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The forecast was very favourable for Monday 31st May which was the deciding factor to do Gulvain, the original plan for this mountain was to use the bikes for the journey along the Glen, however, the weather was set fair for the whole day so we decided to walk the whole route and take our time, the other, perhaps important factor was, we didn't have
our bikes
We've wanted to do Gulvain for a few years now, it's one of those mountains that seem to stand out as a must do, maybe because it's fairly remote or maybe because it's a beast of a hill, a bit of a challenge with the steep ascent,
a tester, or just one of those Munros we'll really enjoy, a combination of all of the above the most likely
We parked in the sizable layby near the junction with the A861 and A830 and followed the walkhighlands route along
Glen Fionnlighe.
It was a lovely spring morning the sun was out (so were the midges
) everywhere was that lovely fresh green we get in late May early June and it was warm.
The way to go
The walk to the base of Gulvain is long and on a good track
In good weather it's a joy, we saw a couple of Buzzards I mistook for Eagles, to the untrained eye, mine, they looked like Eagles
Denise put me right, Deer, Jays, a Weasel type thing and loads of Tadpoles in the pools along the way, when we got our first view of Gulvain we realised that it really is a long walk in, it looked miles away.
As the mountain got closer we could make out the path winding its way up and we could see why the route description says it's a relentlessly steep ascent
We had a bit of a break before we started the climb then we set off prepared for a long slog.
As it turned out the climb really isn't that bad, the path zigzags for a lot of the initial ascent so it takes the sting out of it, as a rhythm is established you quickly gain height and the views get better and better especially towards Moidart and Ardgour, it was warm work but we were enjoying it
We arrived at the cairn on point 855m with some relief knowing that most of the ascent and hard work was behind us, we could see the south summit and main summit but before we set off for the trigpoint we had something to eat and took in the views.
Hazy Ben Nevis and Co
There's a bit of a drop to the little lochans just below us then it's a steady pull up to the south summit, the views from the trig are superb,
looking to the main summit we knew the views were going to be even better.
We set off for the summit, the initial descent to the saddle between the two tops was loose to start with, it levels off then starts a steady climb to the main summit which narrows near the top.
On the summit the views were better than superb, we could see a lot of the Munros we still have to do, mainly the
Arkaig trio, Sgurr Thuilm, Sgurr nan Coireachan and Sgurr Mor above Loch Cuaich I'm sure we could make out the Knoydart Munros, we want to get those done before we get too old, maybe sometime in the next couple of years
Looking back to the south summit
We were on the summit for nearly an hour having lunch enjoying the weather and the magnificent views but we had to get going so, reluctantly, packed up and set off for the descent re-tracing our way up.
We found the descent a bit arduous to be honest, we're not as flexible as we used to be and this is a steep mountain side
It doesn't seem to be getting any closer
the views are good tho'
Once back in the Glen and on level ground we stopped for a well earned rest before the long walk out.
It took us about an hour and a quarter to get back to the road, not too bad I guess, we felt it but were glad we'd walked the whole route, it's worth doing, the weather made the difference, we could take our time, we couldn't have asked for anything better
