

Setting off Thursday after work, my home for the first night was my usual camping spot in Glen Etive. 2 beers set off the evening perfectly, until I heard the sound of a big rock avalanche down the Buachaille

Driving to Fersit, the day could not have been any nicer and by the time I set off towards the hills it was half ten. Feeling great, I waded through the boggy start of the way and by the time I found the path, I stuck to it like glue.

The car park
The start of the walk
Stick to the burn on the way up
On the way up to the top
Looking back towards the car park and Fersit
View down Loch Treig with the other two Munros on the other site
Chno Dearg
The views on top were incredible and it had only taken me 1.45h not bad considering I was carrying my camping gear.




Views from Chno Dearg
Me on the summit
Getting my map out, I checked out the two options I marked on my map. The first one was the walk towards Meall Garbh, continue until Garbh-bheinn was reached, climb down to the burn and up again the other site to reach the summit of Beinn na Lap. Looking at the steep climb down and up, I made up my mind to follow the second route I marked on my map. From the top of Chno Dearg I walked down Sron Ruadh and then made my way down the grassy slopes towards the burn Allt a' Ghlas-choire which I then followed down to the bottom.
The walk down Sron Ruadh and Allt a' Ghlas-choire with stunning views ahead
Beinn na Laps south site
The walk down was steep but easy and the views towards Loch Ghuilbinn and beyond were spectacular. I loved the feeling of remoteness, which was only spoiled by the private road in the distance. By the time I had reached the bottom, I had a picnic and paddle at the edge of the burn. The sun was so nice and warm and sitting in the middle of the burn with my feet dangling in the water, it was hard not to set up camp for the night- it was a magic place!
My resting place at the burn
Resentful, after a good 45 min, I put my shoes back on and looked up Beinn na Lap which was laying ahead of me. The mountain itself is rather long, but somehow I looked forward to walk the whole length of the mountain. The walk itself starts up the south side, up a slope called Sron na Cloiche Sgoilte and continues for nearly 4 km until the cairn is reached. It was quite a trek, but after the initial climb it was a gentle rise. I took my time and loved the grassy slope, which was covered in hundreds of cloud berry flowers.
Flower of a cloud berry
Lots of cloud berry flowers
Views close to the summit
The top itself was a bit of a letdown, but the views towards Corrour station were bizarre. It might be different arriving by train, but having seen no civilization for most of the day, the train station just looked out of place. I had expected at least a couple of people, but I ended up alone on Beinn na Laps summit.
The summit of Beinn na Lap
Towards Corror station
The station zoomed in
Walking down I took a faint path and aimed towards the railway bridge in the distance. By the time I reached it I was surprised to see 3 teenagers underneath it. They shouted a “ Hello” and my answered “Hello”, was followed by the question "Do you want a peanut butter sandwich?" I stared at them with both confusion






Sitting next to them I ate my Sandwich while being drilled with questions about were I did came from and the disbelieve that it was possible to climb 3 Munros in one go...god bless them.

Soon after they said they had to move on, for their planned night in one of the bothies. Saying good bye, I finished my sandwich and followed them down the path towards Loch Treig.
The railway bridge you have to cross under to walk towards Loch Treig
My peanut butter sandwich makers
Loch Treig comes into view
Loch Treig which translates to the Loch of Death in Gaelic looked stunning in the sun. There was nothing deadly about it. Believing the folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs, there is a long history of kelpies or water horses in the Loch. In 1933 divers who were working on the hydro electric scheme said that monsters are in the depths of the loch and had left or asked to move to other jobs. Even though I looked for the water horses, they must have moved on, but my planned swim later on would hopefully give me another chance

The walk along the shore...lovely
A rocky beach on the shore
My planned stay for the night was close to the sunken village of Creaguaineach. I had read that since the construction of the dam the old communities of Kinlochtreig and Creaguaineach at the lochs southern end were submerged. They once had hosted locally important markets and had been the end point of cattle drove roads.
Arriving at Creaguaineach Lodge, which seemed to be the last house standing, I could see the old walls poking out of the water and decided to set up my tent in the old animal dwelling which had the softest grass

Creaguaineach lodge and the area of the old community
Approach to the lodge
I want to move there
The old stone walls poking out of the water
With my tent up, it was time to put my bikini on for my planned swim in the loch.



As it was too cold to stay in the water too long, I walked back to my tent and had a marvelous time walking bare footed through squishy peak bog.



A fine place for a tent

Ready for a swim
Waiting for my dinner to cook, while my clothes drying on the wall
A few hours after drifting off to sleep I woke up. It was dark and confused why I had woken up, I remove my ear plugs. A strange sound, similar to rain could be heard on top of my tent












My alarm woke me.up just after half seven. Opening my eyes I checked my hands and face, but my fears of countless bites were luckily no reality. The midge repellent had done its job and looking around me I was face to face with about 200 midges all over my tent. Looking at my pillow an even greater number were around my pillow- Argh.










Sitting down with a breakfast of porridge oats, milk powder, cinnamon, sugar and cold burn water



The start of the walk from the old animal dwellings
Looking back down to the valley
One of the plenty water supplies
Looking back down the way I came up, with Loch Treig towards the left
The views higher up
The grey Corries
Towards Glen Coe
Panorama views
The two Munros finally come into view
The walk was hard, but when the top and second summit came into view, I was in good spirits again. 2.15min after setting off, I stood on the summit still alone, but the first hill walker of that was had already climbed the second summit.

Deer enjoying the snow!
Looking back down the path I came up
First summit of the day-Stob Coire Easain
Summit views
The walk towards Stob a' Choire Meadhoin
Easy walking
I stopped for an early lunch and made my way down towards Stob a' Choire Meadhoin. At the bottom I met the hill walker I had seen and after a brief chat I moved on. Stob a' Choire Meadhoin was an easy climb and only stopping for some photos, I made my way along the path at the back of the mountain, which had great views towards the loch and area I covered the previous day.
From the top looking back towards Stob Coire Easain
The walk back down
Great slide
Views across the loch
Looking back up towards the summit
Quite a lot of snow left over
The walk seemed so easy at first and I used one of the snow slopes for a slide-brilliant! By the time I had reached the only real steep part of the mountain, I had promptly lost the path.

The walk when you miss the path- not too bad
Looking back up
Sheep with Chno Dearg in the background
The car park is coming into view
Unfortunately the path isn't what I would call a great path. Boggy and hard to spot, my legs were soon covered in dirt and I think the last time I looked so dirty I was under the age of 10.



