by jonathan - norfolk » Wed Aug 26, 2015 5:22 pm
Date walked: 13/08/2015
Time taken: 7.25 hours
Distance: 12 km
Ascent: 1200m
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Set out from the Forestry Commission car park in South Ballachulish and followed the signed footpath “Sgorr Dhearg” up through the forest to the tree line. It is a well-constructed and well-engineered path that pretty much follows the route set out in Steve Kew’s guide and brings you out above the tree line at the fence line in pretty much the same place. As forest walks go, it’s not a bad one at all in my opinion, and gets you through the forest without any navigational problems whatsoever.
After following the fence posts up to the col, I decided to do Sgorr Dhonuill, 1001m (3,284’) first, working on the logic that, it being potentially the trickier of the two, better to do it first when I’m less tired and in case the weather broke (it didn’t, but the forecast was that it might). As it was, it was a very pleasant walk up, with a bit of exposure and some simple scrambling options if you wanted them. Excellent views from the summit (which I had to myself) and then back down to the col and up to the top of Sgorr Dhearg 1024m (3,360’) - a straightforward walk. A return back to the col from the summit, and I then retraced my steps back to the car.
Weather warm, with clear visibility and cloud free summits with a gentle breeze generally, although the wind did pick up on the ridges. In a word, perfect.
An excellent day out which took me about 7.25 hours, including lunch.
