Two great days, two awful nights

[johnbythell]

I decided to keep trying with the bivi bag I recently bought, despite the inaugural very wet and cold camp on Ben Vorlich earlier this month, and try a two-day round of the nearby Crianlarich hills, but from Inverlochlarig. I had two good days out on the hills, but the nights were a soggy sleepless mess. Think I've given up on the idea of fast-light through-hikes with a bivi-bag - I'll go back to my Nordisk Svalbard tent and hope it'll forgive me for the brief fling with an OR Helium Bivi.

Here's the route:

Inverlochlarig 26 to 28 Aug 2022.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

Just after leaving the Inverlochlarig car park, the view up the farm track, with low cloud looking a bit threatening and definitely still damp from the last week or so.

Further up the Larig, definitely going to be wet underfoot!

Near the top of the farm track, the clouds starting to clear from Beinn Chabhair, the first stop on the tour.

Looking back down the track, clouds still moving in from the south

From the end of the track, I followed the line of new deer fence up and round into Coire a' Chuilinn. It was wet and boggy much of the way and my feet were wet by about half way up.

I crossed the Allt a' Chuilinn low down and followed the much older fence line for most of the way up.

From near the bealach, about 600 m looking back down the coire.

With my pack stached somewhere amongst those rocks at the bealach, I headed up the slopes to Beinn Chabhair. Looking back down with An Caisteal hidden in the cloud on the left and the lower slopes of Beinn a'Chroin on the right.

I got up to the ridgeline after another squelchy ascent up the path which petered out towards the top (or I just missed it). At first I started heading right towards this peak looming out of the cloud, which looked like the top, but soon realised it was behind me.

At the summit of Beinn Chabhair. Shortly after this it started to rain and of course I'd left my waterproof in the pack at the bealach so was pretty soaked by the time I made it back down.

After picking up the pack I made the traverse up to the Bealach Buidhe. I lost the path near the top but got to the bealach without too much difficulty and stashed the pack again for the climb up An Caisteal.

The path up the ridgeline to An Caisteal, with a bit of light scrambling along the way, which needed a bit of care in the wet clag, especially on the descent..

On An Caisteal, now more sensibly dressed in the waterproofs

By the time I got back to the pack I'd had enough for the day and it was getting on for 6 pm so I dropped down a little bit into the coire on the left to set up the bivi for the night. It rained in the night and what dry stuff I had left ended up wet by morning from the condensation in the bivi. Not my favourite experience sleeping out in the mountains and I didn't get a lot of sleep.

My campsite for the night after packing up in the morning - the weather looking better today.

An Caisteal looking less ominous without the cloud

And finally a good view of Beinn Chabhair

I took the airy path up the ridge to Beinn a' Chroin, with this step (looking down) needing special care in the wet. The corner looked slippery and sloping from below, so I took the route around the corner to the right (looking down), with much better holds but a drop to the abyss below. Definitely not a place to make a mistake.

The summit complex looking great in the morning sun. Definitely needed the GPS to tell which was the top amongst this lot

It wasn't this

Or this, though a lot of people think it is, judging by the size of the cairn

But this, according to my reckoning anyway, and who could be wrong with headgear like that?

The path down off the eastern peak (still not the top, but another big cairn) was wet and very slippery so I was glad to get down to the head of the Coire Earb with just two arse-slides on the way

Then I made the long and arduous ascent up the tussocky grass slope to the left of Stob Glas

It took a bit of careful route-picking to find my way safely across the traverse to the bealach between Cruach Ardrain and Beinn Tulaichean, where I stashed my pack again

Summit of Cruach Ardrain

After getting back down, I moved my pack a little bit further along the ridgeline to near the descent path and then headed up Beinn Tulaichean

With spectacular views from the summit

Looking down to Inverlochlarig and Loch Voil

I headed down the main path (Ben More and Stob Binnein in the background) but then veered off onto a minor path to the left for the second bivi

..which turned out to be just as wet and uncomfortable, though not as cold, as the first. Picture of the condensation which ended up soaking my sleeping bag for the second night running. Not impressed with bivi-ing, think I'll go back to my tent!

My second (and last) bivi site after packing up in the morning and not much sleep (again)

From there it was a short walk down to the farm track back down to the Rob Roy bothy and back to the car park

Spectacular views of Loch Doine on the road out of Inverlochlarig, it looked like Sunday was going to be a stunner. Was a bit jealous of all the parties setting out.

Two great days on the hills, but I think I'm going to give up on bivvying. Just too unpleasant to make up for the weight gains. Still a very fine experience, just wish I hadn't been awake for nearly all of it!