Not so horrible Heasgarnich .
Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 8:44 pmI had been planning on doing this walk for a while and with a decent spell of weather forecast I decided to give it a go . Having read Jonny616’s report on this round from last week there was no way I was going to attempt the solo crossing of the vast bog to the east of Beinn Heasgarnich but I had come across a couple of reports suggesting an escape from the summit in a southerly direction was a good option . I got a good early start and was parked up at Kenknock for 0630 , leaving me plenty of time for any unplanned adventures . I took the lower track heading up Glen Lochay beside the river , enjoying the Lapwings ,Oystercatchers and Curlews noisily sorting out their summer quarters .
After 6km Batavaime is reached , from here a track zigzags up to meet the higher hydro road , I crossed this and headed NW towards Sron nan Eun ,picking a line up through the crags ,the early sunshine being replaced by sleet and wind .
Once on the ridge it is a short ascent to the summit of Creag Mhor, unfortunately my arrival at the cairn coincided with a mini blizzard , prompting a slow and careful descent first NW then N in very poor visibility to eventually contour around below the summit crags to reach the boggy bealach leading to Sron Tairbh .
Thankfully the clouds cleared and I had a good view of the route up onto the high plateau which leads on to Beinn Heasgarnich . The climb up is steep but short and before long the slope eases and the route to the summit becomes obvious , a pleasant wander over the south top of Stob an Fhir Bhogha and a gentle ascent to the summit cairn , great views here of the Lawers and Auch Gleann hills .
For the descent I headed south to pt1041 ,NN 414 377, before leaving the ridge and bearing away SE. The going here is not too bad , a few crags to avoid and some steep and wet grass but pretty easy . Eventually I reached the upper track at a small dam above Badour , NN 429 358 . From here 6km of good track leads back to Kenknock
I was a bit apprehensive about this walk , a lot of reports mention its boggy nastiness , maybe this route avoids the worst of it , thankfully all I had to endure were a couple of comedy slips on wet grass (it’s OK nobody was looking ) and being attacked by’ Britain’s Angriest Dog ‘ back at the farm .
- Sunrise over Tarmachan
- Looking up Glen Lochay towards Ben Challum
- Sron nan Eun
- Ridge to summit
Once on the ridge it is a short ascent to the summit of Creag Mhor, unfortunately my arrival at the cairn coincided with a mini blizzard , prompting a slow and careful descent first NW then N in very poor visibility to eventually contour around below the summit crags to reach the boggy bealach leading to Sron Tairbh .
- Creag Mhor
- Heading down to bealach
- Route ahead up Sron Tairbh
Thankfully the clouds cleared and I had a good view of the route up onto the high plateau which leads on to Beinn Heasgarnich . The climb up is steep but short and before long the slope eases and the route to the summit becomes obvious , a pleasant wander over the south top of Stob an Fhir Bhogha and a gentle ascent to the summit cairn , great views here of the Lawers and Auch Gleann hills .
- Onwards to Beinn Heasgarnich
- Auch hills
- South to Ben Challum
- East to Lawers
For the descent I headed south to pt1041 ,NN 414 377, before leaving the ridge and bearing away SE. The going here is not too bad , a few crags to avoid and some steep and wet grass but pretty easy . Eventually I reached the upper track at a small dam above Badour , NN 429 358 . From here 6km of good track leads back to Kenknock
- Heading south to pt1041
- Down towards Badour
I was a bit apprehensive about this walk , a lot of reports mention its boggy nastiness , maybe this route avoids the worst of it , thankfully all I had to endure were a couple of comedy slips on wet grass (it’s OK nobody was looking ) and being attacked by’ Britain’s Angriest Dog ‘ back at the farm .
-not nice .