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I had debated the best way to tackle this group of four for a while, because I knew that I wouldn’t be able to complete the round in the time that the gate was open to vehicles. Should I get a lift in the evening before and camp overnight, or cycle in early morning and get a lift out later on, plus a few variations on these ideas? In the end I decided on the early morning cycle.
Just the one slow human this time – it wouldn’t have been fair to ask any of the dogs, even a fast Border Collie, to run the 8 miles to the start, then climb 4 Munros!
So, I left home at 02:30 and started cycling at 03:10 – shortly afterwards I realised my first mistake of the day… I hadn’t anticipated the number of bugs that I’d have to cycle through
. Next time, I’ll wear a face mask! As it turned out, it wasn’t my only mistake of the day…
I usually carry lots of “just in case” kit on the mountains, and that slows me down even more, so this time I decided to travel light. That didn’t include leaving my lunch behind, which was the second mistake I suddenly realised whilst cycling along - I was particularly annoyed with myself because we’d joked about exactly that the night before! Should I go back??? It would have cost me nearly two hours and I might just have decided to abandon the trip, so I reasoned that I could survive on two Mars Bars and two apples
.
I had planned on actually walking by 04:00 and I was pleased to set off at 04:01
. Things were looking up…
Initially, the path was clear and easy to follow, but it wasn’t long before it became indistinct and boggy. Some boggy patches are always to be expected in the Highlands, but it had been dry lately, and I was surprised at how boggy it was. Added to that the cloud was vey low and I was walking in it by about the 300m mark, and of course the ground was covered in dew. This was when I realised my second mistake of the day – I had chosen to wear my Barefoot shoes again, which are very comfortable and grippy, but they aren’t very waterproof and I’d ditched my spare socks in my attempt to travel light. I hadn’t even thought to put waterproof socks on! So, I squelched my way up to the summit of Sgùrr na Ruaidhe and by the time I got there, my feet were freezing 🥶. BUT… shortly below the summit, I popped out of the cloud to my first inversion
, which was something very special – so calm and peaceful (and warm, now that I had the benefit of the sun).
- A view from the summit of Sgùrr na Ruaidhe – Not sure which direction!
- Looking south from Sgùrr na Ruaidhe.
- Sitting next to the summit cairn, looking north from Sgùrr na Ruaidhe.
I wrang out my socks (they were that wet) and tied them to my rucksack, hoping they’d dry out now that I was in the sun, ate my first rationed Mars Bar and reluctantly carried on – reluctant because sitting there with that view was just stunning.
- Shortly after leaving the summit of Sgùrr na Ruaidhe.
- Another shot just after leaving the summit.
Leaving the summit, I couldn’t see the full extent of the descent ahead, partly due to the terrain and partly because of the cloud that I was now descending into again. Every few steps seemed to reveal more and more of a drop before the climb up to Carn nan Gobhar started. But after the lowest point (about 780m), the climb back up seemed to go much quicker than I expected, and I even had a fogbow to photograph just before emerging from the clouds once more
.
- Fogbow on the way up to Carn nan Gobhar.
The summit of Carn nan Gobhar is covered in boulders, which I never enjoy
– they started about 40m below the top.
I had decided that the second Mars Bar would have to wait until summit number three, and as there were quite a few midges around (lurking at low level in between the rocks), I didn’t linger very long.
- Looking back towards Sgùrr na Ruaidhe from Carn nan Gobhar.
- Looking ahead towards Sgùrr a’ Choire Ghlais from Carn nan Gobhar.
After getting off the boulders, there was a nice easy section of soft grass, followed by a short steeper section and then the ascent to Sgùrr a’ Choire Ghlais, which also has boulders near the top.
- Looking towards Sgùrr a’ Choire Ghlais from the easy grassy section.
As I headed towards Sgùrr a’ Choire Ghlais (the highest summit of the day), the cloud was rising and by the time I reached the top, the few meters below me were the only ground not in the cloud for miles around.
After eating my second Mars Bar, I headed off towards Creag Ghorm a’ Bhealaich (Munro Top), with only fleeting glances now, of the scenery around me.
- Near the top of Creag Ghorm a’ Bhealaich.
After leaving Creag Ghorm a’ Bhealaich, I was totally in cloud for the next 60-90 minutes before emerging below it on the route down.
Another kilometer or so and I was at Sgùrr Fhuar-thuill, but nothing to see except cloud all around. A quick apple and time to head down, but not before a short detour to the second Munro Top of the day, Sgùrr na Fearstaig.
I followed the ridge south for about 0.4km and dropped down to the stalkers path below me once I reached the 900m mark.
On the ridge, the wind picked up a little and I was beginning to feel cold – my socks hadn’t dried, and I was definitely regretting the decision to ditch so many of the things I usually carried, my gloves being another of them
.
The going was easy on the ridge, but it crossed my mind that if I slipped and broke something here, I would have been embarrassed to explain to the mountain rescue team that I only had and apple left to eat, and didn’t have any gloves or spare socks with me, which by now had resulted in blisters on both feet
. Lesson learned – NEVER favour weight over the bare essentials!
The stalkers path down was clear and easy to follow all the way, and far less boggy than the initial ascent. However, I did manage to find the only slimy rock on it that day, slipped and scrapped the skin off of my fingers/right hand
. Shortly afterwards I had to stop to get out the plasters, as I was in danger of dripping blood all over my trekking poles
. It was then that I realised my last mistake of the day… on my previous hike, I’d used the scissors from my first aid kit, and hadn’t replaced them
, so couldn’t cut the plaster strip to size. Luckily, I found a single one that worked ok. Another lesson learned
.
- On the stalkers’ path, looking down on Loch Toll a’ Mhuic.
After reaching Loch Toll a’ Mhuic, the clouds on the summits had lifted and it was a glorious day, but it was also hot and I was glad that, although I’d missed the clear view from the top, I wasn’t having to climb in the heat.
- Looking back up at the tops, now clear of cloud.
About another 4km or so and the bottom of the trail came into view – a welcome sight.
- Looking down at the end of the trail.
I arrived at the road a little after 2pm. The trip had taken ten hours, and I didn’t have to walk the 4 or 5 miles back to my bike, as I had a lift waiting for me, courtesy of my kind husband, who’d driven out to meet me, and brought my sandwiches and a flask of coffee
, which were thoroughly enjoyed sitting in the sun.
It turned out that the blisters were worse than I thought, and I discovered a tick bite the next day, which subsequently became infected (not Lyme Disease, fortunately). But even with that, it had been a great day – the temperature inversion being the most special part
.
Until next time…
