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Rain, hail, snow, wind and sunshine - welcome to Scottish summertime!
I was away from the car park at the top of Loch Fyne just after 9am with the long walk to the bottom of the hill ahead of me. A bike is definitely recommened for this part, especially the walk back! It's also recommended if you're not too keen on big hielan coos as well - my heart was racing and stomach churning after my last encounter with cows saw me & my Dad being chased by a herd of them whilst walking part of the Ayrshire Coastal Path last month! Thankfully they seemed quite docile and hardly seemed bothered with my presence.
I reached the bike railings after an hour then the cottage at Inverchorachain a further 25 minutes later.
- Approaching the cottage at Inverchorachain
- View from the cottage along Glen Fyne towards Ben Lui
Having read how wet & boggy some sections can be between this point and the top, I put my gaiters on just beyond the gates and that's when the first hail shower started. Most the day now would be interrupted with showers of various sorts and me stopping to either put on or take off my waterproof jacket!
- Looking towards the gorge from the gates
The going up the gorge was good and not too difficult - until I reached the awkward bit! I'm not the best at taking risks on the hills and would normally have taken the easy option and gone the detour route but I decided to give it a go this time! I knew what I wanted to do but not being the tallest or slimmest, I wasn't sure if I could manage it. After sizing it up for a few minutes then getting into position (ooh-err!), I made sure my feet & hands were solidly gripped then went for it - and made it! What was all the fuss about I wondered afterwards - although I was shaking like a leaf for 30 seconds or so afterwards!
- The awkward bit!
- Another hail shower at the top of the gorge
It's fairly straightforward after here until you reach the steep climb after the boggy mid section, although I'm sure that bit would be much more difficult after a few weeks of wet weather. The same could be said for the climb up the gully as there are a few muddy bits but, thankfully for me, it wasn't too bad yesterday.
At the top of the gully, the views open up to the north and west - I'm sure most will know these hills better than me...
From here, it's a good path to the top and I reached it after about 30 minutes. Good views all round, apart from the hail & snow showers!
I stayed at the top for about half an hour until the wind started getting stronger and another hail shower came down! It's just a case of retracing your steps back to the cairn at the top of the gully then heading left along the path and down the grassy slopes. Without a path for most of the route down, I found myself wandering quite a bit, trying to find the best route down. It did seem steep in some places mind you...
After a couple of slips on the way down, I was happy to hit the track down by the cottage again. Although I still had a hour and a half in front of me, it's a good walk and I was chuffed with the fact I had another munro ticked off the list!
Having passed the coos again, their owner (who I'd walked past as she was out checking on them) saved me about 15 minutes by offering me a lift back to the brewery. That's the 2nd outing in a row where someone has done me a wee favour - long may it continue!