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Okay so this is my
very first walk report! Being a relative noobie at this hillwalking game perhaps I can massage your ego with my tales of burning legs, bloody blisters, navigational mishaps!
Anyway. I’ve committed to completing the Three Peaks Challenge (for charity, donations welcome!) in June, and figured it was probably about time I started some real training. I’ve climbed a few Munros but so far I’ve never felt like I’d really found my limits, so I had the bright idea of planning a day out that would be a real challenge for me. I browsed some potential targets within the 2 hour radius of Glasgow and settled on Steven Fallon’s circuit of the Bridge of Orchy 5. I don’t know who Steven Fallon is, but it's a nice trustworthy name so I was sure he’d steer me right. At 28km and 2500m ascent it would definitely be a challenge but probably just about manageable.
With Monday booked off work I was able to enjoy a normal Saturday and Sunday. Over the last few weeks I’ve been slowly trying to break-in my new Scarpa R-Evo GTXs which replaced my old Mammut boots which finally gave up on Ben More a few weeks ago. The breaking in had been going okay so far, but a real test arrived on Sunday where I met my Dad on Loch Lomond side for a “gentle stroll”. The gentle stroll turned into us speed marching the 11km from Rowerdennan down to Balmaha for a pub lunch. A good test for my new boots? Probably. An awful idea the day before a big day out in the hills? Definitely. I arrived at the Oak Tree Inn for lunch with some beautiful shiney blisters on my heels. Sorry for anyone who was trying to eat their lunch while I was loudly showing off my feet to my concerned fiancée.
0545 on Monday morning arrived quickly. Quick breakfast of porridge, banana, strawberries and coffee for me, and 6 scoops of Wag with three slices of ham for Nessie. After a mini fuel crisis of my own making (very low fuel > no wallet > brainwave of buying some using Google Pay on my phone) I was parked up at Bridge Of Orchy station by about 0900 ready to start. As I started the ascent up to Beinn Dorain visibility dropped to <500m and I was regretting getting out of bed.
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- Regretting getting out of bed.
The push to Beinn Dorain was fairly straight-forward and I arrived on the summit about half an hour ahead of schedule, woohoo! I shared the summit with a nice lady and her little Westie, Baxter. I hung around long enough to snap some pictures and stuff a trail bar and an apple into my face, and a dentastix into Nessie's.
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- Nessie enjoying the views from the top.
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- Such great views!
From here I had to begin the lonnng traverse across towards Mhanach. The visibility was still basically zero so I kept a close eye on the GPS while trying not to twist my ankle on the pathless descent down the scree of Meall Garbh. The clouds parted as I descended, and you might be able to see from my route that I got a teeny bit distracted and descended about 100m into the wrong glen. Still though, I got some nice photies.
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- Looking south towards Allt Kinglass AKA THE WRONG WAY
By the time I'd corrected my navigational booboo I was about an hour behind schedule.
I also knew crossing the allt coire a'Ghathalach would be difficult due to the recent heavy rainfall, so I had to delay myself even further by aiming off and crossing higher up the glen where I hoped it'd be narrower. By the time I crossed the river and contoured all the way round to the foot of Beinn a'Chuirn I was feeling pretty miserable. My GTX's had somehow become waterlogged and the blisters from yesterday's gentle stroll were trying to kill me. I was starting to consider the possibility that I'd bitten off more than I could chew!
Just beyond the ford at the foot of Beinn a'Chuirn I decided to pause for some food and to survey the damage to my heels. I lanced, cleaned, and re-patched up my blisters, had a couple of ibuprofen for the pain and rung out my socks. I also cracked open my emergency 500ml of Irn Bru and stuffed 2 trail bars, 2 packets of hula hoops and a Peperami into my big sweaty face. Energised, hydrated, and mildly sedated, I was ready for the push onto the next summit. It was a bit of a slog, and was punctuated with a couple of small slips thanks to Nessie catching sight of mountain hares and pulling me over, but I finally reached Beinn Mhanach summit about an hour behind schedule.
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- Beinn Mhanach summit
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- Beinn Mhanach summit
I was keen to try to make up some lost time so from here I pushed on right across towards Meall Buidhe, trying to keep as far west as reasonable to avoid needless height loss. The stomp up to the top was tough going. By this point my legs were burning and I was having to take breaks every few minutes on the inclines. It was around this time that I came to the conclusion that Steven Fallon is in fact a sadist. He hates me and wants to see me suffer. Why did I ever trust this faceless stranger from the Internet.
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- Looking east down Gleann Cailiche.
