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This remote Corbett is definitely one for bike & hike combo. Personally, I don't see cycling as cheating. For some hills, using a bike is simply the time-saving option. Is it more comfortable? Well, it depends on how good you are at constant uphill pedalling
My cycling skills ain't first class. I know how to use the two wheels with gears, that's about it. But when it comes to Stob an Aonaich Mhoir, it was either cycling it up or some 30km hike, most of it along boring, tarmac road. I opted for two wheels.
Our little expeditions started from Bridge of Ericht and took us 13km into the wilderness, along a good tarmac road. Then only 200m of ascent to the summit of the Corbett!
It's a long drive from Inverness to Loch Rannoch, especially with bikes attached to the back. Two and a half hours in the car
When we eventually reached the starting point, it was already half past ten. We couldn't find anywhere safe to park in Bridge of Ericht, so we drove 1km back along the narrow road to a proper car park (it's marked on 1-25k map).
It was a cloudy day and Loch Rannoch looked moody:
We geared up for the race
The track is private so no car traffic thankfully, and it makes for fast progress. Very quickly, we gained some nice views back to Loch Rannoch:
To start with, the road follows the edge of the forest for a few km, steady uphill. Soon we reached a gate. It's closed but not padlocked and we had to hop off the bikes to get across.
The road goes on:
Last remnants of winter on surrounding peaks:
The track now came close to a wide gorge, with some views to the hills in the west, but sadly, cloud was still holding onto the summits and we knew, we were not going to enjoy a proper summer day
It might be remote, but not utterly wild: a pipeline across River Ericht:
We stopped again at the junction near the dam. We didn't take our large camera (too heavy and inconvenient for a cycling trip) and the small one doesn't like murky conditions so photos came out much more depressing than it really was!
Alder group across the loch:
The track continues:
The distant mountains to the south-east:
Towards the end of the 13km uphill push I was a bit tired...
Eventually, we crawled up to the highest point of the road - 630m above sea level. There is nothing special about this place apart from the fact, that it's the best point to leave bikes and start the final ascent
A small cairn marks the top of the track:
We left our cycles on the grass, chained together for safety, although there was no one in sight (we saw one cyclist earlier on, but he was already on his way down):
We started the ascent and immediately I felt weird, that's because we didn't take walking poles (trying to save weight for the cycling part). Luckily, the ground wasn't too slippery, though steep. It's an easy slope to tackle, mostly grassy, a few small peat hags that can be avoided.
Looking south-east, typical Scottish landscape - hags and...well, more hags!
Zoomed mountains to the east, must be Beinn a'Ghlo and Carn a'Chlamain:
The final 50m of ascent was less steep and I was glad to see that the summit of "our" Corbett remained clag-free, despite other mountain enveloped in cloud:
The summit cairn was reached quicker than expected. Corbett no. 93!
Even with the low cloud spoiling the more distant panoramas, views were still fantastic, if a bit depressing. But in my opinion, there's nothing wrong with moody mountains from time to time!
The main attraction, of course, is the magnificent panorama of Loch Ericht. When looking north, we could see The Fara (in cloud, too):
Right across the loch, the vertical slopes of Sron na h-Iolaire:
To the south-west, Sgor Gaibhre and Sgor Choinnich:
View due east was much less interesting, with Drummochter Pass hills hidden in the clag:
Kevin by the summit - not very happy due to his tooth still playing up. Thankfully, it went quiet later on. And just as well. I hate it when Kevin gets grumpy!
Panther, on the other hand, had no reason to be grumpy, and she embraced the experience with her whole meowing self!
We spent some time on the summit, even though it was a bit blowy. A nice spot and a surprising vertigo feeling, with the cliffs falling down straight to Loch Ericht. Shame about the grey conditions, but the summer doesn't spoil us this year.
We retraced our steps back to the bikes and cycled down the road. The return journey took us only 40 minutes, the full time for the trip 4 hours 50 and that's with generous breaks. Not a typical mountain adventure, but something different for a change.
I know that purists will now shout - that was cheating! I don't care. Stob an Aonaich Mhoir ticked off
Meow!
My next TR will be about a low level walk, but certainly one worth a look. A picturesque glen that hasn't been so far advertised on Walkhighlands.
