A Gorgeous Day in Glen Shiel

[HighlandTrekker]

After my last outing into the hills which was somewhat less than inspiring it was with some eagerness that I planned my next walk. And after seeing the weather report, the wife and I decided it was time to head back to Glen Shiel and attempt the 3 munros which we didn't do a couple of months earlier...(The reason we didn't do them was because I had forgotten the wife's walking boots)

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So it was, on Monday morning we headed over to Glen Shiel. The MWIS forecast said there was over 90% chance of cloud free munros and no real chance of rain.... Perfect day for walking then.....

Car Park

Parking at the parking space near Lundie we headed up the Old Military Road until we reached the transmitter and then took a right and started ascending straight away. It had not rained for a few days so the path was nice and dry.

Transmitter

There was a lot more cloud than the forecast had predicted but this was fortunately going to clear up by midday.

Our first views looking south

It only took a couple of hours and we were already at the summit of Carn Ghluasaid, seeing a couple of ptarmigan on the way.

Ptarmigan

Summit of Carn Ghluasaid

The cloud which was there had lifted for a while and the summit had some great views down into Gleann Fada and over to Glen Affric. A quick photo later and we continued over to the second summit of the day Sgurr nan Conbhairean.
There was a path which seemed to come and go but it wasn't hard going and it wasn't long before we were at our second summit. Unfortunately the cloud had really come in (This must have been the 10% chance of cloudy Munro summits).

The cloud coming in atop of Sgurr nan Conbhairean

We decided to have a quick bite to eat here. The summit cairn is quite big and you can sit inside it which was quite pleasant as the wind had started to pick up.

SUmmit cairn Sgurr nan Conbhairean

We sat here for a while and waited for the cloud to disperse which when it did left more great views. This was to be the last of the cloud and as we headed over to our final Munro of the day the sun was positively smiling down on us. The fleece was soon off and the sun cream out.
There is a path pretty much all the way to Sail Chaorainn, though in poor visibility I imagine it would be quite easy to get disorientated up here. Especially on the descent from Sgurr nan Conbhairean over to Sail Chaorainn.
When we finally reached Sail Chaorainn we were soaked through with sweat and here we stayed for nearly an hour just enjoying the views and the rare opportunity of getting a sun tan whilst atop a mountain.. There was another guy up there who had decided to go over to Carn na Coire Mheadhoin 'just in case they decide that, that one is higher than this one' he said.

Summit of Sail Chaorainn

Gorgeous view

More views

We really didn't want to leave but decided that it was time to head down. We made our way back over to Sgurr nan Conbhairean, we didn't go back to the summit but headed to the right of it and over to the southwest ridge, which is initially broad but soon narrows to a fine arete with the Gorm Lochan down to the right and Toll Easach to the left. We made our way down to Meall Breac. From here down to the road is quite steep and hard on the knees. Again we were lucky as there had not been much rain and the track down was quite dry but I should imagine it is a real nightmare in the wet.
The track leads you to the river next to the Old Military Road. We crossed the river here as it was a good place to wash our boots off. Deciding against walking along the military road we decided to walk back along the road and back to the car. Once back at the car we walked down to the loch and dipped our feet which was pure bliss
This was an absolute perfect day and has given me back the love of the hills which I felt was missing on my last outing.....

[monty]

Nice report Ho=ighlandtrekker,
So after starting of reasonable then

(This must have been the 10% chance of cloudy Munro summits)

the clouds cleared to give a fantastic day. Nice. Thats a nice walk but the weather makes it special.

[ChrisW]

Great report and some beautiful haze free photos

[LeithySuburbs]

It's a great walk this one . Some great pics here, enjoyed that . When I did these 3 last year it was similar weather - cloud clearing to give great views.