To Pap or not to Pap?

[inthewildKyle]

My initial thoughts wavered between the Pap - which i climbed with my hiking accomplice something close to 20 years ago - or maybe to brave Sgorr nam Fiannaidh... but fate intervened and my own idiocy made the decision for me. I walked past the sign for the Pap of Glencoe / Munro summit, and instead found myself in a thick forest following some kind of scary cycle track. Emerging onto the hillside i found myself almost straight down from the Pap, with no path to be seen. In such times i didn't fancy trying to worm my way across the open, grassy hillside looking for a route to the munro, so i just headed Up, and aimed for the little knoll above me.

After deciding this might be beyond me - i wasn't sore, but the baking heat was messing with my head - i heard a cry from not so far away, and a kind gentleman asking if i was looking for the path. I could see him there, standing on a path less than 100 yards away. I'd been walking parallel with it for some time and felt a little stupid.

But i swallowed my pride and stalked through the long grass onto the newly discovered path and continued my ascent, invigoured by a brief stop and half a bottle of Irn Bru.

Hitting the bottom of the pap itself i was onto my third wind, as per my usual on mountain ascents, when the end is in sight. The final stretch of the climb becomes a true climb, scrambling over rocks and scaling stony promontories - i was in my element at last. Despite the looks in my video on instagram it isn't nearly as scary steep as i made it out, with some clever camera angles... and it doesn't have to be the scramble i made it out to be, i just like crawling over rocks. A fellow walker on his descent past me, asked if it gets any easier and i had to tell him no, its just rocks and rocks and rocks until you get to the grass, and then it gets easy.

On the summit the views over Loch Leven were stunning, but my real view was up to the neighbouring Munro, which looked deceptively close. I did think about maybe going on to do it, but my legs were having none of it. After posing like an alpine goat for what i call the Breath of the Wild photo, i headed down the side of the Pap to the Bealach (where i briefly considered doing the munro), then down a very windy route back to the car park from whence i came.

Overall, i think it was too hot a day to tackle such an uncertain route, but by the time i'd got back to the car i was chuffed and proud that i'd done it. Not sure if there will be another Munro this year... but who knows.