creag an Lochain. At some point we took a short break to put on additional layers of clothing - the wind wasn't kidding at all...
- Looking up Creag an Lochain
- Nice views in every direction
Once on the summit of Creag an Lochain, the main top of Ben Klibreck came into view again:
- That's where we have to get!
We just started walking towards the final stretch-up, when dark clouds appeared suddenly out of nowhere. Luckily, they passed right behind us so at least we avoided most of the nasty hail.
- Clouds are coming!
- Creag an Lochain in the clouds
The last part of the route up Meall nan Con was steep, but we charged it with considerable determination. Unfortunately, mine only lasted about ten minutes - that was when my almost forgotten leg injury came back to life
Gusts of wind almost blew me off the slope. Still I didn't want to give up!
We conquered the summit eventually - horaaay! - and I could congratulate Kevin on his no. 100! Shame there was no one else there to take a pic of us together. We spent a short while on the top - surprisingly wind dropped and we caught a clear "window" in the clouds, so we could admire the summit panorama:
- Meall an Eoin
- Ben Loyal again
- Creag an Lochain from the summit of Meall nan Con
- Snowy, snowy rocks :)
- The 100th-Munroist by the trigpoint :)))
- My Munro no. 27... Still a long way to go until 100!
It was about 3 pm when we finally left the summit and headed back towards Creag an Lochain. As we descended to A'Chioch, one short glimpse back reminded us, how lucky we were with the weather "window"...
- Clouds gathering around Meall nan Con
On the way back we avoided climbing the top of Creag an Lochain by taking a narrow path that goes along its eastern slopes. We didnt stop until we reached a small cairn on the bealach to Cnoc Sgriodain. From there we had the last look at Ben Klibreck:
- Ben Klibreck in afternoon sun
We returned to our car cold but happy, with the satisfaction of a well spent day, even though I limped a bit towards the end. Hopefully my leg will recover before the next expedition. There are so many more hills to look forwards to
