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https://youtu.be/VUjJXJcwqPI?si=qrnucaVpGJ5DC0P9Weather was once again a deciding factor on this week's pick of hills. I had made up three options, all in the northwest, where the rain seemed to be largely absent and I presented these to Allison after I picked her up on Thursday. All Grahams. We could do a triple at Callops followed by a double that only Norman Grieve seemed to have tackled from the north...we could do An Stac and Meith Bheinn via Sgurr nan Coireachan or we could do a biggish loop of four plus a Corbett around Kinlochhourn. She initially favoured the An Stac option til she realised we'd have to walk into Corryhully bothy that night, and she wasn't really up for those dark kilometres. So I twisted her arm a little and drove towards Kinlochhourn.
There were four Grahams around Kinlochhourn that I wanted - Meall nan Eun and Slat Bheinn on the south side of the Loch, Druim Fada and Beinn Clachach on the north. Access is a little difficult, or at least time consuming. There is the option of coming in from Gleann Cosaidh at the end of Loch Cuiach but we'd been in there recently to do Ben Aden, and you'd need to go back out the same way or have an even longer walk than the one I'd in mind...A shorter option is to head down to Barisdale, do Slat Bheinn from Glen Barrisdale then steeply up Meall nan Eun and off the north side of that hill back to the track from Kinlochhourn to Barisdale, but that's a bit gnarly. So why not use the beautifully engineered stalkers' path up Sgurr nan Eugallt, grab a bonus 4th round Corbett and do Meall nan Eun from the bealach?
We headed along the lonely Loch Cuaich road in the dark, owls flapping whitely, deer sidling off the road. No cows on the road tonight, for which I was grateful. Reached Coireshubh before a rain shower started, pitched and settled down for the night. A stag or two yowling on the hillsides. Woke to a dry but overcast morning, windy. Rain didn't look far away. We packed stuff for the next three days, said adieu to the car and set off up the path to Sgurr nan Eugallt It really does make ascending easy. As we gained height, the wind became more ferocious, hitting us broadside as we left teh track and followed the line of fenceposts towards the summit. That path has become more distinct over the last few years, although we've done the hill at least twice in snow by my reckoning. A bit blowy at the trig, then over to the true summit before heading off the slopes to the west. Skye was clear on the horizon, Meall nan Eun looked a long way below us. Everything was coloured in shades of autumn rust, very pretty.
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View down to Meall nan Eun
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We paused for lunch in a semi-sheltered spot on the way down before reaching the bealach. The summit of Meall nan Eun is a bare 150m of re-ascent from here. Allison left her pack at the bealach, I kept mine on - I'm supposedly doing the Cape Wrath Trail later next month so really should get in some training for carrying a heavy pack again. Straightforward ascent, then a return to the bealach and the steep descent to the floor of the glen. I remembered this being very steep but I must have found an easier route down today - there are deer tracks - as it was alright. Across teh glen we could see Slat Bheinn, and refreshed our memory of the route up there.
Meall nan Eun
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Sgurr nan Eugallt
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Slat Bheinn
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The River Barrisdale was shallow and we crossed with dry boots. I had thought we might camp at the foot of Slat Bheinn, as we'd done once before, but the east wind was being channelled down the glen by the steep mountainsides and was worse here than higher up on the hills. That'll be a no then. Again, Allison left her pack and I chose to carry mine up - it's 550m of ascent from the river but there is something of a path, at least a deer-made one. It was about 3.30 when we set off and I reckoned we'd be about 2.5 hours, which should mean we'd get down in the light - head torches were taken just in case.
On Slat Bheinn, looking west towards Ladhar Bheinn
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The path that we used follows the obvious line up the shoulder - all I'd say is that on descent, make sure you choose the same shoulder to descend that you took up - there are three radiating from a central point at around 300m. The deer keep you right on the way up - some steepish sections following stream courses, but nothing too challenging. Summit reached about 5pm with plenty of daylight remaining. We came back down the way we'd gone up, more or less. I spied a couple of cold looking frogs - one who put his hands up over his eyes really slowly as I approached. Back on the glen floor we discussed what to do. It was still really windy and I reckoned we should head along towards Barrisdale and either pitch where we'd used once before, near Ambraigh, or try the bothy.
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We set off down the glen track, having to switch on the head torches after the twilight turned to darkness. At least I had fully charged torches this weekend! Turning the corner of the glen, it was still really windy, so the bothy became a much more attractive option. We'd not been in before - well other than to use the flushing toilet once when going past on the CWT - so neither of us had much idea of what it would be like. No sign of life from it or the adjacent buildings as we turned up at the door...no-one inside. And electric lights! Bright after being in the head torch lit world. One room with table and assorted cooking odds and ends, two rooms, each with three double bunks. Allison got the sleeping stuff sorted out whilst I made the Huel and we enjoyed a meal sitting at a table for once. Allison did a bit of a tidy, as is her wont. There's a crutch lying in the corner...whatever way you come in it's a bit of an ask if you need a crutch. We had a coffee and retired to bed, listening to a roaring stag outside and the wind roiling along the glen in waves of noise, creaking and rattling bits of the building. Yes, it was nice not to be out in a tent this night. Allison had seen someone with a head torch off on the other side of the river before we came in, and for a while we expected company, but no-one showed up.
