Mullach na Dheiragain & co by bike

[djarvie]

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I was staying for 3 days in a cabin in Cannich, and with at last a reasonable weather forecast after 2 days of wind and rain, extended my stay by an extra night so that I could do this walk without having to drive home the same night. The forecast was for light wind, and after a little drizzle in the morning, dry in the afternoon, with banks of cloud coming and going on the tops.

The 10 mile drive from Cannich to the River Affric car park at the end of the single track road took quite a while, and I set off on my bike at 8 am, heading for Alltbeithe Hostel in Glen Affric where the walk would begin. After an initial mistake which took me the wrong way, I crossed the bridge over the river and headed along the track on the south side of Loch Affric. For the first mile or two, the track was fairly smooth although I had to get off the bike and push it uphill on some bits. The track deteriorated and for over half its length along the loch, it became stonier and rougher although still cycleable on level or downhill sections. Uphill became more of a struggle though, dismounting several times being the only option.

The track 1½ miles along Loch Affric

High quality track 3 miles along Loch Affric

The weather ahead didn't look exactly promising, with low cloud sitting on the hills up Glen Affric.

End of Loch Affric, looking west into cloud

Once the track forked at the end of the loch, it became distinctly rougher and it was mostly impossible to cycle at any great speed. Some sections were too stony to cycle, and uphills were again more difficult. It was quite an effort, but the fact that even cycling very slowly was much faster than walking gave some boost to help overcome the difficulty. Intermittent light drizzle added to the experience.

Bridge over Allt Coire Chaidheil

The track seemed to go on for a long time. I passed quite a few walkers heading in the opposite direction, presumably having stayed at the Alltbeithe Hostel overnight.

The track stretches out along River Affric

Shortly before Alltbeithe, the Allt na Faing crossed the track. It was flowing quite fast, and I couldn't see any way to get across without wading. It was too wide and rocky to risk trying to cycle across - I'd almost certainly have come to a stop before reaching the other side. So I just had to wade across - not something I'd expected to have to do before starting the walk. Then, after a tough 2 hours, I finally arrived at Alltbeithe where I left my bike. I felt totally knackered, and just wished that I could have gone into the hostel and been served coffee in a comfy seat. However, the only option was to change into my walking boots and start the long walk, with the irresistable lure of the return cycle to look forward to later on.

The Alltbeithe Hostel from behind

The path up from the hostel to the bealach at 800m was for most of the way quite good, and generally wasn't too steep.

Looking south west past Alltbeithe Hostel

Once above about 700m, though, it flattened out a bit and became quite boggy, and the path was frequently difficult to follow. It was good after 1 hour 40 minutes climb to reach the bealach where I could see Coire Dearcag on the other side, but a bit disappointing that the cloud was hiding all the higher ground. At least there wasn't any wind to speak of, and it was a nice temperature.

Looking down to Coire nan Dearcag from the bealach

After reading other Walk Highlanders' recommendations, I'd decided to get An Socach out of the way first, so I headed off right.

An Socach looms ahead in the cloud

Despite it being straightforward, I found the mere 120m climb up An Socach from the bealach a surprising effort, perhaps because of the cycle earlier. I was very glad that I'd spared myself having to do it at the end of the walk, when I'd be much more tired.

An Socach summit

The cloud gradually lifted on the way up, although it was still covering the top when I arrived. I then set off down again along the path, but soon noticed that the brighter area of cloud indicating where the sun was, was in the wrong place in the sky. My compass confirmed that I was heading off in the wrong direction, east, so I had to reverse my tracks. I hadn't considered that people would also approach the hill on a path from the east. By this time, the cloud had lifted and I could see the views, although the higher tops were still hidden in the cloud layer.

Stob Coire na Cloiche on the other side of the bealach, beyond An Socach's foothill

Looking back at An Socach, now cloud free

On the way down, a raven flew in and landed on a rock not far above, followed by another which must have landed out of sight behind. The first one soon took off again and they engaged in a conversation, one with sharper somewhat higher pitched calls, and the aerial one with mellow deeper pitched calls.

Gleann a' Choilich to the north, sloping up to Mullach na Dheiragain on the left

Back at the bealach, I now had to find the traverse through Coire Dearcag to the Bealach nan Daoine which lies on the ridge leading to Mullach na Dheiragain. This route involves much less ascent than climbing Sgùrr nan Ceathreamhnan both on the way out and the way back.

Stob Coire na Cloiche seen from the bealach

After one false turn, I found the cairn which marks the start of the path down. To reach it, you have to continue along the path until a short distance after it has started to ascend Stob Coire na Cloiche.

The cairn marking the path down through Coire nan Dearcag

After a bit, the path became difficult to follow, and later seemed to disappear altogether. Finding the right direction wasn't helped by the fact that Loch Coire nan Dearcag, whose outflow I was aiming for, wasn't visible - partly because it was hidden round the hillside, and partly because much of it was masked by reeds growing in it.

Descending the path into Coire nan Dearcag

At bottom of Coire nan Dearcag, looking south west

Even by the time I reached the bottom of the corrie, I still hadn't spotted the loch, but the burns which needed to be crossed were obvious. I sat down in a pleasant spot for a rest and a sandwich.

Burns in Coire nan Dearcag

Although the ground in the corrie looked pretty boggy, it wasn't actually bad at all. The climb up to the bealach on the other side was fairly easy.

