A tour around Corrour : Corrour to Loch Chiarain
Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2012 2:12 pmDay 3 of my 5 day annual backpacking trip to Scotland, with year's entitled 'A tour around Corrour'.
For those interested in the full route which is documented in five individual postings the days are:
Day 1 : Rannoch Station to Loch Ossian via Carn Dearg
Day 2 : Loch Ossian to Corrour via Chno Dearg
Day 3 : Corrour to Loch Chiarain (Blackwater) via Beinn na Lap
Day 4 : Loch Chiarain to Kinlochleven
Day 5 : Kinlochleven to Fort William via the WHW
Day 3
Picking up where Day 2 left off I was woken at 5.30am by brilliant sunshine on the side of the tent. Thinking 'I must take advantage of this' I promptly went back to sleep until 7.30am. The sun was still there at 7.30am but so were the midges in their millions. During the night the wind had switch round and I was now in a calm patch sheltered by the bulk of Bienn na Lap. Repellent and midge hood on...
The route for the day was up and over Beinn na Lap and then to start heading towards the Blackwater as part of the return trip to meet the train at Fort William on Friday (this being Wednesday).
Something had made me decided to take the direct route up on to Sron na Cloiche Sgoilte - probably a reluctance to retrace my steps and a bit of self-convincing that I could see a route from where I was starting near the burn. 150m up the slope on the steep mossy rough ground I was starting to think I hadn't made the best of decisions, but with a bit of careful contouring and route picking I made it up on to the ridge. The weather was still far better than expected (third day of decent weather on a trip that I had packed expected to be a wet weather trudge).
Views back to Meall Garbh and Chno Dearg showed where I had been the day before.
Looking ahead the Ben and friends were also out of the cloud.
The ridge up to Beinn na Lap was pleasant, if uneventful, but when surrounded with the views I had I wouldn't have chosen to be anywhere else. A short snack break at the summit and then the steady if wet in places drop down the baggers path coming up from Corrour station.
By this time the cloud was starting to close in and parking grand ideas of taking in Leum Uilleim I set off on the Road to the Isles again towards Loch Treig.
The Loch Treig water level was well down and I guess must still be being used to drive the Lochaber hydroelectric scheme.
From Loch Treig I took the path that runs in the glen between Leum Uilleim and Meall a Bhainne - a remote but reasonably well used path including the, what seems to be obligatory, off road bike tracks that chew up the path and surrounding vegation. By this time light rain has started and in the gloom it was not conducive to taking photos.
The pitch for the night was next to the bothy at Loch Chairain. The rain had stopped and a gentle breeze kept the midges down, and with no one else in the vicinity it made for an excellent pitch.
Day 4 featuring a corbett and worsening weather can be found here.
Cheers,
Paul.
For those interested in the full route which is documented in five individual postings the days are:
Day 1 : Rannoch Station to Loch Ossian via Carn Dearg
Day 2 : Loch Ossian to Corrour via Chno Dearg
Day 3 : Corrour to Loch Chiarain (Blackwater) via Beinn na Lap
Day 4 : Loch Chiarain to Kinlochleven
Day 5 : Kinlochleven to Fort William via the WHW
Day 3
Picking up where Day 2 left off I was woken at 5.30am by brilliant sunshine on the side of the tent. Thinking 'I must take advantage of this' I promptly went back to sleep until 7.30am. The sun was still there at 7.30am but so were the midges in their millions. During the night the wind had switch round and I was now in a calm patch sheltered by the bulk of Bienn na Lap. Repellent and midge hood on...
- Early morning Day 3
The route for the day was up and over Beinn na Lap and then to start heading towards the Blackwater as part of the return trip to meet the train at Fort William on Friday (this being Wednesday).
Something had made me decided to take the direct route up on to Sron na Cloiche Sgoilte - probably a reluctance to retrace my steps and a bit of self-convincing that I could see a route from where I was starting near the burn. 150m up the slope on the steep mossy rough ground I was starting to think I hadn't made the best of decisions, but with a bit of careful contouring and route picking I made it up on to the ridge. The weather was still far better than expected (third day of decent weather on a trip that I had packed expected to be a wet weather trudge).
Views back to Meall Garbh and Chno Dearg showed where I had been the day before.
- Meall Garbh and Chno Dearg
Looking ahead the Ben and friends were also out of the cloud.
- Mamores, Ben Nevis and the Aonachs
The ridge up to Beinn na Lap was pleasant, if uneventful, but when surrounded with the views I had I wouldn't have chosen to be anywhere else. A short snack break at the summit and then the steady if wet in places drop down the baggers path coming up from Corrour station.
- Beinn na Lap summit
By this time the cloud was starting to close in and parking grand ideas of taking in Leum Uilleim I set off on the Road to the Isles again towards Loch Treig.
- Leum Uilleim from the Road to the Isles
The Loch Treig water level was well down and I guess must still be being used to drive the Lochaber hydroelectric scheme.
- Loch Trieg
From Loch Treig I took the path that runs in the glen between Leum Uilleim and Meall a Bhainne - a remote but reasonably well used path including the, what seems to be obligatory, off road bike tracks that chew up the path and surrounding vegation. By this time light rain has started and in the gloom it was not conducive to taking photos.
The pitch for the night was next to the bothy at Loch Chairain. The rain had stopped and a gentle breeze kept the midges down, and with no one else in the vicinity it made for an excellent pitch.
- Pitch at Loch Chiarain
Day 4 featuring a corbett and worsening weather can be found here.
Cheers,
Paul.