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North Glen Lochay 2 High CampSaturday the 24th of September 2022 was a gloriously sunny day in Glen Lochay. As it happened, this turned out to be my last outing in the hills for 2022, a good way to end the year! I had only managed to get out 10 times reaching 14 new Munros, although in 2017 I got out 11 times and managed 33, so I appear to be enjoying a period of the solitary ones.
I arrived at the end of Glen Lochay by 10am with a slow puncture and the carpark full to the brim. Passing places were now being used as makeshift carparks, which made trying to return down the glen a bit of a faff. Nevertheless, I managed to get turned and found a superb spot an extra 700m east to safely abandon the car. Decided the tyre could be a problem for Sunday.
My spot
Blue sky day
Unfortunately, the Sunday forecast didn’t look great; damp, windy, cold, and 0% chance of cloud free. Even with this, as it was already September and I had only managed one other camp throughout the 2022 I was desperate to get out with the tent and the first solo camp in way too long!
I set off at leisurely pace and within a couple of kilometres had crossed through the various gates and cattlegrids to reach the point where I would leave the main road and head west for the next five to six kilometres.
Just as I reached the junction, I met a couple with their dog, Jess. They had come up in their van from England / Wales and had parked overnight on the road up to Loch Lyon and were querying if the gates down to Glen Lochay were locked – I hadn’t a clue, but it turned out they were also doing Creag Mhor and Beinn Heasgarnich, just as a day walk.
I joined them and walked along the landrover track. The chat was great, it’s always interesting to hear other people’s hill stories, but the pace was insane – well beyond my normal! Never one to rush.
By the time we began heading uphill I noticed I hadn’t stopped once (hence the lack of photos), and decided I was going to stop for a bite to eat, but mainly to let them rocket on allowing me to slow the pace. A good decision.
Also, the weight of an overnight pack slows you down a bit…
Annoyingly my camera was playing up, so I decided to get to the 820m of Sron nan Eun have a proper lunch stop and try rectifying the camera. Seemed to be that the lens wasn’t being recognised.
Disengage and re-engage did the trick, all working now
View up towards Creag Mhor
I thoroughly enjoyed the final stretch up to Creag Mhor at a now more manageable and leisurely pace. It was still only 2pm when I had reached the summit, so I had many hours before dark. I spent an extended period on the summit taking in the views and hoovering up some snacks. Since completing this walk, nearing ever closer to finishing my first round(…), I decided to add in the Tops, so I look forward to returning to Stob Na Clach, although that will prove a long walk in from any direction!
Summit views – indeed a satisfying viewpoint!
Descending to the peat bogs offered many opportunities to top up the water supply. I wasn’t sure exactly where I was planning on pitching the tent, but I liked the idea of near the summit of Beinn Heasgarnich which wouldn’t offer much water. I did the classic of consuming as much water as I could, filled up existing bottles and assumed that would be more than adequate.
Lower down the peat bog itself turned into a bit of a navigational maze, not anything difficult just slowly trying to find the right route with solid ground.
Descending
Inches away from being at the bottle of Sron Tairbh – knee deep bog!
This one took quite a bit of effort to get out.
Looking back 
The ascent of Sron Tairbh was steep but there was a path which made a world of difference in comparison to the descent from Creag Mhor. Surprisingly by now even in my slow and steady state I was beginning to pass people who has sped passed me earlier in the day – goes to show slow and steady wins the race.
The final section towards Beinn Heasgarnich was super easy going and I spent most of the final kilometre or so trying to scout out any possibly spots to pitch the tent that would maybe be slightly out of the increasing wind.
Route to the summit
Summit views – notice the encroaching rain!
The rain on the horizon rushed my tent location decision, but I decided a spot at about the 1041m marker would work as good as any.
Nearing 5pm – still a lot of day light remaining
Plenty of neighbouring mushrooms
Getting some dinner boiled up
After a warm meal I decided to have a mini one-hour afternoon nap before waking for the sunset. Sadly, when my alarm went off the clouds had come in and it just slowly got dark rather than the epic sunset that one hopes for. I had carried my tripod in so decided it best to get up just after midnight when I’d get the best chance of clear skies before the worst of the weather swept in for the morning.
I really didn’t get a great amount of sleep as the wind was slapping the tent against my face all evening. Any gentle pauses in the wind I would nearly drift off before another gust began battering the tent. All in the name of fun!
When my alarm went off at midnight, I was in the deepest sleep I had managed to conjure up all night – classic. Although some time has passed from walking to writing this, I do vividly remember being exceptional close to just staying in the warmth of my sleeping bag. It would easily have been close to zero outside, so it was a bit of a challenge.
Behind the scenes
Annoyingly cloud cover was just a bit too much so only stayed out for a few relatively unsuccessful photos
Proper astrophotography is almost certainly an area I will try and focus on more after I’ve finished this round of Munros. The extra weight and equipment make it a bit of a faff when it’s only a sub aspect of the trip, and little guarantee on the success.
I set my alarm for six and got a few more hours of wildly interrupted sleep. When I opened the door, it was clear the camera would be going straight in the bag and it would be a case of trying to get back to the car as quickly as possible. It was very miserable up there!
Bit of early morning frost – still windy
I battled to get the tent down quickly and decided against another summit of Beinn Heasgarnich so in near zero visibility took a bearing that would get me down to Coire Ban Mor and followed the arrow.
Red in the bed, wishing I was still in bed!
The route down through the turbo bogs were an absolutely slog on tired legs and brain. Coming across an unexpected although muddy landrover track was an absolute joy to behold.
Road in sight!
I hadn’t bothered with coffee in the tent, but as it was nice and calm down by the road, I decided to brew one up – much needed
Downhill from here
The tar section of road was a bit of a slog but before long I had covered the six kilometres and had arrived at the very empty carpark! Two ladies were setting off on a planned hike and bike outing – truth be told I wasn’t sure how much benefit you’d get from a bike as you would need to leave it early on or compose an alternative route. I appeared to give them quite a fright, I don’t think they had expected to see anyone coming down off the hills and proceed to proclaim my insanity. The things we do for fun, indeed.
The final (extra!) 700m to the car were long, I pumped up the tyre and battered straight home without any stops.
For some reason, I had avoided these two hills and lumped them in the “less than exciting pile”. As it turned out they provided a great overnighter all things considered. The views, particularly from Creag Mhor are well worth the trip in alone. I would say I enjoyed them slightly more than their southern Glen Lochay Munros, but it’s amazing what an overnight does to enhance the experience, something very few seem to enjoy (I’ve probably not sold it very well…). Just about 24 hours in the hills, what more could you ask for!
Anyway, thanks for reading
Andy
Note: vowed to catch-up on overdue Walk Report by the end of March 2024... 
