Fog on the Barrelo'Laughs

[inthewildKyle]

Well.
Seeing as this is likely the last hike of the year, i figured why not go out with a bang. I wanted either a trig or a Munro. So i set off at 10am this dreich saturday morning, with two possible routes in mind. When i passed the layby at Druimnavuic my mind was made up, and i slipped in behind a solitary car, and chucked my hiking boots on. These legendary footwear may come into my story later, so i thought i'd set up my own chekhov's gun.

I was going to tackle Creach Bheinn, the corbett brother of Beinn Sgulaird nearby. There is a trig on its summit - and hence my interest in it - and most of the ascent is an old road, so it seemed like a nice walk to do in this particularly dreich weather.

You walk up the first section and pass the secret turn off for the Munro, continuing up into the dramatic glen with towering slopes on either side. There is a lovely stone-arrangement hidden in here that makes for good photography.

Soon i spotted snow on the ground to the side of the road, and realised the temperature was dropping. What was also dropping was the level of the fog high above me. I had spotted blue sky earlier and was hoping it might clear up the higher reaches of the hill, but alas not.

When i reached a rather suspicious looking large bunker by the road, i made a decision to turn right and scale the rather steep slope towards the first hill on the ridge toward Creach Bheinn. This was a tough, wet and sticky climb, but rewarding, as i left the road and the glen far behind, very quickly.

Only upon reaching the top did i discover a worn path that i can only assume leads up from the bealach towards Beinn Sgulaird, but maybe thats an investigation for the return route.

I trudged along this path for what seemed like an age, with distance now immeasurable in the thick clouds. Numerous times the path just seemed to disappear, and i was left to scale slopes and wade through boggy ground without direction. Once or twice, more than i'd like, i came across a steep descent and then a steep ascent, as i meandered over various rises.

There was a point where i thought i'd found the summit, sans Trig Point, but then a nice break in the clouds opened up to show the tiny pillar, on high like a ghost monument, another 40mins walk away.

After reaching the Trig and doing my requisite posing - it was really windy so planking would have to do (although i like to call it Supermanning, but hey) - i was keen to get back on the return journey. Its always shocking how fast darkness descends at this time of year, and i needed to be at least back on the old road when i started to lose light.

I had contemplated a more straightforward descent, maybe just heading in a straight line for Loch Creran far below, but with the pea-souper clouds all round, it was best i just stuck to the way i came.

Except, i didn't. I ended up too far east and on the wrong side of one of the hills, and climbed rather clumsily up to the top, wasting about an hour. I am not going to sugarcoat it, i hated this part. The wind was blowing, the clouds were thick and the terrain was sodden. I spent most of my time slipping about and twisting my back and legs at unnatural angles. If one was to hear me on those hills that day, they would be reporting my language to my mother.

My feet were soaking. My wonderful hiking boots, which were probably close to ten years old, were finally giving up. The sole had come loose, and it felt like wearing a pair of hefty socks instead of shoes. Plus the grip had been worn from them so they were useless when it came to getting purchase on the ground.

In pain, cold and frustrated, i finally dropped back down onto the road via the tiny path discovered earlier. It had taken an hour to get here before from the start, it had taken 3 hours to get to the summit and back. I was tired.

I hooked in my headphones, shoved on some solid Judge Dredd, and headed for the car.

This all puts me in mind of a thought process i had a while ago. A walk is a walk. A hike is a big walk. A climb is when you climb. I did all these things so what was this?

This, was an adventure.

Heres to many more in 2025.