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This was to be yet another gathering of WH members far & wide, Karen had pressured into creating the thread (organising) the walk
However as with all walks the forecasts were being checked daily and at the start of the week Saturday looked like "the day"
However I checked the forecast on Friday and things had changed completely, fog, mist and drizzle was forecast and as we all know that does not make for a good walking day
It looked like there were going to be 7 of us partaking, however when I posted the latest forecast Evie suggested we maybe contemplate Sunday, but after much huffing & puffing we stuck to the original plan and are we glad we did
The confusion over the day of the walk whittled down the numbers and we ended up as a trio, me, Karen & Evie.
We met up at the wee parking area on the single track road, only to find an ancient campervan parked/abandoned with a tent on the grassy area. The owners of the van were in the process of moving on.
8am and we were on our way, the weather was ideal, bits of fluffy cloud clinging to the hillsides, no wind at all
- Looking back towards Glencoe
The plan for the day was to tackle 3 Munro's, starting off with Ben Starav (which I climbed years ago), then we were going to nip up Beinn nan Aighenan which was slightly off the beaten track & then finish up with Glas Bheinn Mhor (which I also climbed years ago). This was my second visit to Glen Etive in as many months and I wrongly thought we would start off in similar fashion to my last visit, it was only when reached the bracken that we checked the route and realised our mistake
So we had to follow a path that had been created by fellow walkers who had made the same mistake
which took us to the bridge, that has a warning about crossing at your own risk
- River Etive not a ripple on the water
- Karen & Evie enjoying crossing a wee muddy patch before we realised our mistake
After crossing the bridge there is a path that even I couldn't lose, albeit a bit on the damp side
Once a bit of height is gained after swinging right uphill the path improves and is one of the better ones, until the usual boulder field is reached.
- The path up Starav
- One of the "Bookils" zoomed
- What a view?
- Glencoe trying to peek out
- A couple of well fed ptarmigans?
We stopped for a breather and to admire the views about 500' from the summit of Starav. Evie went to the edge to look over Loch Etive and shouted us to come over, this was the first of 4, yes FOUR separate 'Brocken Spectres'. This was the first time I had ever seen this phenomenon and it was truly magical, we even worked out how to create them
For those of you who have never seen one or know how they appear - here is my theory
Firstly you need to be above cloud, you then position yourself or someone else facing the cloud ensuring the sun (that yellow thing that appears sometimes) behind you, it is as simple as that
It is truly spectacular, spooky and jaw dropping. I took umpteen photo's in the hope that at least one would be any good, taking photo's of cloud is very difficult as the auto focus on the camera has nothing substantial to capture
For the lovers of Brocken Spectres, here are a few different images
- Hopefully you make out the first Spectre
- 2nd Spectre
- 3rd Spectre
- 4th Spectre, not the best
- Not quite an inversion
- The summit of Starav, looks pretty impressive
We spent ages lingering and talking about what we had just experienced, especially as these sort of days are so rare. The cloud was wafting around, creeping up the hill sides, even more amazing was the fact there was no wind. I was secretly hoping we would experience an inversion, I daresay they were around but not in our location.
We eventually set off again and the route to the summit looked very impressive, which involved a wee bit of easy scrambling and was most enjoyable. Even though I had climbed Starav at least 10 years ago I couldn't remember a thing about the day & didn't recognise any of the route at all
We reached the summit and were then treated to 360deg of fantastic views, the summit cairn wasn't that impressive for just a fantastic hill, so I got put on my 'Bob the builder hat' and added a few stones
- Boat parked on Loch Etive, stunning reflections
- Zoom to the boat and it's reflection
- The flood plain of Loch Etive
- Evie & Karen by the small summit cairn on Starav, before I made it a bit bigger
- The impressive/scary looking ridge from Stob Coire Dheirg that takes you down to the bealach
- Looking back from the ridge towards Starav which is to the right (out of shot)
- Looking across to Beinn nan Aighenan, looks pretty easy!
- Looking down the glen - Allt Hallater, looks like it could be a bit damp under foot
- The other end of Loch Etive
Whilst we were struggling along the ridge from Stob Coire Dheirg we were all feeling a bit weary and after a discussion we decided against tackling the 3rd hill on our radar Ghlas Beinn Mhor and Karen was feeling even less energetic and didn't feel she was up to tackling another hill. So Evie and I decided we would head across to Beinn nan Aighenan from the bealach as it looked fairly easy and straightforward
Karen was going linger in the area of the bealach and wait for us
In theory it was a good plan however Evie and I had underestimated how far and tough the trek across to Beinn nan Aighenan was
Whilst at the bealach we met umpteen other folk, I think in total there were a dozen other walkers in the area.
So we left Karen in our wake whilst descending down to the bealach and headed off at a great rate of knots. Just as we started the ascent of Beinn nan Aighenan we caught up with a couple who must have been taking it easy and we were pleasantly shocked to find out it was Dougie (sorry don't know if you have a username) & Shona (basscadet)
After a bit of a blether we all continued up towards the summit, Evie & I were certainly feeling a bit leg weary and let Shona & Dougie romp on ahead. We arrived at the summit and were conscious that we couldn't hang around as Karen would be getting a bit fed up, so after another quick chat we turned around & started the descent. I almost forgot to take a summit photo
- Summit photo, not the most glamorous, sorry Dougie & Shona
The descent and trip back to the bealach where Karen was waiting was much easier, but the detour certainly took it's toll on our legs. When we finally met up with Karen she was very chipper and was telling us about how she had had a memorable "deer" experience, I will let her describe the gory details
Now to the final descent back to the cars, the path was certainly one of the better paths and was almost pleasureable
Having said that we seemed to be making good progress but the road/parking area didn't seem to be getting any nearer
The path follows one of the many burns down the glen and we eventually reached the wooden bridge and we had been watching a couple of chaps descending of Ghlas Beinn Mhor on the other side of the burn. I ended up chatting to one of them (sorry didn't catch your name) and he was staying in the Bridge of Orchy and is a regular visitor to our hills from Cheshire
Good luck with the rest of your Munro's
After 9 hours we eventually reached the cars and the parking area was full, it was great to get the boots off
A HUGE thanks to Karen & Evie for making this walk a very memorable one. Ben Starav is a really fantastic hill, having said that the weather was exceptional, days like this are why we walk these fantastic hills that are on our doorstep.
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