A Trio in Glenfinnan To hit 200

[iainwatson]

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With the last big milestone before completion fast approaching i looked over a route that would take in the three Glenfinnan Munro's in one walk and was surprised to find no one i know had done this and even a check on superman's (steve fallon) website left me none the wiser,mmmm...

I had put a post up on the forum and was lucky enough that someone confirmed that there is a path up the west side of Gulvain from the bealach,game on i thought as that was my biggest concern!

So after careful planning of the route i knew it was going to be another big day out in the hills and for a few days it was organised that i would be walking this with Monty and Andrew,if i could keep up but with a rotten forecast the guys decided against it so just back to me on my own,

Leaving the house at 2am to go walking is becoming a bad habit at the moment but it doesnt really bother me and i always like to get an early start so off i set and just after 4:30am i stopped in at the carpark for Gulvain where i chained my bike up and then drove along the road to the Glenfinnan monument,parked,took some pics of the Monument and got ready for the off at 5:15am.

car park

the Glenfinnan Monument

The Glenfinnan Viaduct

The walk in is easy going on a great track and if i was just walking Sgur Thuilm and Sgurr nan Coireachan i would have taken the bike as its a fair distance in before you start any real ascent.The ascent up to Sgurr nan Coireachan isnt too bad on a decent path that splits from the main track and 3hrs after leaving the car i reached the cloud covered summit where i took some pics before setting off toward Sgurr Thuilm.

in the cloud heading for the first summit

Sgurr nan Coireachan's summit

The route out to Thuilm has a path and fenceposts all the way which are a good help when visibility is bad and its almost impossible to go off track here so on i go up and over a few wee peaks,arriving at Sgurr Thuilm at 10am,i sat here for a while hoping the cloud cover might move and give me a glimpse of the next part of the route,especially the descent down into the Glen but this was not happening.

Sgurr Thuilm's summit

so i set off hoping i might see a path but none were found so it then became a case of trying to pick a way down the grassy hillside toward the river.About half way down and once i was out of the cloud an Eagle(i think) took flight and crossed the Glen and what a magnificent sight it was! the thing that really got me was the sheer size of its wingspan,it was huge! Unfortunately by the time i got my camera out it had dissapeared from view but its a sight i'll not forget,thats for sure.

my chosen descent down into the glen

Upon reaching the river i took stock of what i had left to reach Gulvain,about 6km and 1100mtrs of ascent on pretty much uncharted ground with no paths nevermind,i thought,just get on with it!

my ascent route up to height 519m

I ascended up the hillside heading for height 519m,the lowest part of the ridge coming from Streap Comhlaidh and made decent time despite the weather and underfoot conditions.Upon arrivng at this point i'll admit my heart did sink a little,i could just make out Gulvain but the descent and then ascent up to the bealach between myself and the final Munro looked huge!

looking out to Gulvain,the second hill sitting left of centre from height 519m

From here i picked my own way down to just north of the lochan a' Chomhlain where the river crossing was easy even after all the rain we had in previous days and i then headed for the northern end of the hillside and height 700m.From here i could see the west side of Gulvain which slightly worried me as i couldnt see any kind of track or path and its a steep side to approach it from.

nearing the lochan and my route to 700m is up to the far left of the hill

the bealach and Gulvain come into sight at height 700m

Just before the final push up to the third summit i stopped and had an extended break for lunch,mulling over the map to determine how i was going to ascend if i couldnt find the path,i had planned on heading for the south top as it didnt look as steep as the rest of the hill but when i got to it i just went straight up and as usual just before reaching the bealach between Gulvain and its south top i found the path!

Reaching here was a huge relief and i knew that the hardest part of the day was over with just a short pull up to the summit to contend with and i arrived in great spirits despite it taking me 9.5hrs to get here!

The summit of Gulvain and Munro number 200!

Gulvain will always be fondly remembered for me for it being my 200th Munro,there is no particular reason why i chose this hill but it had been decided 2 weeks ago and i'm happy i stuck with it,even in the poor conditions i had to endure.I sat for ages,thinking over many,many previous walks which had led me to this point and what delights i have in store as i enter the home straight to completion,Knoydart,Skye,a 5 day trip up north next month,Loch Mullardoch,and Ullapool to name a few,with a bit of luck i may finish next summer which is a year ahead of my original plan.

After 45 mins or so I headed off on the long outward journey following the path down the hillside

the long route back to the bike

by this point I was hoping to maybe meet someone at the car park to save me the cycle back to the car so I got my head down picked up my pace and eventually reached the carpark 12.5hrs after starting at Glenfinnan.
Now it was just a 7km cycle back to the car which took me 30mins and it was a huge relief to finally see the van and get changed out of my soaking clothes for the journey home to have a well deserved drink.

my personalised whisky,a well earned drink was had!

[iainwatson]

pics to be added later on :0)

[jonny616]

Well done on the 200 Iain. Weather was pish here. What was the distance you covered on this?

[iainwatson]

the distance and ascent was on it,don't know what happened there? (on my mobile just now will add it in when I put the pics on later)
it was 37.5km with 2700Mtrs of ascent.

[rocket-ron]

well done iain loved the wee vid . now just then awkward home stright

[Gavin99]

Great stuff Iain , a massive walk , that looks like tough going over to Gulvain ,I don't suppose many people pass that way . Nice to meet an eagle on your 200th , congratulations

[dooterbang]

Well done Ian

Impressed you had breath left at 9.30hrs and manage a video, which was very good indeed.

Wont be long till you complete now.

[scoob999]

Well done Iain
An epic walk to take you to 200, congratulations

[Stretch]

Congrats Iain!! It seems your desire to track majestic herds of 'antelope' across the highlands has also allowed you to summit 200 munros.

[LeithySuburbs]

Well done on the landmark Iain . Dare we start planning a WH compleation special ?

[nathan79]

Next summer? At the rate you're going you'll be lucky if you've any to do by February!

Well done on the double-ton mate.

[Tomsie]

Well done on the 200

Prob wont know till Thursday if I'm off saturday

[Merry-walker]

Corker of a day!!!!!

You could do with doin' some real hills ("Corbetts", I think they're called)

[fipriestley]

Brilliant! Congrats on 200

[Bod]

Excellent Iain! Well done......200, magic