The Fast, The Slow and The Mountains - Glen Shiel 7 + 2

[Meiklie Mist]

I’d been waiting for a weather window for this hike – the Glen Shiel 7 + The Saddle and Sgùrr na Sgine and it presented itself this weekend!

WARNING: This is a very long report.

No fast Border Collies this time because it involved an overnight camp, and I didn’t want to have to carry any extra dog gear – the pack was already 13kg! So, just the one slow human this time – Next time Meg, Ted or Mollie (one day, maybe all three but not just yet).

First order of the day was to pick up a couple of Munro Baggers from the end car park – the drive along the A87, almost to the Cluanie Inn, was very foggy, but by the time I reached the end car park it was clear – a good sign.

We reached the starting car park at 06:00 and it was full! Cars, bicycles, motorhomes and at least one tent! So, we carried on and up until the bridge, each layby was pretty much full, so we carried on over the bridge – I didn’t notice the “Private Road” sign, only spotted that when collecting the van, the next day . Anyway, a little way after the bridge there was a good-sized gravel area on the left that provided perfect parking and shortened the walk by at least a kilometre.

The first part of the walk, just under 4 miles took around 2 hours. It was already shaping up to be a gorgeous day!

Looking north near the start of the walk.

Looking east a little further along.

Another look eastward – what a great spot for a bench!

Yet another eastward shot, with the sun shining “artistically” through a tree.

I added another litre of water to the pack (now 14kg) at the old stone bridge, a few meters after the route turns right uphill. I didn’t stop for long though, as the midges were out in force.

The old stone bridge – very bright sunlight already.

The track to the uphill turning point is an old road, and I’m glad it’s there because looking down on the terrain from above, the surrounding area is very boggy.

Right from the uphill start, the track is clear and easy to follow. It was a little boggy to start, then dry with another boggy patch around the 800m mark.

I reached the summit of Creag à Mhàim around 10:00 and it was a relief that there were no false summits along the way.

Summit of Creag a` Mhàim: looking west towards Druim Shionnach.

Another look towards Druim Shionnach.

There were clear views ahead to Druim Shionnach, which was easy going on a mainly grassy path – it took me around an hour.

WH mentions a rocky section near the summit where there is a bypass path, which I intended to take, but when I reached it, the rocks looked ok, so I went over rather than around and found it very easy-going.

Looking north on the approach to Druim Shionnach.

Looking north towards A`Chràileag (centre), its huge summit cairn was visible even from this distance!

Looking south-east towards Creag à Mhàim.

By the time I reached Druim Shionnach, I’d already been passed by several other walkers – over the day there must have been at least 50 (I’d lost count by 30!): the most I’ve ever encountered on any Munro hike, but it was a fantastic day, so not surprising really.

Looking north-west from the summit of Druim Shionnach.

The track down from Druim Shionnach is on a wide grassy slope with some rocks here and there – it’s very wide, quite a big scar at times.

After the north-west Top of Druim Shionnach the route dips to around to 880m, after which there’s a short steepish section of scree path, but it doesn’t last long – probably only a couple of contour lines.

Looking west towards Aonach air Chrith.

There were at least two false summits before reaching Aonach air Chrith, which took me about another 1.5 hours.

The route down from Aonach air Chrith is rocky at first – WH says there’s a bypass path, but I missed it somehow and ended up going down over the rocks, which was a little tricky with a large pack, that got caught a couple of times.

Looking east along the ridge from Aonach air Chrith.

Looking north from Aonach air Chrith.

Looking west towards Maol Chinn-dearg.

The track the undulates over a few “bumps” on the way to Maol Chinn-dearg, which took me about 2 hours.

Looking south towards Loch Quoich (or Cuaich, according to OS Maps).

Looking east towards Maol Chinn-dearg.

Looking north-west towards Sgùrr an Doire Leathain.

Getting to Sgùrr an Doire Leathain was straightforward with the summit bending around to the right, in full view all the way. It took me around an hour.

I had passed 3 or 4 little lochans shortly before the summit and as it was now about 17:00, I decided to camp by the last of the lochans and enjoy a leisurely evening watching the sunset.

A look north-west towards Sgùrr an Lochain and Creag nan Damh (they will have to wait until tomorrow 😊).

There was a light breeze to keep the midges off and with the tent facing the setting sun, it was the perfect spot.
Apart from a couple heading east along the ridge just after I’d pitched up, no one else passed me – as usual, I was the last one!

The perfect camp spot.

Looking west into the setting sun.

The weather forecast was for a clear night and not too windy (about 15 miles/hour), so I was hoping to see some stars. I was treated not only to stars, but the Northern Lights and Milky Way! Pictures below.

Sunday morning…

I have just bought a new tent, the Durston X-Mid 1, and I was really pleased with it. I didn’t get the pro version which was about 300g lighter (and £300 more expensive!), but it still only weighs just over 800g (no tent poles - trekking pole tent). I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a light-weight tent.

The route up to Sgùrr an Lochain looked a lot harder than it turned out to be, although I’m sure it would have felt much worse had I chosen to carry on yesterday!

The decent from Sgùrr an Doire Leathain is a steep rocky path, that’s deeply gouged out in places. That’s followed by a very short section of coll, and then a steep rocky path up to Sgùrr an Lochain. I left my camping spot just before 06:00 and arrived at the summit 50 mins later.

Looking east towards Sgùrr an Lochain.

Looking south-west from Sgùrr an Lochain.

Another south-west facing shot from Sgùrr an Lochain.

Slightly different 😉, this time looking south from Sgùrr an Lochain.

Looking west from Sgùrr an Lochain.

The decent from Sgùrr an Lochain is again, steep and rocky – no real surprise!

On the way down I saw another camper in the distance with some dogs, pitched up a little way above the bypass path for Sgùrr Beag – I hope they had as good a night as I did.

Looking south-east towards Sgùrr an Lochain from the bypass path.

The bypass path was a nice easy path, with just a few minor wet sections.

The Lochans at Bealach Fraoch Choire had been my first choice for a camp spot when planning the route, but I’d slightly reluctantly decided to stop earlier. My decision was partly because the lochan on Sgùrr an Doire Leathain was such a nice spot and partly due to the extra time it would have taken to reach the Bealach on Saturday evening. As it turned out, I was very pleased with my decision: the lochans on the Bealach are surrounded by mostly boggy ground and the views not nearly so good.

Feeling pleased with myself I carried on towards Creag nan Damh.

Looking west towards Creag nan Damh.

The initial ascent to Creag nan Damh was a little wet and boggy; the path up is fairly easy to follow, but it wasn’t always visible very far ahead, so it might be possible to lose it in poor weather.

There was some minor scrambling and by the time I reached the summit another 2 hours had passed since leaving Sgùrr an Lochain.

There were quite a few “water holes” up and over the summit of Creag nan Damh, which assuming they don’t dry up in hot weather, could be very welcome.

Looking north from Creag nan Damh.

Looking north-west after leaving Creag nan Damh.

The route along the ridge after Creag nan Damh was undulating and rocky. Shortly after leaving the summit there’s a dip and a scramble up of maybe 10-15 meters, which was quite tricky with the large pack I was carrying.

After leaving the WH Glen Shiel Ridge route, I followed an old boundary wall, WSW, heading for Sgùrr a’ Bhac Chaolais at 885m (OS grid ref: NG 95828 11027). The boundary wall is marked on the OS map and its remains continue all the way up to and over the summit, but higher up it is mainly just the iron supporting stakes that remain.

There is also a faint path that follows the boundary to the right.

Looking east from Sgùrr a’ Bhac Chaolais.

Looking south-west from Sgùrr a’ Bhac Chaolais.

Looking west towards Sgùrr na Sgine.

The iron posts and remains of the wall lead over the top of Sgùrr a’ Bhac Chaolais and down to Bealach an Toiteil some 130m below and a path (of sorts) follows the same route, although now on the left of the boundary wall.

Given the presence of the path, I followed its line down the western face of Sgùrr a’ Bhac Chaolais. Almost immediately, the route became steep with the last 50m or so of descent a steep scramble - a couple of times it didn’t look as if I was going to be able to get any further down and would have to head back up, but the remains of the wall and path kept going, and so did I! Near the bottom of that section I had to drop my walking poles ahead of me (not great) as there wasn’t room to take off the rucksack and stow them and I needed both hands to get down – it wasn’t much fun and to add insult to injury, there was a boulder field at the bottom, which the path wound merrily towards ! The really surprising thing was that at some point in the past, someone had built a wall up there!

Looking up from the bottom, there appeared to be a much easier route slightly to the south of the line I’d taken.

Looking east at Sgùrr a’ Bhac Chaolaiswith with the Glen Shiel ridge in the background.