Bothy by moonlight
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The bunks are excellent for banging your head on, which both of us managed to do, but overall it was a reasonable night. We lingered a bit too long in bed, somewhat dismayed by the continued wail of the wind, but eventually rose, breakfasted and set off. Today's plan was to walk out to Kinlochhourn then head up the Cadha Mor taking the footpath towards Arnisdale, via Ghleann Dubh Lochain and hopefully get Beinn Clachach climbed. I was quite keen to check the path up to Kinlochhourn in case I have to walk it by torchlight next month - there are some bits where a slip would have wet and serious consequences. As always, it's a bit of a struggle to keep gaining and losing height. On the plus side, the rhoddies near Kinlochhourn have been trimmed back since we were last through this way, so you don't have jungle warfare at the end of the track.
My intended route
We walked past the ever-expanding cafe (on its last day of opening for the year) and spoke to the owner who was fixing some fencing. Along through the "campsite" where there was one of those large teepee tents with a woodburner and up the steep climb past the estate houses. We were last here 6 weeks ago and collected some nice chanterelle mushrooms from the woods - none today. Further up the track then the split that heads depressingly down hill along towards Druim Fada. We'd previously climbed it from here, via Carn nan Caorach, which has a bad step, though this can be avoided apparently by following the south shore of Loch nan Caorach - we didn't fancy it with big packs and anyway I thought we might have a better chance of getting pitched out of the wind once we'd turned west into Ghleann Dubh Lochain. There was also the option of using a stalkers path into Coire nan Gobhar, maybe pitching high in the coire - but this would be fully exposed to the east wind and if we did climb Druim Fada today I was doubtful if we'd get down in the light - it's not a hill you want to be descending by torchlight.
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Sgritheall
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Ladhar Bheinn
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Eucalyptus berries
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Druim Fada
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We continued on, seeing more of our hard won metres of ascent being whittled away by a further drop into an admittedly pretty river valley. Despite the marching electricity pylons. We'd once been further up the glen, on the north side of Beinn Clachach, but this was new territory for us today. The river needed forded, again not a challenge today and we walked along under the eastern slopes of Clachach. It's easier climbed from here rather than continuing further along. A look at the watch confirmed it was too late to start an ascent now - it was about 4.30 and I knew it would take us about 2-2.5 hours to get up and down. So we looked for a spot to pitch, as sheltered from the wind as we could find, and eventually found a small pitch beside some trees that we hoped would proffer a little shelter.
Descent to Ghleann Dubh Lochain
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It was a long night - the clocks went back. Neither of us slept much, with the roaring of stags and the roaring of wind it wasn't especially peaceable. Occasional drizzly bits of rain. I determined we should make an effort to get started earlier today, if we were going to get the two hills done and get back at a reasonable hour. I'd sketched out an alternate route which might save a bit of time but also save on steepness going up Fada...one of the advantages of having OSMaps on your phone is that you can alter routes easily off line.
My amended, intended route
But first it was Clachach. We packed up but left the tent standing and headed up a still-steep, but not as ferociously steep as it could have been slope, thinly wooded with beech and birch. Lot of deer higher up. After about 450m the gradient eases and we were able to take a line to the rocky summit. Wind remained ferocious and - back in internet connection for the first time in a couple days - I checked the forecast, using Beinn Sgritheall as the nearest reference point. Wind increasing from current 49mph to 56, with gusts of 72. The prospect of a long, narrow-in-places ridge suddenly seemed less attractive. Whilst the wind was only bullying us about on Clachach, I knew it could be a different matter on Fada. Whilst not exactly a knife-edged ridge, I remembered it being narrow enough in places to be worried about the effect of such strong winds. We mulled this over on the way back down to the tent, having a good look up at Fada across the valley in the process. In the end I decided it was just too windy to safely head up there and we packed up and set off back out on the track we'd come in on yesterday.
Looking over to Fada from Clachach
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Choppy Loch Hourn
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This time we were walking against the wind, which remained strong, especially at the final rise before the drop through the woods to Kinlochhourn estate. As we walked by the campsite we noticed that a tree had blown over right where the teepee had been...there was no squashed human or tent debris, thankfully, but the person either had a lucky escape and the tree fell after they'd left, or they have a wrecked tent. Back up the road another mile to Coireshubh, past lovely moss-lined rocks and walls, to find the car waiting patiently. A longer than expected drive home, as the Erskine Bridge was closed and the diversion to the Clyde Tunnel was hampered by an accident or something that closed the road. And it now gets dark at about 5pm
