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Catching up on walk reports due to work commitments last week, so this one is already a week old (Sunday 20 November 2011).
My original plan for the day had been to take an extra long drive into Glen Affric and start to explore the hills in that area. The forecast had looked pretty reasonable, but I had given into the temptation when my alarm went off at 2.30 a.m. to enjoy a few extra minutes under the covers – which meant I was a little later setting off than I had planned (3.45 a.m.
).
So I had the choice of the Cairngorms perhaps or a trip back to Kintail to continue my east to west stravaig of the north Glen Shiel hills.
Didn’t fancy the Cairngorms for some reason, so, Kintail it was. Boy, what a hard drive that was this time. I felt tired and I wasn’t really feeling that committed. Eventually I was parked up at the Cluanie Inn at a little before 9.a.m, but with no-one else seeming to be about walking I wasn’t filled with a great deal of enthusiasm to get going myself. After a bit of messing about though I finally decided that I would have a go at Aonach Meadhoin at least and see how I felt at the top if that one. If I fancied it I would continue, but if not then I would just return by the same route. A walk was a walk after all and better a shorter one that doing nothing at all.
Once suitably suited and booted I was slipping and sliding along the path that starts at the back of the parking area opposite the Inn (it was a bit boggy, but where have I heard that before recently......oh yeah, mostly every report
). I must have looked like a right prat to anyone watching me from the Inn as I seemed to have no sense of coordination at all at the start of the walk and was slipping all over the place
I must have looked like a real amateur
- Start of the route up Aonach Meadhoin
Eventually some semblance of head/ leg/feet coordination returned and I was then making pretty good progress up what was a fairly steep path....... which looked to be heading to steeper ground higher up
I soon had a choice, as the path seemed to split. On the left, a fairly decent, dry looking path and on the right what appeared to be the start of a bog-fest. So it was the left path then.......but as I discovered a little while later, left was wrong, as the path eventually petered out (or I lost it
). Rather than traverse back to the right and hopefully pick up the path I had so easily dismissed earlier I decided to attempt to work my way up the pathless hill directisimo
Knackering, absolutely knackering...... so I eventually saw sense (or the error of my ways) and traversed right as I should have done earlier.
And lo, a path...........
Makes life so much easier on these steep ascents
The saving grace of this hard slog up onto Sgurr an Fhuarail were the views back toward Cluanie and over the glen to the SGSR
I couldn’t complain about that now, could I (even with the cloud)
- The view back toward Cluanie as height was gained
Once at the top of the slog to the top of point 843 everything changed.......and much for the better
The view toward the first Munro of the day was fantastic
I found any sense of lethargy instantly lifted as the views open up. Suddenly I had a spring in my step and it was one “happy-chappy” making his way to the summit and enjoying the great views all round (despite the cloud) and deciding, as if any other decisions was ever really on the cards, that I was going to be doing all three of the Brothers today
- Destination Aonach Meadhoin - now that's more like it :)
- And some more :)
- The route walked so far
- Ciste Dubh
Oh, and from now on all along the ridge was an excellent path, which made for a much enjoyable walk along the heights
Sadly no O2 reception though, so couldn’t check in with MrsR (unfortunately no O2 reception all day, so I knew she would be a bit frazzled once I did get in touch). Soon though I was on my way to sample the delights of Sgurr a'Bhealaich Dheirg and the scrambly little ridge to the summit cairn.
- Sgurr a Bhealaich Dheirg from Aonach Meadhoin
- Route to Sgurr a Bhealaich Dheirg
From Aonach Meadhoin Sgurr a'Bhealaich Dheirg looked really close, but still there was a fair bit of descent before commencing the plod up to the summit. The ridge narrowed nicely in places but it really wasn’t long until I was on the summit plateau and making my way carefully to the cairn.
- Ridge to Sgurr a Bhealaich Dheirg
- And again
- View of the South Glen Shiel Ridge
The rocks were a bit slippery in places, so had to be a bit careful. In all truth though the ridge is a great little section and isn’t knife-edge-narrow, and there is a path along the top to follow too. A bit of care is required to climb up next to the cairn, but as long as people are careful then they shouldn’t come to any harm. The dry stone wall along the ridge did seem a bit out of place though. Not a job I would have wanted to do building that
Have I mentioned the views from this summit? Take a look......
- View back to Aonach Meadhoin from Sgurr a Bhealaich Dheirg
- Sgurr a Bhealaich Dheirg summit cairn
- Ciste Dubh from Sgurr a Bhealaich Dheirg summit
- View back toward the main ridge
- Glen Affric - one for another day :)
- View down Glen Shiel
Not a bad place to hit the big 150!!
So, Sgurr a'Bhealaich Dheirg was done and Saileg looked even closer than his neighbour had from Aonach Meadhoin. And the ‘Sisters’ were poking out behind him too
- Saileg and the 'Sisters'
By now my early morning lethargy was well and truly banished and I was really enjoying my stroll to the third and final Munro of the day - Saileg. As before the path was excellent, but again the drop down was further than at first I had imagined it would be when looking from the top of the Sgurr a'Bhealaich Dheirg ridge. It took me a bit longer to reach the summit of Saileg than it probably should, but simply because I was just taking my time and strolling along. I knew I would be back at the roadside before losing the light, so why the need to rush
- A wee scrambly section on the way to Saileg
- The View back to Sgurr a Bhealaich Dheirg
- Summit of Saileg
It was a good wee walk to the summit and to say hello to the ‘Sisters’ from closer quarters
After soaking in more views it was time to drop down to the Bealach an Lapain and back to the roadside. On the way to the bealach I met a chap heading up to Saileg. It seemed a bit late to me to be setting off up the hills, but I just assumed he was more adventurous than me
So I’m at the Bealach an Lapain...........
- Those Sisters again - You're next :) :)
.....and looking at the path down to the roadside
Steep......or what??? Well, steep actually
- What a route down to the roadside :(
Now I really slowed up. This path was clearly designed to test me, and everyone else who has ever walked up it
or walked down it
Steep..........eroded...........steep..........boggy..............steep......... slippery..........steep. Oh and it meanders all over the place. Every time I thought I could almost touch the road and it would only be a matter of minutes more before I was touching tarmac and the blessed thing veered to the left, or veered to the right. It seemed to take me ages...............
And I slipped on my backside too on the way down and got a nice wet and muddy bum for the pleasure
Oh, the joys
Eventually, after much slipping, much knee crunching and much cursing I eventually made it to the main road, with my muddy bum for all to see. It was just the case now of the 4.5/5 mile walk back along the main road to the Cluanie Inn
- The route back to the Car
Well, there’s no point making life easy is there........?
Eventually the head torch was required, but I made remarkably quick progress back along the road to the car. I can’t deny though that the orange glow of the lights outside the Cluanie Inn were a sight for sore eyes (or should that be legs) when I eventually got back.
So my east to west journey along the north glen Shiel hills continues. I know that means I possibly did these three back-to-front to some of you and I did wonder as I was walking them what the relative merits of one way over the other might be. Both directions have steep ascent and descent which make you work hard for the summit and for the main road too, but once on the ridge it’s just a perfect walk. I’m not sure I could say whether one direction is better than the other and the path onto or off the Bealach an Lapain is something from the pits of Hell. I guess I’ll just have to return one day and do the reverse route and see which on, if any, I prefer
