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Tues 24 Aug -- Wed 25 AugA good forecast and rest days finally aligned, and Jimmy and I made plans to meet at my house for a couple of days of Corbett bagging. He’d announced, on the day he compleated the Munros—after insisting for months that whilst he’d still come to Scotland to accompany me, he had no intention of doing all of the Corbetts—that he’d now set his sights on finishing a new list.
I still had the pair in Glen Lyon—with an optional Graham in the middle—on my to-do list. I also still have a few new ones to do in Glencoe as well, but that seemed like a lot of summer/tourist driving on back-to-back days, so we’d agreed to do the Glen Lyon ones first, and see how we felt after that before deciding what to tackle the second day.
Tues 24 Aug
Corbetts: Cam Chreag, Beinn Dearg
8 hrs / 21.26km / 1259m It is SUCH a long drive to Glen Lyon! I’d thought it was much shorter from the south than from Inverness, but when I popped both destinations into google map, it showed the exact same time—2h:17m—from either. That was a surprise!
We made an early start, setting off from the house a bit before 6am. At least there was very little traffic, although we were stuck behind a truck-with-trailer not long after we turned onto the Ben Lawers NR road. Then we met a tractor hauling a huge trailer-load of timber—seriously, who are the bright sparks that made the decision that this road is appropriate, and safe, for such heavy-industry endeavours?
We set off walking just before 8am, after having changed into our boots in the car due to The Midge.
ach, like the age-old debate of sun cream first or insect repellent, midge net first or glasses?
Although it was foggy, it was due to be quite hot, and we figured that the mist would burn off quickly. Up the track we marched, still fully intending on doing the malky_c / rockhopper (I forget who went first) route that included the Graham Meall a’Mhuic. We were soon above the cloud, enjoying seeing the surrounding hills--Ben Lawers and co, including the Tarmachan Ridge, plus some of the other Glen Lyon hills--poking their summits above the clouds.
oooh, lookie, we just might be in for something special!
It was a steep and slow slog up the hill once we left the track. There was no wind, and we hoped that there’d be at least a bit of a breeze once we reached the ridge. There wasn’t, really, but we at least then had a further view, back to the Crianlarich hills, the Tyndrum hills (I think), and various others, all the way to Ben Nevis, nearly always distinctive and identifiable from most directions.
We spent some time on the summit, enjoying the view, having a bite to eat, and cooling off. There, the temp was just about perfect, there was a light breeze, and I don’t remember any obnoxious swarming flying creatures.
I thought we’d be carrying on along the ridge from the summit, but the route map pointed us back to the track, and ascending the Graham from there. We took another break in the “bothy” (corrugated metal shed) that’s just along the track. Closer inspection of the route showed that the hill we’d looked upon from the summit of Cam Chreag was NOT the Graham, and that there was, in fact, well more than 200m of descent/ascent between that hill and the Graham. Plus the >300m between the Graham and the second Corbett. Given the rising temp, it didn’t seem like a very pleasant option, and we agreed to give the Graham a miss.
We returned along the track, and took a left onto another track when we were still about a km from the car park. We forded the river without any problem, then headed up steeply through the forest, which offered at least a bit of shade from time to time.
we hadn't seen any of this on the way up, as we'd been in the clag
I wasn’t feeling great by this time, and the heat was really getting to me. My steps got tinier and tinier, and I was stopping frequently. Progress was slooooooooow. Then came the plague of the black flies. They don’t bite, but … ugh. Even once we’d exited the forest and left the track, the open hillside didn’t offer much relief. I was hatin’ life.
We finally reached the top. The view was spectacular, but the flies, joined now by flying ants and midges (hooray!!) made sitting and relaxing impossible, although we did both lie back for a short while, trying to cool off, covering our faces with buffs and hats.
the nearest hill of the Glen Lyon 4 round
Lawers range
It was a cross-country stomp over rough ground and through deep heather to return to the track. Finally, a slow and steady descent through the afternoon heat that had become even more oppressive. I’d left a flask of ice water in the car, and it was welcome (understatement).
The drive home was long and slow; we met another, or perhaps the same, tractor-hauling-timber-trailer, and this time was forced to reverse a fair old distance into a passing place. The wall of traffic along the bottom half of Loch Lomond wasn’t surprising, but it wasn’t welcome, either. It was a long, hot, exhausting day; NOT one that will live (fondly, at least) in memory.
Wed 25 Aug
Corbetts: Ben Donich, Beinn an Lochain
7¾ hrs / 12.28km / 1269m I wasn’t exactly excited about this outing. I’m not keen on the Arrochar Alps to begin with, and it was going to be stinkin’ hot again, and mostly wind-less. The crawly creatures would again be out in force, and homeward-bound traffic was again bound to be a nightmare. There wasn’t much to look forward to.
But I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the day. I felt much better than the day before, and although I think the temperature was comparable, it didn’t seem to have nearly the same detrimental effect. On me, anyway.
Plan A, after agreeing over dinner the night before that a foray to Glencoe was just too daunting, was The Cobbler and Ben nan Imirean, although I’d told Jimmy that I thought I’d heard or read somewhere that the small parking spot just below the Rest and Be Thankful had been taken over by the ongoing roadworks. So we were armed with a Plan B as well. All of these hills would be repeats for me, but Jimmy had only done a couple in the area, so we had a good deal of flexibility.
The car park was coned off, so we carried on a bit further, and parked up just past the Rest and Be Thankful car park on the Lochgoilhead road. Ben Donich was our first target, to be followed by a rest and brief drive in the car, to Beinn an Lochain.
There’s not much to say about these, really. Both are short in distance, and of similar terrain, alternately boggy and rough. You’re either going up or down, and there’s not much in between. It was hot, and progress was slow. I was relieved to be feeling better, and there were good views to lots of surrounding hills.
We’d set off for Ben Donich quite early—before 8am, I think—and we saw no one until we were nearly back to the car park. The summit was pleasant, temp-wise, and we spent a short time there wondering if the Cobbler would have been heaving, and pointing out the other various Corbetts for which J is still to sample the delights.
view across to our second target, Beinn an Lochain, and over Loch Restil
L to R: Ben nan Imirean, Ben Ime, the Cobbler
the rocks by the scrambly bit
The laybys for Beinn an Lochain were both significantly busier, and we thought we might be joining a queue for the ascent. But other than one couple that we kept leapfrogging, and a couple of other singletons on their way down, this hill wasn’t very busy, either; a surprise for a nice day still during the (English) school holidays. Beinn an Lochain is a bit rougher climb than Ben Donich; there are a few more places where hands, and bum shuffles on the way down, are needed. Its summit wasn’t nearly as pleasant, with flying ants swarming around both cairns, and we didn’t spend much time there before beating a hasty retreat to escape them.
looking down Glen Kinglass
looking across to Ben Ime
approaching the summit
(I didn't take very many photos; J was carrying my camera, plus it was sooooo hot, and the flying ants (flants) all put me off...)
We’d both run out of liquid by the time we returned to the car, and once again, the flask of ice water I’d left tasted better than probably anything else—bar a frosty beer, perhaps—could have possibly.
Thus endeth two long days in southern parts. I’m knackered! But I’m happy to have Glen Lyon mostly tidied up.
