Ghastly error gives a big challenge!!!

[PathfinderPaul]

Luinne Beinn 2022.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

In some ways I am reluctant to write this post as it’s so embarrassing And if you read on you will see why!!!!!
I got off to a great start with a quiet crossing on the ferry
B9B8ECBD-B13A-4F35-BDA7-AB3C2E98E524 by Paul Howard, on Flickr
CA2ABD57-4192-4176-9632-5216CD557484 by Paul Howard, on Flickr
I enjoyed a sunny walk through the village to drop off some of my gear at the Bunkhouse. I soon made progress to meet vehicles building a new track, no doubt for a hydro scheme. I saw in the distance a herd of Highland cattle in the broken, later they would be an obstacle
20B81B72-1471-405D-A54A-1A94CEB7A4B2 by Paul Howard, on Flickr
4EE1296F-90FC-41ED-8DC7-16F32095F31E by Paul Howard, on Flickr
I then took the branched path up the Gleann Meadail ,
55A7C7DD-3911-4886-AC38-661124F72214 by Paul Howard, on Flickr
ACAF3850-09C2-4B0A-A056-74BA62FF6094 by Paul Howard, on Flickr

D7521441-D290-4D49-ABE8-2AE183041DA2 by Paul Howard, on Flickr

9C3F48B3-AA84-48E3-996E-348B6D360BDF by Paul Howard, on Flickr

across the little bridge over the burn and was relieved that I did find a path through the broken, which hadn’t reached full height

D03F60A8-16F5-41CA-A5CD-D61EEA2768C1 by Paul Howard, on Flickr
Good visibility so far for some views:

:F0D49868-3429-40CB-9988-A26E0056A39B by Paul Howard, on Flickr

8E91AEAE-7116-4577-A0B7-F06AD64F404E by Paul Howard, on Flickr
As I reached the shoulder of the mountain I saw the cloud base was about 2000 ft.
Now to enter the cloud
8DC6F183-6283-4D04-95D0-8657F63C104F by Paul Howard, on Flickr
Last look back before the cloud.

90678094-EA11-45F0-8FEA-F28D1CE9BE71 by Paul Howard, on Flickr

Near the summit I met a couple coming towards me from the summit. I asked what route they were doing? They said they were only doing this hill & it was the man’s final Munro, as he had done Luinne Beinn on another trip in a previous year. I plodded onto the summit through the cloud & took the obligatory summit shot

870ABB39-BDAD-4C02-B816-B1706FA2C9AE by Paul Howard, on Flickr
& here’s my mug shot, to prove to myself I did it

04A6D956-6058-4C21-92C7-0D3A1E6728FD by Paul Howard, on Flickr
Having come down off the summit I decided to have some lunch & just sat on a rock, not much to see because of the cloud. After about 20 mins I got up looked at the GPS screen & set off. It was a short climb & then a lot of downhill which surprised me
Then I came out of the cloud & realised the problem

F7E2F621-9226-4C9E-9576-CC6EDAB24D78 by Paul Howard, on Flickr
I looked at the GPS screen I could see my own track!! When I got up after lunch I had gone the wrong way Retracing my steps & I was now near the end of the ridge I had come up earlier. How could I have made such a stupid error?????? The next two pictures tell the story , the first is the screen I had been using , with no compass showing the direction of the route , just the line of the Route. So when I got up after lunch I didn’t realise I was going the wrong way! I should of course have checked the map & compass anyway I had this screen to see as much as possible of the route.

3D3A9EBE-B75C-477E-BAD7-A4081AEDABD2 by Paul Howard, on Flickr

A safer option would have been the second screen with the compass showing , giving the clear direction of travel.

514D1703-E169-49F6-8909-7281031094EB by Paul Howard, on Flickr
Now was decision time as it was 13:25??? Should I simply abandon the route & take the ferry back & forget the other Munro? But would I ever come back to do it???? Or should I reclimb the first Munro and continue or was their another way. I studied the map & asked for help from a “Higher Power” ! One answer was that I could go down the opposite side of the ridge into the Gleann an Dubh-Lochain? But could a safe way down be found???? Having studied the map again their was stream gulley which offered the only possibility , but risky!!!! (Please don’t attempt this) and follow an old fool!!!! Because that’s what I did!!!!!
D4BC9B61-210C-4113-A59A-E781BE80753F by Paul Howard, on Flickr
It doesn’t look too bad on this picture the stream was pretty dry , so okay. But lower down the moss covered boulders as I got into the trees were hard work. Eventually I reached the plain by the loch and was able to move more quickly to the other side of loch where there was a little bridge over the burn & I was able to reach the main track that comes down from Barrisdale Bay.
73E72B8F-28B7-4A64-9299-73FE2A395F42 by Paul Howard, on Flickr
I had to get a move on if I wanted to be back to the bunkhouse before dark, even in June
I made good use of my poles and did some Nordic walking on the track to improve my time. Here is one picture looking back towards the coast.
C2C12C29-BC7D-48C6-96C5-894FBC27A25C by Paul Howard, on Flickr
The cloud base was still low , but as I went up it began to lift higher.
EEC57019-3BD3-4ADD-924D-D3386F34904F by Paul Howard, on Flickr
I tried not to go too fast as I got onto the mountain, as that’s when accidents can happen, I left my bag on the main trail when I branched off.

3C27BD38-1910-4AE9-8BC0-45B7BA4DDCCE by Paul Howard, on Flickr
Great to eventually reach the second summit after such a day at 18:45

1CBDBA04-ABD7-4BF5-9590-CD72FCDA70BD by Paul Howard, on Flickr
As I came down I began to get some views as the cloud lifted completely.

65CA7609-335D-435B-A4BE-7A77F9CB3615 by Paul Howard, on Flickr

32C997B9-A5E5-440C-BF0E-0AC0C207E474 by Paul Howard, on Flickr
I got a great view of the mountain

CB080443-715E-43B5-9FED-BA319CE22724 by Paul Howard, on Flickr
It was a long walk back at that time of day and eventually I encountered the highland cattle and they wouldn’t budge from the trail as they had food!!!!! There were deer amongst them too.Eventually I arrived at the bunkhouse at 10:25!!!!!!

[1Magnus]

Well done for writing this up. Not to worry - we've all done things like that! And at the end of June, you had a lot of daylight left to correct your error.

A great walk report to read also for younger hillwalkers. (Churchill once said that it's important to make those errors early in life from which one can learn...)

[PathfinderPaul]

Thanks Magnus👍👍 Yet you should have learnt these lessons before you pass 70