A week in Kinlochewe: Beinn an Eoin
Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 9:03 amThe forecast was a bit grim (high winds, rain) so we decided against doing anything too exciting and opted for Beinn an Eoin and Baosbheinn. It all started well enough as we parked next to the green shed near Loch Bad an Sgalaig. There are lots of way marked routes through the recently planted native pinewood, which covers a huge area. In 100 years time it will be truly magnificent. The sun came out briefly - but these are the last photos until sometime in the afternoon when we were walking back out to the car!
After about 5km we reached some stepping stones which we crossed without too much trouble. The rocky buttress of Beinn an Eoin loomed out of the mist ahead as we left the path and crossed rough ground to the bottom of the north ridge. Then it was steeply up to the main ridge where we were blasted by the wind as we trudged through the driving rain. Every now and then we had to stop and wait for the wind to drop before we could proceed but eventually the ridge narrowed (there would have been good views of Beinn Eighe, Beinn Dearg I think) and we arrived at the summit. No hanging about, we continued straight on along the ridge, descending some awkward rocky bits before turning west and dropping down to the bothy on Loch na h-Oidhche.
No wind, no rain, a good sheltered spot for lunch.
Looking through the window of the bothy we could see that that they have duvets on the bunks – very posh! We had intended to walk back over Baosbheinn but I’m afraid neither of us was up for another pressure washing and we just walked along the lochside and over the stepping stones again. With all the rain this proved a little more challenging than on the way in.
We did vary our homeward route, however, by turning off the main track and following a yellow way marked route which followed the Abhainn a’Gharbh Choire towards Loch Bad an Sgalaig.
As we walked past a collapsed bridge I said “If you had to you could still manage to get across that bridge”. Several minutes later we were back at the bridge and my bluff was called. Katie went first and started off a cheval. This looked above and beyond the call of duty to me and I adopted a different technique!
Thankfully the bridge at the bottom of the gorge was OK and we reached the car without further excitement.
After about 5km we reached some stepping stones which we crossed without too much trouble. The rocky buttress of Beinn an Eoin loomed out of the mist ahead as we left the path and crossed rough ground to the bottom of the north ridge. Then it was steeply up to the main ridge where we were blasted by the wind as we trudged through the driving rain. Every now and then we had to stop and wait for the wind to drop before we could proceed but eventually the ridge narrowed (there would have been good views of Beinn Eighe, Beinn Dearg I think) and we arrived at the summit. No hanging about, we continued straight on along the ridge, descending some awkward rocky bits before turning west and dropping down to the bothy on Loch na h-Oidhche.
We did vary our homeward route, however, by turning off the main track and following a yellow way marked route which followed the Abhainn a’Gharbh Choire towards Loch Bad an Sgalaig.
. Cheers 
.