Looking back over Coire nan Dearcag from Bealach nan Daoine: An Socach (left), Stob Coire na Cloiche (centre right)

The next stage of the walk was heading out along the ridge to Mullach na Dheiragain. First, the Munro top Càrn na Con Dhu had to be traversed. Due to the steepness of the sides of the ridge, the only practical route is up and over it, which involves a 130m climb from the bealach. On the way up, two ptarmigans flew off just ahead of me, while a third walked away. The top of Càrn na Con Dhu was in the cloud, so it was difficult to see much, but there were rocky mounds and grassy areas spread over quite an area.

On top of Càrn na Con Dhu

Càrn na Con Dhu summit cairn

There was then a 100m descent, with one quite steep section, down to Bealach na Con Dhu.

Looking back to Càrn na Con Dhu after starting descent

Beyond the bealach, Mullach na Dheiragain was in view, with the cloud occasionally more or less lifting from its top.

Mullach na Dheiragain ahead, beyond Bealach na Con Dhu

On the way up Mullach na Dheiragain, a ptarmigan appeared fairly close by, acting injured and continually making yelping noises to attract my attention. It kept running about hunched, with a wing drooping. I couldn't see any chicks although I presume they must have been somewhere around. She kept up this activity even once I had walked on a bit, coming past me again before eventually flying off.

The floundering ptarmigan

5½ hours after starting walking, I reached the summit of Mullach na Dheiragain. Once again, there was no view from the top.

Mullach na Dheiragain summit

After this, I continued on over a short fairly narrow section of ridge followed by a steep 50m descent to Bealach na Dheiragain, and then up Mullach Sithidh at the end of the ridge, which is just 8m lower than Mullach na Dheiragain.

Finally it was time to head back along the ridge. Unfortunately, this involved re-climbing both hills on the 2 miles back to Bealach nan Daoine.

Mullach na Dheiragain on the return from Mullach Sithidh

Returning to Càrn na Con Dhu

Gleann Sithidh

Returning to Càrn na Con Dhu

Boulders to negotiate on Càrn na Con Dhu

The cloud had been gradually lifting and by the time I was approaching the bealach, Sgùrr nan Ceathreamhnan's ridge was intermittently visible, although I never got a clear view of the top of the mountain. I was slightly apprehensive about what lay in store on the ridge - how sharp or exposed it might be, with the wind having picked up a little bit by this time. However, the lower part of the ridge which I could see looked straightforward enough.

Sgùrr nan Ceathreamhnan rises beyond bealach

Sgùrr nan Ceathreamhnan seen from bealach

There is a 300m climb to the top, with a decent path all the way up. Higher up, where the ridge narrows, the ground isn't excessively steep on the left side, so there is no real feeling of exposure, and the path keeps usefully to the left of the crest, out of the westerly wind and away from the steeper side. The path has some quite steep bits, but it was pretty straightforward overall.

Sgùrr nan Ceathreamhnan ridge, narrower now, at 1000m

Shortly before the summit, the path emerged onto an easy grassy slope. After 50 minutes of sustained effort, I'd made it to the final summit. Once more, the view was entirely lacking, but apart from that it was quite sheltered and not cold so quite pleasant.

Sgùrr nan Ceathreamhnan summit

The 1½ mile descent down the south east ridge was easy enough to begin with.

Descending to Pt 941, with Coire na Cloiche ridge behind

After the first bump, the steep hump of Stob Coire na Cloiche came into view. Surely there must be a bypass to avoid climbing over that?

Stob Coire na Cloiche ahead

Loch Coire nan Dearcag, visible properly for the first time

Needless to say, there was no bypass, but instead the joy of a steep 40m ascent.

Mullach na Dheiragain ridge

I felt in need of fortification by this time, so I sat on a big couch shaped rock for a rest and more food just down from that last top, before the steep descent to the bealach. After that, there was the pleasure of crossing the bog at the top of Coire na Cloiche, but once passed the path down made it easy. I reached my bike after 11 hours walking - rather longer than I'd planned - and without having seen anybody else on the entire walk. Luckily, somebody at the hostel told me that there was a wooden beam across Allt na Faing a short distance upstream from the track, so this time I didn't have to wade across, although I promptly stepped off the beam onto wet ground and got a wet left foot for the cycle back.

The cycle back was again long and knackering. I discovered later that there is only a 30m drop from Alltbeithe to Loch Affric, so it wasn't exactly an easy downhill ride back. On the way, I saw an otter launch itself into an offshoot of the river when it heard my approach, and it swam off downstream.

Loch Affric, with An Tudair and Sgùrr na Lapaich behind

By the time I was cycling along Loch Affric, the light was fading. At one point, I saw the two white stripes of a badger's face very clearly ahead, before it quickly ran away down the track in front of me. It ran remarkably fast - it easily outran me on my bike - but it didn't have the sense to turn off the track for quite a long way.

I was very relieved when I finally reached the bridge over the river, and then my car very soon after. It had taken 15½ hours in total, including a 2 hour cycle each way. I got back to my cabin at midnight. A lasagne and spring greens, and a shower, awaited.

[go spazieren]

Great report, sounds like quite a hard day - I'm glad I took the Glen Elchaig approach having read about that cycle in!