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Another pretty good weekend for weather, snow still on the hills. Didn't get away til Friday morning, and had various ideas to do the three Grahams at Callops then maybe three down at Glen Gour. I'd packed my overnight gear in a rucksack I'd never used for carrying a big load - a winter Osprey Mutant 52, which is great for carrying axes & crampons safely. I've used it for single winter days when we've needed a lot of kit, but not with the extra weight of tent etc. Allison had bought a new sack, a Mammut Ducan Spine which she was trying out in anticipation of our upcoming HebWay walk later in the spring. As it transpired, neither of us was entirely happy with our rucksack choices.
Stob Mhic Beathain is very close to the more northern two Grahams at Callops, but separated by a big drop in height and a river. Previously we've done it as a stand-alone from Callops or a southern approach from Glen Scaddle, with other hills. Today we were aiming to combine the three Grahams with an overnighter in the middle. The drive up was fine and we reached Callops sometime just after 11am. In my mind I had thought that we might go over Glas Bheinn and Meall nan Damh, pitch near the river and maybe get up and down Mhic Bheathain late in the day. Sometimes my mind and my body are so out of sync that it's laughable, as was the case today. We set off along the track, Allison finding her new bag not quite as comfortable as she had trying it out in the house. I found that mine was heavier than I'd expected (a heavier bag than the other two I normally use for overnighting, plus poorer weight distribution...or I\d just packed it badly). Anyway it was pressing on the bony aspect of my sacrum, something I fixed by shoving my foam sit mat down the back of my trousers...
Another day of sun & snow
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Al, on Flickr
We stoped for lunch before we'd even crossed the footbridge into the trees, then squelched around a bit in the forestry, crossing the stream at the little dam. There's a gap in the deer fence and it's uphill from then on, over short grass and heather. We were both really struggling - although we've been out with big packs recently, we haven't really been climbing hills with them on, usually pitching lower down and going up with no- or a lighter pack. This was tough! Therefore it took us a small eternity to gain the summit of Glas Bheinn, some three hours. There was no way we'd be going up Mhic Bheathain tonight! There were some good views of snow clad mountains in every direction, especially The Ben and the Mamores. We wandered down the southern shoulder then climbed to the 600m spot at the eastern end of Meall nan Damh where we left the sacks and nipped up to the summit of our second Graham. We returned to the packs and set off down the flank of the hill towards the river, looking for any suitable camp spot. To be honest, there isn't much round here, lots of heathery tussocks and nothing by the river itself - in contrast to the lovely spots further east along the Cona Glen. Anyway we found a "good enough" pitch some way above the track and got pitched as the sun was setting, a fiery sky over our wee tent.
Glas Bheinn in the distance
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Meall nan Damh
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Al, on Flickr
Mhic Bheathain
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
I was really tired and nearly fell asleep straight after tea while Allison was doing her brain training. Had a peaceful night and really didn't want to get up early the next morning. Possibly the comfiest night I've had in the tent for ages. This made me think it might be a good idea to have another night where we were. My original plan was to head straight up Mhic Bheathain then go back along the track to the car and head for somewhere else. However I didn't think either of us had the legs for another circuit of three Grahams, as it would probably be late-ish afternoon before we got back to the car. Instead, knowing Allison needed Druim Tarsuinn I concocted an idea to walk west along the glen and return over the full ridge linking that Corbett with our Graham. OSMaps suggested it was around 16k with 1000m ascent - should make a pleasant day out.
We set off west, on track initially then following deer paths alongside the upper reaches of the Cona River. The righthand side of the valley was free of snow, the left covered in it, although there really had been no need for our ironmongery as the snow had all been soft yesterday. Despite lighter packs (the tent and everything we didn't need had been left behind) we still made slow progress. I didn't find this particularly inspirational when thinking about the level of fitness we'll need for HebWay and scary Skye things in the next few months. Can a bit of training improve matters or do I just have to accept that I'm ancient?
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Al, on Flickr
Druim Tarsuinn
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Al, on Flickr
We climbed up to join the fence line that one follows if coming off Sgurr Ghuibhsachan and from then on it was a roller coaster of ups and downs all the way along the ridge. We did see boot prints, probably from the day before, aiming for Druim Tarsuinn, though they petered out before the summit. As we walked along the ridge my eye kept being drawn to Glen Hurich, which looks lovely - shame that you can't easily make a circular walk from Callops along the shore of Loch Shiel - as the glen track ends on the other side of the mountain spine. But maybe one for future exploration. To the south Sgurr Dhomhnuill was the stand out peak, Garbh Bheinn hidden in mist for much of the time. Over the Simm of Meall Mor then a biggish drop to Bealach a'Charrain before climbing - slowly as ever - to reach the final section of the ridge, two Simms we've sadly done before, then the rocky summit of Mhic Bheathain.
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Al, on Flickr
Snow coming in
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Dhomhnuill
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Glen Hurich
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Al, on Flickr
View back the way we've walked
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Mhic Bheathain
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
My plan was to follow the allt down Coire Liath Mor, but it was well after 5pm by this time and I was a little anxious about being left in a shabby gully with poor light. We started off on the west side of the coire, then followed deer tracks down and across to the east of the river, avoiding steep slabs and crags in the delta, before crossing back over to the west side when the terrain flattens out. Back at the tent at 6.30 with the last of the light. It was now very cold, with a clear sky and no residual sun to warm us. I got the food going, frost already forming on the rucksacks and the tent. As we retreated from the cold, the stars came out, carpeting the sky with blazing diamonds. Didn't have such a good sleep as the night before, but you can't have everything. Sometime after midnight the clouds rolled in and we had the pattering of rain for what was left of the night. By morning there had been more snow on the hills around.
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Al, on Flickr
Coire Liath Mor
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Killer wasps at Callops...
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Al, on Flickr
What would we do on Sunday? We were up a bit earlier than the day before, but didn't get back to the car til almost noon. Although we could maybe have squeezed in a hill on the way home - Druim na Sgriodain or Sgurr a'Choise would have been options - but it would have been another late night home and they will still be there on another day...I have 44 Grahams left now, so the end is beginning to move into sight...
