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Day one of the WH Meet where we were all eventually gathering at Aultguish Inn. As is the normal custom to utilise the 'break' we all try and cram in as many hills as possible - well that is the theory, as we know the weather usually tries it's best to change/ruin plans
My original plan was to tackle An Teallach, Beinn Dearg (4) & the Central Fannichs, I wasn't bothered about which day each target was tackled. As usual the weather forecasters threw the usual spanner in the works
After numerous emails, PM's etc a group of SEVEN of us somehow came up with the idea of tackling the Strathfarrar 4 Munro's, the forecast was slightly better inland so that seemed like a sensible choice
The logistics of getting to Strathfarrar then Aultguish also required a bit of sorting out, the end result was I was meeting Martin (mg1976) at Inverkeithing railway station at 5.50am, then meeting up with Karen, who in turn was picking up David (stirlingdavo) and we were meeting at Tiso's car park in Perth at 6.30.
The next part of the plan was to get to the locked gate at Strathfarrar at 9am where we would meet up with Nigel, Evie & Hugh - considering the distance of the drive we did rather well to arrive just a couple of minutes late
Now we had to decide how many cars to take along the track and which ones - Karen look away now
We opted to take 3 cars, one to be left at the start and two at the finish. For those who are not familiar with the Strathfarrar set up, I will try & explain
The estate has a locked gate and a lady has the power to allow 25 vehicles through the gate, recording each vehicle registration number and each driver is given a nice green ticket. No money exchanges hands, however we were warned about the pot holes and to be back by 8pm. The road surface was actually better than most "A" class roads, albeit not as wide, there were a few pot holes but they were easily avoided, especially if you are following Nigel who was leaving a cloud of dust in his wake
Once we reached the start, the plan was to leave my car there, however I still had to travel to the other end to bring Nigel & Karen back
After all the planning and faffing around it was time to actually start walking
The initial part of the walk was OK, but it isn't too long before the path. like so many paths this summer turns into a bog trot
The trudge up Sgurr na Ruaidhe was not what I would describe as a pleasant or enjoyable experience, it wasn't steep or difficult, just damp, squidgy and not much fun. Once the higher slopes were reached the ground was firmer and walking became much easier and then the rounded summit was reached. Thankfully the rest of the hills turned out to be most enjoyable, because the visibility was good we were able to see roughly what lay ahead
The initial path, easy & rather good
Evie concentrating on not splashing
Burn crossing
The way up
Looking back
Looking back
Nearing the summit
Quick refuel, not very summery
After a refuel on the summit, not a leisurely one as it was a tad chilly we headed off to the next summit Carn nan Gobhar, David in his wisdom estimated it would only take 20 minutes to get there. Little did he know that his bold statement would be the centre of much banter, not only for the rest of the walk, but for the rest of the weekend
We eventually reached the summit in 50 minutes and it really was a pleasant surprise after the initial haul uphill
Looking back to Sgurr na Ruaidhe
Evie approaching the summit of Carn nan Gobhar
Summit selfie on Carn nan Gobhar, some weren't paying attention
The ridge/route to the 3rd summit Sgurr a'Choire Ghlais
The view NW
Nice and interesting snow feature
Looking back
We were getting a bit spread out
David posing on the summit of Sgurr a'Choire Ghlais
Karen & Evie appearing on the horizon
Nigel deep in concentration
After another stop for a few photo's and a bit of larking about posing for photo's on the Trig it was down & then up to the final summit Sgurr Fhuar-thuill.
Karen & Evie
No intention of jumping down
Now it was Karen's turn
Not as easy at it looks, Evie assisting with the ascent
Nearly there
I may have been getting a bit of verbal abuse!!
Looking down on Loch an Fhuar-thuill Mhoir
Final summit of Sgurr Fhuar-thuill
Low level selfie
The way down takes you to the left of the small loch
After another refuel it was time to head back to the cars as we had to be at the gate by 8pm or else
The descent involves retracing your steps back to the bealach & the stalkers path down is easy to see, however about half way down there was evidence of avalanche debris and as a result the path had been turned into a mud bath. Shortly after negotiating the muddy section I slipped on my backside, the end result was a soggy bottom
Once the terrain levels out the path turns into a track & the gentle descent was very easy and good progress was made.
Water feature
The track down and we could just about see the cars
Once we arrived at the 2 cars it was a matter of squashing 7 of us in with rucksacks and then returning back to the start. For any purists who walk back to the start I take my hat off to you, that walk back along the road would be real torture
A great day out in great company, 3 of the 4 hills were fabulous
Next part 2 of the weekend
Forgot to mention - no map/route attached as it was the bulk standard WH route
