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My formula for coping with heat is simple: start late, sleep high, then enjoy walking in the cool of early morning. There’s also more chance of seeing something different or spectacular when it’s not lost in the midday haze.
That was the plan.
Intrigued by BP and Kevin’s trip round the horseshoe of Glen Galmadale, this definitely didn’t look like a mid-week honey pot. Their anticlockwise approach also fitted my plan for views and sightlines at the right time of day.
But, I had to wait at home for an electrician to finish, wrestle with the heatwave traffic up the A82 and, as fish and chips in Glencoe were essential, I joined the solitary car in the car park at Galmadale more than a little later than planned.
- Leaving Glen Galmadale in the evening shadows
At 7.30pm, early evening holiday strollers from the cottages gawped as I crossed the road, leaped the ditch and attacked the bracken slopes above, fully laden.
The immediacy reminded me of Liathach’s challenging gradient straight from the car. At least this one wouldn’t last for too long: a short burst of pain rewarded by a long, gradual incline as the sun dropped. I was more wary about the prospect of ticks.
- Looking south down the ridge of Druim na Maodalaich with Lismore stretching away down Loch Linnhe
Welcomed by a breeze on the crest of the Druim na Maodalaich ridge, the ticks were conspicuous by their absence; BP and Kevin must have fed them too well. The Lochaber hills across Loch Linnhe were gradually fading while little outcrops on the ridge glowed pink as the sun disappeared behind Creach Bheinn.
- Evening fades the Glencoe hills across Loch Linnhe
Life was pleasant and all was well with the world. Well, almost.
My original plan had been to arrive at the first Corbett that evening, camping high to enjoy both sunset and sunrise. However, afternoon lethargy and delays thwarted me. I wasn’t going to get that far, so there was no point in pushing it. Given the surroundings, I could tolerate being a top or two short.
- Ben Nevis and the Mamores from Maoll nan Each
Meall nan Each, at the northern end of Druim na Maodalaich, was a perfect substitute spot. Deprived of the coastal sunset, the tent door could still face the sunrise – provided I woke up in time. Ponds and damp patches on the summit aroused anxious suspicions that they might be breeding grounds for a local mob of midges. Fingers were crossed as I settled in, wondering what was pushing the cloud spilling over a bealach from Sunart – what might it foretell?
- Evening clouds spill over the bealach from Sunart - and hint at the sunset I might have missed
Surprisingly, the pleasant evening turned into a chilly night, and maybe that’s what woke me, with a sense that I should be looking out of the tent.
- A hint of sunrise ...
- ... here it comes ...
- ... a fine sunrise next to Ben Nevis and across the inversion along Loch Linnhe
There can be few better backdrops to breakfast – and flattened patches of grass near the tent suggested I hadn’t been
the only one spending the night there, reveling in being above it all. My hopes for an inversion were fulfilled – in buckets.
- The inversion blankets Glen Galmadale ...
- ... and west across Sunart
Although the tent was dripping with condensation, I wasn’t keen on waiting for the sun to dry it out. Climbing the southern slopes of Maol Odhar in the cool and pleasant early morning air was more important, before things warmed up too much.
It took barely twenty minutes to emerge on the edge of Coire nam Frithallt’s headwall – and what would have been the ideal original camping spot. Maybe I could have pushed myself that little bit more. Here was the spot to catch sunset over Sunart and still have the open aspect to the north east to catch the best of the sunrise. Another time, maybe.
- Cliffs of Maol Odhar from what would have been a perfect camping spot
Maol Odhar, with the air crash memorial and sundry scattered debris, was crossed and the gradual rise to Creach Bheinn tackled, passing with fascination the cluster of walls just below top. Putting a tent up quickly is one thing: having to construct a veritable fortress must have been another way back whenever.
- Summit cairn and monument on Maol Odhar
- Early morning light still displays its beauty above the skyline of Ben Nevis, the Mamores and the Glencoe hills from Maol Odhar
- The "camp" below Creach Bheinn looking out across Sunart
- Creach Bheinn - looking south
The inversion persisted, although it was clear that warm air was rising as the sun heated the cloud sheet below. As a result, there was a bit of a misty thrash while dropping into and emerging from the Cul Mhaim bealach, with occasional glimpses of the ridge above dispiritingly showing how far there was still to go.
- Clouds rise and spill over between Fuar Bheinn and Creach Bheinn as the day warms up
It was definitely getting hotter as I arrived on Fuar Bheinn, where a half hour rest and doze was welcome – complete with midge net on as the breeze wasn’t quite strong enough to keep them at bay.
- Looking back to Creach Bheinn from Fuar Bheinn - with Garbh Bheinn peeping out from behind
This was the point at which I had to decide: was I a horseshoe purist or not? With increasing heat, and the prospect of steep descent from Beinn na Cille, my knees opted out. I could see a feasible way that twisted down through the slopes, slabs and crags of Coire an t Seasglaich back to the glen. From above I thought I could see the track marked on the map that kept to the western bank of the river below. An easy trot back to the car I hoped.
- Peering down into Coire an t Seasglaich - a slightly tortuous descent
As wisps of cloud drifted around the tops I carefully made my way down.
After futile attempts to find the track seen from above I stumbled, bumbled and wandered from side to side of the river and finally found it as I reached the small reservoir.
- Back in the glen and a search for the track
I was full-circle and back at the car in time for lunch, and just as the last of my four litres of fluids ran out. I fell on the cool bag stashed with ice packs, drinks and sandwiches – and wondered how quickly I could get my hands on a Magnum.