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We always considered Carn na Coinnich to be our "training ground" since it's located only 12 miles away from Beauly. In the current climate, technically we are allowed to travel within our county borders (the Highlands in our case) but we decided to stay as close to home as possible. The amount of snow on the higher mountains would probably make most routes impossible anyway. As we were about to experience, even on the height of 500-600m it was still hard workout, especially when finding our way through peat hags...
We had hoped to maybe add one or two extra tops to make the walk more interesting but as it turned out we barely had time to visit to the summit. Walking in deep snow, we took 5 hours to do a 3 hours route
In the years past, we had done several different circuits of CnC and its multiple tops. I never bothered to post these walks, maybe I was afraid I'd get banned from Walkhighlands for persistently repeating the same hill for no reason and boring other Walkhighlanders to death with the same story written all over again
But today, when compiling this report, I thought I could add short descriptions of various approaches to Carn na Coinnich in Post Scriptum to this report. It might be useful for walkers living in Inverness/Dingwall area when looking for something "hilly" to do not too far away from home. But first - our wintry adventures from last Saturday, when the sun was up and the sky was blue, and the mountains looked like giant Italian meringues!
The usual starting point for Carn na Coinnich is a large wooden gate in Bridgend, just before the bridge over River Meig in Strathconnon:
The estate track goes from here to the height of 500m and within 1km from the summit trig point. This was another reason we opted for this route: we hoped that in current conditions, the track would be easier to walk on than wild terrain. Sadly, hope is the mother of fools
The estate track seen from below:
We spotted a large herd of deer close to the track. They are fed by the estate here with juicy hay so no wonder they hang around. Who would be stupid enough to go up to 600m if dinner is served in the glen below?
We started up the track, past a small pine plantation (taking this shortcut avoids the houses further along the main road) and tackled the friendly-looking slope. It was easy indeed initially...
...but from about 400m, the snow became deep enough to slow us down to snail's pace. Funny, we felt that there was more snow on the track itself than on the surrounding vegetation.
Tackling another snowdrift:
Giant icicles:
Still a long way to go, but the world around us looked so beautiful:
We got to 500m and though the track goes even further, we were so fed up with the deep snow on it that we preferred to leave it and push straight to the summit. We know this mountain well and we were aware of peat hags en route, but under the fresh layer of snow everything was frozen solid so fingers crossed we shouldn't have a nasty incident like the one on Meall Dubh, when Kevin stepped into a hidden loch
Crossing one of many small streams:
The summit with its trig point was well visible from below, but what lay beneath the snow?...
Looking back into Glen Strathconnon:
We discovered that walking on the final climb wasn't too bad, much easier than we had expected. Kevin really enjoyed himself today, cracking jokes about Italian meringues, vanilla ice cream and so on...
Occasionally, we'd encounter snowdrifts but Kevin charged across with a brave face!
Two shadows and Strathconnon:
Having zigzagged our way through some peat hags, we landed on the summit ridge about 800m from the trig point. Views from Carn na Coinnich are fantastic in all directions, but sadly, a band of cloud was slowly coming from the west and the Strathfarrar Munros were hidden from view.
Cloud coming!
Creag Ghaineamhach and Meall Doire Fheara, a pair of tops situated due north from the main summit. They are a different world on their own, a hidden rocky sanctuary dotted with no less than four lochans. They can be added to the climb (I'll tell you more about them in Post Scriptum) but today, we knew they were beyond our reach:
Back to our current situation, Kevin had a problem finding a way across another set of peat hags:
Italian meringue served
On the last stretch to the summit, we found easy walking ground on the windswept surface of the frozen snow:
Kevin heading for the trig point:
I tried to photograph the powdery snow being blown across the icy surface, but it doesn't really show in my photos:
The summit was reached with no further delay. We stopped counting ascent son this hill long ago, but it's always nice to come here once again. This was the first time in full winter conditions and despite the cold wind, we were really pleased to see the familiar local views
Looking north to the two tops I mentioned earlier with Creag Ruadh peeking out from behind:
Beinn a' Bha'ach Ard to the south:
The Strathfarrar Four should be behind me but they are hidden in clag:
View west:
To the east, the complex area of tops and lochans on the other side of the high pass. The outline of the estate track can be seen cutting the slope in two:
The eastern panorama:
Kevin posing by the trig point:
The summit was quite windy so after taking pictures and admiring the views for a short time, we started our descent. The easiest way would be to retrace our steps thus saving us the effort of breaking trail, but Kevin said, we had enough time left to make "some kind of circular" by dropping more directly to the estate track. We noticed that the cloud was thickening to the west and south of us...
...but we were still under the blue sky of perfect winter weather. Plus coming down deep snow is always easier:
We stopped in a large peat hag to have our hot cuppa. It was far too cold for ice cream but the white stuff around us made us think about vanilla deserts all the time!
Yum yum!
On the other side of the pass - a short climb to the estate track:
...before the final walk back down. High on the pass, the snow was only ankle deep and walking was easy...
...but lower down we struggled to pull our legs out of snow drifts. At least we had to work hard and it kept us warm!
On the steeper section of the track, I stated to feel my injured knee again, so it is still not fully recovered, but I didn't expect a miraculous healing. I need to be patient with it. In the meantime, I can still climb easier hills, enjoying all the fun and games of deep snow and Italian meringue
POST SCRIPTUMAlternative routes on Carn na Coinnich.
EASTERN TOPS
Distance: 19.3km
Ascent: 1015m
Time: 6hrs 15 min
This option includes four TUMPs east of the main summit: Carn Uilleim, Meall a' Bhogair Beag, Meall a' Bhogair Mor and Meall nan Damh. The last one used to be joint summit of the Graham but was de-twinned from Carn na Coinnich in April 2014, when it was found to be 3m shorter. it is still a Simm and a Graham Top, but above all, it offers nice views on a good day. Including all four minor eastern tops makes for a full days walk with over 1000m of ascent.
Starting from the same place, great views to the nearby Strathconnon Corbetts from the early stages:
The estate track looks much more friendly in summertime:
