Cos; I'm Mistreating Corbetts

[aaquater]

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Funny how so far this year, I'd bagged 9 Munros, 7 Fionas, 7 Subs, but not a single Corbett. With the long dry period nearing its end, thunderstorms being forecast for the night already, the plan was to nip in just before and capitalise on the conditions to cross the Kingie, a feat said to be possible dryshod only in very dry weather. And to show I was being serious about getting started on Corbetts, I drew up an M1C4 round. Came up at 10 h according to Naismith - not easy by any means but should be doable, right?

Well, first of all, I had to get there, and driving along the Arkaig road was... an experience. I'd driven along Loch Quoich before, same difference, I thought. But no, Arkaig definitely felt wilder, with so much of the road drowning in foliage that I felt claustrophobic in a way. At least I didn't meet any other traffic.

It was also really hot from the get-go, explaining why a significant portion of the cars parked at the end of the road just had their owners by the loch

But the hills looked enticing. So far, I only had views to Sgurr Thuilm and co., though; the ones I was going for were still hidden

After a bend, there were now views to the first Corbett, Sgurr Cos na Breachd-laoidh. My first thought: That's so high and steep, it has to be Coireachan at least, right? But with Druim a'Chuirn coming into view, I realised what I was looking at, and that approaching the Corbett via the Top seemed doable

I'd wondered whether to tackle Sgurr Cos na Breachd-laoidh directly or from the right, over Druim a'Chuirn. The official route for the Corbett used one side for the ascent and the other for the descent. The former was shorter, but the latter was gentler, and had the advantage of a path for a bit. I'd been leaning towards the longer approach already; seeing them laid out in front of me only solidified that decision.

So I took the path through the bracken, ignoring the bracken-free space just 2 metres further W, and started ascending. It was certainly good to have a path, but as the terrain on my left started rising, I now think I left the path way too early, as though I couldn't wait for the grassy slog up Druim a'Chuirn.

'Slog,' I say. Objectively, it shouldn't have been. The slope wasn't so steep or overgrown, and hardly any bogs were encountered. But also objectively, I'll repeat that it was hot, and humid with the air of the approaching front. I'd lathered sunblock on my skin; it had begun mixing in with my sweat, running into my eyes and irritating them, so I was walking half-blind. In preparation for the heat, I'd left home with 5 litres of fluids in the backpack, and the extra weight was definitely noticeable and pulling my shoulders down. Still not a drop too much, though, as I'd down it all, and if I had another litre or two on me, they would've followed suit.

Looking back down, between one short break and another, the Glendessarry Lodge wasn't getting any more distant

While the summit of Fraoch Beinn was still miles above where I was standing - and yet it was mere 36 metres higher than Druim a'Chuirn

But the only option was to carry on uphill

That I've had easier ascents would be an understatement. Just two weeks prior, I'd run up the first hill in maybe 60% of Naismith time and spent the rest of the walk out of breath. I swore to myself not to repeat that mistake. So I was slow during that ascent, purposefully - if not for the fact that the snail's pace still felt on the limit. I reached Druim a'Chuirn maybe 20 minutes ahead of Naismith, and promptly collapsed on a rock for a much-needed break.

To be factually correct, it was the 815 m top I sat down on, the actual summit is by the right edge of this picture (with Sgurr Cos na Breachd-laoidh further on the left and Sgurr nan Coireachan between them)

While views to the Sgurr Mor - Sgurr an Fhuarain - Gairich ridge, not yet visited by me, opened up in front. The Sgurrs' status would be changing a few hours later, but Gairich would have to wait for a time when I park by the Quoich dam, as it was a bit too far to even think about including to this walk

The break also served to lift my spirits. Out of the 5 hills I was planning to bag, I gave up on Sgurr Mhurlagain shortly after leaving the path, but towards the end, I started having treacherous thoughts of calling it quits after Sgurr Cos na Breachd-laoidh. After a few minutes' rest, I was composed enough to go on as planned (though Mhurlagain still seemed a step too far). But first, I went to bag Druim a'Chuirn properly.

Then came the ridge leading to Sgurr Cos na Breachd-laoidh: a pleasant, occasionally-scrambly section. The first (and last) part of the walk that felt shorter than expected

From the Corbett summit, looking S

And NW; Sgurr nan Coireachan was irrelevant in terms of this walk, but An Eag would be my next target

And the drop to the col was steep. I ended up veering right without meaning to, so I had to correct myself to actually end up in the col. It was still a few hours too early to aim for Glen Kingie.

And then up An Eag. Again, looks like nothing much in the picture, but it felt seriously steep there and then

Sgurr nan Coireachan: a stone's throw away

But this was the ridge I was following next

And as shown in the picture, the ridge had a path. There was meant to be one from the 662 m col onwards, but as it turned out, it continued to An Eag. I wondered if that same path carried on for the rest of the ridge - to Sgurr na Ciche or maybe even Ben Aden.

