Slioch [#282] and Beinn Airigh Charr – summit camps
Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 5:36 pmThought I’d start off with a little preamble and some stats as this is my Munros compleation WR but I’ll keep it brief.
First munro was Ben Lomond in June 1986 with Ken prior to walking much of the WHW to Fort William – blazing hot summers day after which we went for a swim in Loch Lomond while staying at the Rowardennan YH. First winter Munro, again with Ken, was Ben Vorlich at Loch Earn in February 1987 and first solo Munro, Beinn Chabhair, followed in July 1987. Marriage and family then meant only a few Munros covered over the next 20 odd years until August 2010 when I got the bug again.
A few stats on walks including first time Munros:
Distance: a little over 2,200km
Ascent: just under 155,000m
Hill days: just under 95days
In addition, thanks to certain other contributors’ reports displaying sunsets/sunrises, I took up wild camping for the first time in April 2011. Of the 282 total, 76 involved a wild camp (with many more involving camping near the car).
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Before I start, my apologies for the number of photos – actually took nearly five hundred and found it hard enough to reduce the number down this far.
For various reasons I’d decided very early on that if I ever got to the end, the final Munro would have to be Slioch. I did think about adding it on at the end of my Fisherfield walk and also about just covering it on its own but decided in the end for a longer trip to do it justice. This also meant I could wait for better weather and keep things flexible. I did also consider adding on the Graham, Beinn a'Mhuinidh, after Slioch but in the end decided that was just a bit too much particularly given how hot it turned out.
Left Glasgow on the Tuesday morning for the drive northwards arriving at the Incheril car park a little before 11am. Got ready and set off along the path towards Loch Maree – it was already very hot and not yet midday. Met a couple from Lincoln who were up here on holiday and going on to see family. Further on I met three walkers who had been on a multi day camping trip and were suffering terribly from cleg bites.
The bracken was quite high in places by the time I got to the point were the track splits up to Slioch but between there and Letterewe it got a lot worse – frequently as tall as me and overgrown across the track. Around NG998671 I kept to what I thought was the proper track but ended up too high – bit of scrambling needed to get back down when I could go no further.
First munro was Ben Lomond in June 1986 with Ken prior to walking much of the WHW to Fort William – blazing hot summers day after which we went for a swim in Loch Lomond while staying at the Rowardennan YH. First winter Munro, again with Ken, was Ben Vorlich at Loch Earn in February 1987 and first solo Munro, Beinn Chabhair, followed in July 1987. Marriage and family then meant only a few Munros covered over the next 20 odd years until August 2010 when I got the bug again.
A few stats on walks including first time Munros:
Distance: a little over 2,200km
Ascent: just under 155,000m
Hill days: just under 95days
In addition, thanks to certain other contributors’ reports displaying sunsets/sunrises, I took up wild camping for the first time in April 2011. Of the 282 total, 76 involved a wild camp (with many more involving camping near the car).
__________________________________________________________________________________
Before I start, my apologies for the number of photos – actually took nearly five hundred and found it hard enough to reduce the number down this far.
For various reasons I’d decided very early on that if I ever got to the end, the final Munro would have to be Slioch. I did think about adding it on at the end of my Fisherfield walk and also about just covering it on its own but decided in the end for a longer trip to do it justice. This also meant I could wait for better weather and keep things flexible. I did also consider adding on the Graham, Beinn a'Mhuinidh, after Slioch but in the end decided that was just a bit too much particularly given how hot it turned out.
Left Glasgow on the Tuesday morning for the drive northwards arriving at the Incheril car park a little before 11am. Got ready and set off along the path towards Loch Maree – it was already very hot and not yet midday. Met a couple from Lincoln who were up here on holiday and going on to see family. Further on I met three walkers who had been on a multi day camping trip and were suffering terribly from cleg bites.
The bracken was quite high in places by the time I got to the point were the track splits up to Slioch but between there and Letterewe it got a lot worse – frequently as tall as me and overgrown across the track. Around NG998671 I kept to what I thought was the proper track but ended up too high – bit of scrambling needed to get back down when I could go no further.
Fantastic photos. 
. I liked the look of your route - lots of it covered ground familiar to me from one of my favourite walks in the last few years.