The Fast, The Slow and The Mountains - Am Faochagach

[Meiklie Mist]

Spring is here (well, more or less)!

I’d been thinking about Am Foachagach for a while but was concerned about the river crossing, so for the previous couple of weeks I’d been keeping a daily eye on the level of a nearby river, monitored by SEPA – the Allt a Ghlas-chamaich, which is a good indicator of the level of the Abhainn a’ Gharbhrain (see https://www2.sepa.org.uk/waterlevels/?sd=t&lc=368538). On the Saturday it was showing as 20cm, so it was a go for Sunday!

Meg (the fast) hadn’t been well all week, so no Munro for her. However, I decided that Mollie (one of Meg’s pups – we kept two but taking both on a first trip would have been too much!) was just about old enough for her first Munro, and so it was that one slow human and one fast Border Collie set off at a leisurely 12:20 on our first bagging trip together.

When we reached the river, it was boots off to wade across. Mollie, who had been on the lead until then, and who normally loves water, was unsure about the river (it was moving faster than she’s seen before) and was in danger of pulling me over in it, so I reluctantly took her lead off and waded across (just less than knee deep). Having overcome her initial caution, Mollie followed, and we reached the other side without incident .

The river, with Beinn Dearg poking its head into the cloud in the distance.

I was pleasantly surprised that although the track was boggy, it was much less so than I had expected.

It was pretty easy going, but Mollie was pulling quite a lot and making things difficult, so about a third of the way to the bealach I decided to let her off of the lead - no deer, livestock, people or other dogs around, so what could go wrong ? I needn’t have been concerned as she was very good and stayed close to me .

Looking south-west towards Loch a’ Gharbhrain.

We carried on up, passing a small waterfall and stopped just short of the bealach to have some lunch and a coffee .

The little waterfall.

After reaching the bealach, the path turns left and Am Faochagach can be seen ahead and to the right. The path from here was very easy going on soft grass with a few stones/rocks here and there.

Looking towards the summit of Am Faochagach – the remnants of snow clinging to its eastern face.

At around the 800m mark, I noticed another walker behind me on the decent from Sròn Liath; then I spotted a dog with him as well. This was no time to take a chance, so Mollie went back on the lead.

Looking south-west from a cairn at 825m.

The walker caught up with me shortly before the summit of Am Faochagach, and after some initial chit-chat, Mollie was allowed off the lead again to play with her new friend, Mac the Staffie.

Looking north-west towards Beinn Dearg and Cona’ Mheall from the summit of Am Faochagach.

Looking north-east from the summit of Am Faochagach.

After a few photos we headed back to the bealach where we parted company - Mollie wasn’t impressed at having to say goodbye to her new friend. Thanks to Ali and Mac for the company and chit-chat. They were heading back towards the dam at the head of Loch Glascarnoch, which Ali said was a much nicer way to climb Am Faochagach, albeit a bit longer.

The sun was warm, and it definitely felt like spring on the way down the track. Mollie was still off the lead, although a little more ahead of me now, but I was pleased that she came back to me every time she was called . I didn’t worry too much about her being ahead as there were no other animals or livestock around and I knew the river was a barrier she wouldn’t willingly cross on her own.

Looking south-west on the last part of the return leg.

There’s a small upright stone marker on the north side of the river, which I hadn’t noticed on the outward journey. I decided not to bother taking my boots off now and just waded across, hoping the gaiters would keep out most of the water – they did, my feet were dry on the other side ! It was definitely more straightforward, less slippery, then the outward crossing.

Mollie wasn’t keen to cross the river again and at one point, sat whining on a rock in the middle, but carried on when she realised that I wasn’t going back for her !

With Mollie now back on the lead, we made our way across the boggy ground to the car park and arrived at 7:00pm – the trip had taken 6 hours, 40 minutes.

[LadyTwig]

I'm planning this one and also a wee bit worried about the river, so thank you for the SEPA tip. That is really useful.

[Meiklie Mist]

I'm planning this one and also a wee bit worried about the river, so thank you for the SEPA tip. That is really useful.

Enjoy it when you get there