More importantly, though, it led up Sgurr Beag in zig-zags. I knew if I had to do this without a path, I wouldn't have bothered with zig-zags, and went directly up the slope. I could also imagine vividly how much I would've struggled. With the path, though, Sgurr Beag was climbed relatively easily.

And as the clouds had started to come over, the Sgurr na Ciche ridge came into view

Fraoch Bheinn and Sgurr Mhurlagain: What was going to become of you two Corbetts?

Because I still had Sgurr Mor and Sgurr an Fhuarain to walk beforehand

And Sgurr Mor was what it said on the tin. The descent of Sgurr Beag had its steeper and technically more challenging parts, where I definitely appreciated having a path to follow. The ascent of Sgurr Mor mirrored that, but for twice as long. Once again, I don't want to know how tired I would've been if I'd had to climb Sgurr Mor without a path. Even with it, I reached the summit a few minutes ahead of Naismith - but by the time I got back up to leave it, having had lunch and another chance to rest, I was 20 minutes behind.

With scenery like this, sitting down to enjoy it for half an hour didn't feel too long at all

The path continued down Sgurr Mor, as well as up Sgurr an Fhuarain, a summit little extra effort away from the col

Even that little effort didn't seem that insignificant, though. Up at 900 m, it wasn't that hot, especially with the sun hidden behind the clouds coming in from the S a lot of the time. And the terrain was easy to walk - as it had been since An Eag, since the path had appeared. But I felt so drained, I dragged myself to the summit of Sgurr an Fhuarain, looked over at Fraoch Bheinn, and realised I couldn't fathom the thought of climbing up there that day. Another Corbett I was going to neglect, then.

The original plan: I'd drop down from Sgurr an Fhuarain, walk up Fraoch Bheinn from the right, descend it on the left, nip up Sgurr Mhurlagain, then return down to Loch Arkaig. Hahaha ha haha haha ha hahaha haha...

Gairich and lower Glen Kingie; the river there looked serious enough

Originally, I wanted to descend to Glen Kingie directly from the Sgurr an Fhuarain summit. Putting the state I was in into the equation, I followed the path back for a moment, until the slope became a little less steep, and only then turned left.

A little less - but the slope was still quite steep to descend. Grassy at the top, but towards the bottom, it was covered in a carpet of bracken. Not that high yet, fortunately; I wonder what it would be like in late summer / autumn.

Looking back at Sgurr an Fhuarain and the slope I'd come down. River Kingie, below, was in a pretty sorry state - but at the moment, being able to get across easily was appreciated

Fraoch Bheinn. I'd still be heading towards its NW shoulder, but not with the intention of climbing up anymore. Instead, I wanted to climb up... to the Feith a'Chicheanais col using the path marked to lead there from Kinbreak

It was the same path I'd taken from Glendessarry at the beginning. And I recognised its line running across the lower slopes of Fraoch Bheinn, thinking to myself I would find it between those three rocks. Well, later on, I had to watch my step, and lost sight of which three rocks I'd meant... But keeping to roughly the same line, I did find the path when I stepped on it, and turned right.

I'd thought the climb - at least 150 metres had to be regained from the river - would be the death of me. Surprisingly, the ascent felt okay; perhaps it was simply a welcome change from the 700-metre descent I'd just done. I didn't get any intrusive thoughts about actually climbing Fruach Bheinn in the end, though.

But the path itself... good and clear at one point, then disappearing a few metres later. Rinse and repeat. The col was full of places that looked to be extremely boggy normally. Then again, the Kingie would be hard to cross normally, so perhaps Sgurr Mor and Sgurr an Fhuarain, if approached from the Arkaig side, are only for really dry conditions

Once the path started descending to Glen Dessarry, it became stably good, and left all bogs (or bog remains) behind. But going down from Feith a'Chicheanais really was worse for my legs than going up towards it. So it was with great relief that I reached the track by Glendessarry Lodge. The forecast thunderstorms weren't speeding up ahead to arrive eariler than planned, either. Made it!

Not yet, of course. There was still the endless 2.5 km of track left to go. At least I had company on the way

So in the end, I bagged all the Munros/Fionas/Subs planned for the day, and only 50% of the Corbetts. Their mistreatment wasn't over, it appeared. And, do you know what's even better than starting the day with an Arkaig drive? Ending the day with an Arkaig drive, when you're exhausted from an 8-hour walk...

A/N: I know I sound lazy and whiny in this report. Such were the notes I made immediately after the walk, full of distaste for having to cut short the third walk in a row. But as I've mentioned, the hills themselves aren't that difficult, and the walks, be it the one I planned or the one I ended up doing, have the potential to be really lovely. Compared to the walk done 2 weeks earlier, similar in terms of distance, ascent, or time, I felt much more exhausted at the end, but was mostly okay the next day. (Which was a Sunday, so I could sleep in, but still.) The evening of the previous walk, I felt wide awake, but my legs protested against squatting for at least 3 more days. So this time, I wasn't just up against the hills. Because by the time they really became a factor, my stamina and mood had already lost against the heat and the humidity.