Once over the boulder field and onto the Bealach, I reviewed my original plans, that were to skirt around the eastern flank of Sgùrr na Sgine, and opted for the much easier looking route (my second choice in planning) to the south-west, following another old boundary wall (also marked on the OS map) and up onto the SW ridge of Sgùrr na Sgine. It looked a little longer but much easier.

The change of plan worked well, except that I left the boundary wall and headed up to the ridge too soon – it was a steep ascent over grass and moss-covered rock. I should have carried on west for another 300m or so, where I would have intersected the ridge and made life a lot easier.

Once on the south-west ridge the going was fairly easy and it was a short climb of about 100m to reach the summit. It was now 14:00, warm and very pleasant, so I sat down for lunch, along with 8 or 10 others who’d reached there by the WH route – I think some of them were surprised to see me appear from an unexpected direction.

Looking west towards Loch Hourn and the Sound of Sleat.

The last objective of the day, The Saddle, looked intimidating, but I set off and was glad to be back on an “official” path again.

Looking north-west towards The Saddle and the Forcan Ridge.

At first the descent was easy-going, but after a flattish section, where the WH route turns east on the descent over Faochag, the route down to Bealach Coire Mhàlagain becomes steep again and increasingly rocky. About halfway there’s a boulder field, followed by more steep rocky ground, which was wet and slippery in places, and a second boulder field near the bottom.

Looking south at Sgùrr na Sgine from about halfway down.

I filled up with water from the lochan on the bealach and a few meters further on, dumped my rucksack at the turning point for the bypass path under the Forcan Ridge, taking a few essentials that I could stuff into pockets (snacks, first aid kit, InReach Mini, survival bag, just in case , head torch, etc.) and headed off towards The Saddle.

Initially the path was wet and boggy but no problems, then… I had been chatting to some walkers at the previous summit, who said they’d come down the grassy ridge to the west of the “official” scree path – it looked a lot easier, so I opted to divert that way. That was a mistake! Maybe I took a different line to them, but the ground was a lot steeper than it looked and in a few places, was hanging onto tufts of grass steep! Halfway up I’d already decided to use the scree path on the way down – I estimate that my little detour cost me around 30 mins.

Once I joined the path, the Trig Point was easy enough to reach but the summit is a short way along the ridge. By now it was nearly 17:30 and the clag was coming and going on the summit. So, it was with some trepidation that I ditched my walking poles shortly after the Trig Point and scrambled the rest of the 10-15m to the summit – even that was enough exposure and I was glad I wasn’t heading along the rest of the Forcan Ridge (probably not possible in descent anyway)!

With the clag coming and going and time now short, there were no more opportunities for photos.
The scree path on the return to the Bealach was not nice, but preferable to the “nice grassy ridge” I’d come up on!

Once reunited with my rucksack, I headed off along the bypass path just after 19:00.

The bypass path is clear and there is a small cairn on a large rock on the Bealach that marks the turning point. There are some large rocks in place along its route – fallen from above or the remains of the wall itself: probably because I was tired, I tipped twice, but fortunately no damage was done.

The path passes below and to the left of the top of Meallan Odhar (610m), before descending over some slippery rocks and steepish ground to where is switches back sharply on itself at 490m.

I was probably about half a km past the switch-back point when I had to deploy the head torch – walking in the dark again, a familiar ending!

Looking at the map, I’d expected a short section of steepish ground going over the 200m point (Cnoc Dubh Achadh Arsgalain), but the path zigged-zagged down it quite easily.

I had taken a fully charged phone and two spare charging blocks, but the phone, having used both blocks, was at 20% on the summit of The Saddle. It wasn’t going to be a problem from the point of view of navigation, but it would have been nice to be able to check my elevation once it got dark, just to be able to estimate the remaining time. I decided to switch it off before leaving The Saddle, and just switch it on occasionally once it got dark, so that I could check how far down I was and leave enough for a phone call, should it be needed.

The path down was easy to follow, even in the dark by head torch, a bit wet in places, but nothing too boggy.

I ended up walking the last hour or so in the dark and arrived, all of a sudden (because it was pitch black), at the A87 about 400m from my intended end point (the car parking area for the Forcan Ridge). I’d missed the turning onto the course of the Old Military Road in the dark and followed the shorter path straight to a small layby – it was now 22:30!

Good job I had saved some phone signal, I thought, and I was just about to phone my husband who was waiting in the intended car park, when he arrived at the layby! He was tracking my InReach Mini . Isn’t technology great – when it works of course.

My route.

Another 9 in the bag and now time to collect the van, head home, a good night’s sleep and then plan for the next outing!

Bye for now.