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One of the many things that had been notable about my couple of days in the hills so far was how dry it was, and with this in mind I decided to head for the notoriously wet Monadhliath 3, with the assumption that there wouldn’t be a better time to do the round. It also suited my current fitness levels which were more optimised for speed over distance than steep ascent.
The drive up to the parking spot, from Newtonmore was into a charming glen (Banchor) that would have surprised those who hadn’t read the Walkhighlands walk report.
- Glen Banchor in the morning sun
- Looking into the Allt Fionndrigh valley
It was a beautiful morning, and the track was dry and firm up to the bridge over the Allt Fionndrigh.
- Carn Dearg comes into view
From there the route led over a shallow bealach and gently traversed round the hillside following indistinct sections of path and ATV ruts into the Allt Ballach valley. No doubt this section would be very boggy on a different day.
- Looking across the peat hags to Carn Dearg
Staying higher up the northern eastern side of the valley avoided the endless peat hags in the valley bottom, before a pathless beeline led to stream crossings and the foot of the grassy slope leading the the bealach north of the Carn Dearg summit. The rocky outcrop on which the summit sits had been visible across the bog for a while, and was reached via a south west angled grassy ramp up to a small cairn perched on a boulder.
- Carn Dearg from the grassy rake
By the time I had reached the summit the breeze had picked up and the sky become overcast.
- Carn Dearg summit cairn
- Carn Dearg summit selfie
- Looking south from Carn Dearg
After some lunch I set off on the 7.5km ‘ridge’ walk starting in a northerly direction and curving NE and then East to Carn Sgulain. I was hoping to stride out, with my head up, making fast progress walking along the broad toped undulating ridge but for the first 4km the ground was stony enough that every footstep had watched. The rocky tops of Carn Mairg and Carn Ballach passed without incident.
North and West from this route is empty country and the presence of massive scale windfarms here makes sense given that they will be seen by very few, and the consistency of the breeze at elevations of 750/800m must generate good power. The most exciting moment of this section of the walk was spotting a Ptarmigan that didn’t seem bothered by my close proximity. Its natural camouflage so good I found it hard to spot in my own photo!
- Spot the ptarmigan
Carn Sgulain was reached after crossing more peat hags that must be unpleasant in wet conditions.
- Dry peat hags on the approach to Carn Sgulain
As mentioned in the guide, this truly is the ‘Mungrisdale Common’ of Munro’s, featureless and charmless even on a decent day. Photos were taken quickly before heading off towards A’ Chailleach, with the deep dividing stream gully clearly the main obstacle.
- Carn Sgulain summit
Following a gent in front I got dragged a little too low and left, but realizing my mistake far more quickly that the him, traversed up and right onto easier ground above the worst of the hags. The stream was crossed by a natural grass bridge and the easy ascent up to the days 3rd munro completed without incident.
- A' Chailleach summit
The Shelter cairn provided a rest bite for more food and water, and the gent who’s nav error had assisted me soon joined me there for a chat. The descent over dry springy earth felt like walking on cushions and with the peat hags dry, I was able to maintain a jog for most of the way down to the old metal hut. Again, this section would be very different in wet/ slippery conditions.
- Obligatory metal hut photo
After crossing the stream the first 0.5km or so was a frustrating mix of indistinct path and ATV rut, but once the land rover track had been gained, fast progress was made back down to the carpark. 5hrs 30mins for the round was faster than I was expecting, probably reflecting that for extended sections of the walk, there were no real reasons to stop!
