Bagging a boggy pair of Munros
Posted: Thu May 08, 2014 11:29 am
Low misty cloud with the promise of sun later on and so we opted for these two boggy Munros...and boggy they were. Given that it'd been really warm and dry of late it was still a squelchy walk on the lower slopes of both Munros. A bit like walking on a great big bath sponge.
Passing through Fersit we were soon on the open moorland with no paths at all to speak of. Just some cows and calves near the "hut and pens" and we gave these a wide berth given that we had our doggy boy with us.
Followed the WH instructions to the letter and found ourselves inching up the near vertical side of Sron na Garbh-bheinne at the pitiful pace of 1.5mph. A proper climb this, none of that walking malarky, every available limb was put to use.
A plus to our painfully slow ascent was that by the time we'd reached reasonable height the clouds had moved on.
The final ascent to Stob Coire Sgriodan was a cinch by comparison and we had far better views than we were expecting. Great views of Stob a Coire Mheadhoin and Stob Coire Easain on the other side of Loch Treig. We climbed these two Munros last year and appreciated the new perspective from this side of the loch.
After a much deserved lunchbreak on the sunny summit we then struck out for Chno Dearg.
A bit of a shin-breaker along the broad SE ridge but we all made it across intact. So that was good.
The final ascent to Chno Dearg was a cakewalk by comparision and we soon reached the sunny summit. Awesome views and then back down towards Fersit.
On the descent we navigated massive snowfields on foot and by way of bum-sliding map bag. Good fun that! We kept a fixing on the two large barns. The gully on the very boggy descent was easily filled with 12ft or so of snow in places and there were parts where the snow had collapsed and the rushing burn could be seen far below the massive slabs of snow. We walked the path alongside the gully keeping clear of the snow.
Once we reached firm and bog-free ground we turned our attention to our boggy dog and a quick river-bath soon got him looking fine and dandy again.
All in all a good (and challenging walk).
Walked by Sarah (54, 55) David (54,55) and Nudge
Passing through Fersit we were soon on the open moorland with no paths at all to speak of. Just some cows and calves near the "hut and pens" and we gave these a wide berth given that we had our doggy boy with us.
Followed the WH instructions to the letter and found ourselves inching up the near vertical side of Sron na Garbh-bheinne at the pitiful pace of 1.5mph. A proper climb this, none of that walking malarky, every available limb was put to use.
A plus to our painfully slow ascent was that by the time we'd reached reasonable height the clouds had moved on.
The final ascent to Stob Coire Sgriodan was a cinch by comparison and we had far better views than we were expecting. Great views of Stob a Coire Mheadhoin and Stob Coire Easain on the other side of Loch Treig. We climbed these two Munros last year and appreciated the new perspective from this side of the loch.
After a much deserved lunchbreak on the sunny summit we then struck out for Chno Dearg.
A bit of a shin-breaker along the broad SE ridge but we all made it across intact. So that was good.
The final ascent to Chno Dearg was a cakewalk by comparision and we soon reached the sunny summit. Awesome views and then back down towards Fersit.
On the descent we navigated massive snowfields on foot and by way of bum-sliding map bag. Good fun that! We kept a fixing on the two large barns. The gully on the very boggy descent was easily filled with 12ft or so of snow in places and there were parts where the snow had collapsed and the rushing burn could be seen far below the massive slabs of snow. We walked the path alongside the gully keeping clear of the snow.
Once we reached firm and bog-free ground we turned our attention to our boggy dog and a quick river-bath soon got him looking fine and dandy again.
All in all a good (and challenging walk).
Walked by Sarah (54, 55) David (54,55) and Nudge