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North Cluanie Five MunrosMaking the most of the longer summer days, I set off early to make it to the Lundie car park just after 8am. There was plenty of space when I got there and after wolfing down some porridge, I set off up the excellent path to the first munro of the day Carn Ghluasaid, summiting after 90 minutes.
- Loch Cluanie
- Summit cairn of Carn Ghluasaid
The cloud began to set in just after dropping down to the west of the summit. There's a good path which skirts around the subsidiary peak before swinging north east to begin the drag up to munro number 2, Sgurr Nan Conbhairean. It was roughly 40 minutes between both munros and visibility was now very poor with the clag well and truly set in.
- Summit shelter of Sgurr Nan Conbhairean
I made quick time getting to munro number 3, Sail Chaorainn, after a further 30 minutes. Again I was deprived of any potential views across to Glen Affric so I retraced my steps back up Sgurr Nan Conbhairean but skirting around its western side a few hundred feet from the summit. Glen Shiel now came into view and I had a decision to make. I could either make my way back down to finish up the round of 3 or I could drop down to a lowly 725m (Bealach Choire a' Chaitt) and tackle the 2 neighbouring munros of A' Chralaig and Mullach Fraoch-choire. Since it was still before noon I decided to crack on and add on the pair. There were traces of a path down to the bealach and I just made my own route up the shoulder to the west of A' Chralaig.
- Views from Bealach Choire a' Chaitt
I then followed the stalkers path to the large Cairn summit of A' Chralaig (Munro 4). It had taken me 1 hr 20 min from the 3rd to the 4th munro.
- Large summit cairn of A' Chralaig
The clouds had lifted at this stage and the final munro of the day was in sight to the north. All that stood in between was a series of bumps followed by a final ridge scramble.
- The steep ridge of Mullach Fraoch-choire
These were negotiated without too much trouble before reaching munro 5, Mullach Fraoch-choire. The views over Glen Affric were stunning. I've yet to complete any of the munros North of this point so this gave me a fair idea of what lies ahead for my munro bagging journey.
- Beautiful Glen Affric
The descent off Mullach Fraoch-choire was pretty uneventful, however I had started to tire at this stage. 7.5 hours after setting off from the car park, I had now reached the A87 again. All that was left was a long slog back along the road to the Lundie car park.
The whole walk took just over 8.5hr, which left me pretty shattered but glad to have bagged a bonus pair of munros which no doubt has saved me a few quid in travel expenses of any potential future trip to tackle the pair.