After a brief pause for a ham and mustard sandwich and a pork pie I managed the final push to Beinn a'Chreachain. Still about 45 minutes behind schedule but at least I wasn't getting slower! At the summit I was rewarded with an encounter with what I believed to be 2 corn crakes (please correct me if I'm wrong!).
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- Corn Crake?
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- Beinn a'Chreachain summit, munro number 3 of the day.
The views from the top of a'Chreachain were sublime. I could see right across Rannoch Moor to Loch Laidon and Rannoch Station.
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- I asked my now-fiancée to marry me almost 2 years ago on the top of one of those little brown lumps!
From here I felt like it should be plain sailing, I'd just be hopping summits and ridges all the way back to Bridge Of Orchy. The map suggested that I wouldn't have to dip below ~700m to achieve the last 2 summits. Hurrah! Spirits lifted by the corn crake (??) sighting and the end coming into view I practically skipped back along to Meall Buidhe. Beinn Achaladair looked more incredible and more daunting the closer I got.
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- Nessie sizing up Achaladair
As I skipped towards my next challenge I took the opportunity to top up on ibuprofen and shovel 100g of dried fruit and nuts down the hatch in preparation for the approaching trial. By the time I was at Bealach an Aoghlain I was full-on dreading the climb up what looked like a 50 to 60 degree gradient. I paused at the bottom for another swig of Irn Bru and a couple of squares of dark chocolate I'd brought as a special reward to have if I was still alive at this point.
To my surprise I blasted up the 200m of Achaladairs eastern face with basically no issues. Maybe it was the irn bru? Maybe it was the nuts? Maybe being on a path again? Maybe the chocolate? Maybe the several kilos of trial bars I'd consumed by this point? Who knows.
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- Beinn Achaladair, forth summit of the day, probably my favourite mountain of the range.
Mood and attitude lifted even further by my relative success on the second last summit I floated along the beautiful ridge towards Dothaidh. The finishing line was in sight! The sun was out again! The views were incredible! I was feeling positive, strong, energised. What was I moaning about before? Blisters? What blisters? I can't even feel my feet. I am the conqueror of unconquerable, I bend all to my will, I am the mountain man! Hear me roar!
To make the rucksack lighter for the final ascent I scoffed the last of the chocolate, the trail bars, the Irn Bru, and most of my remaining water. I know obviously I'll still be carrying the same amount of food to the top, just with some of it in my belly instead, but I dunno, it feels like it helps.
Almost immediately the new ascent had me doubled over with hands on my knees trying to catch my breath. I was off-path again, the ground was boggy and slippy, and it had started to rain. I am mountain man! Hear me wheeze! I re-evaluated. Maybe I'm dehydrated? I filled up my old trusty life straw bottle from a nearby puddle and sooked down about 300ml of water. Better? Nope still knackered. Oh well, time to adapt.
I'd read other walk reports that spoke of step counting when really struggling with an ascent. Let's give it a go. With small bursts of 20 - 40 steps a time, with a few minutes break between them (mostly spent wheezing and swearing) I was able to slowly crawl to the summit.
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- Beinn an Dothaidh, fifth and final summit of the day.
Victory! Selfie taken, check-in texts sent to concerned relatives, and I was on my way down. Down! Down all the way! I couldn't believe my luck. The trip back down to the car was surprisingly slow and tough going, but the sun came out again and made the damp ground shimmer.
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- 'God rays' shining down on Bridge of Orchy.
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- Looking south east back up towards Beinn Dorain
By the time I made it back to the car I was a dead man walking. I set out to find my limits and I think it's safe to say that I found it! My arrival at the car happened to coincide with a drop in sunshine and a small midgie eruption, which is exactly what you want when you're exhausted, sweaty, and trying to towel down an impressively energetic but mud-caked dog. I sustained some minor bites to my arms and was very thankful it wasn't later on in the year which could have resulted in a proper fogging!
After some brief blister doctoring in the backseat I was on my way back to Glasgow, stopping in at Tyndrum for a new pair of socks and a compeed resupply. I made it home by about 2230, which made it about 15 hours out of the house in total.
It was a great day out and in the end I did it in almost exactly 11hrs which is actually slightly quicker than I was expecting. Despite really struggling with the final hill I surprised myself and learnt a lot about my fitness and general ability in the hills. Without being already tired from the day before, or having blisters to treat, or the navigational error I think I'd have come in much quicker, which is a reassuring thought.
If you enjoyed this report then please do consider throwing a few quid towards my 3 Peaks Fundraiser. We're raising money for the fantastic Maggies Centres who provided my Mum, and our family, with great support and advice after her cancer diagnosis in 2019. Our 3 Peaks Walk will be to mark exactly 1 year since we lost her. You can read more about her on the GoFundMe page.
Thanks for reading!
The route I planned...
The route I did...
