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I have been sadly starved of hills for the best part of 12 months apart from a June trip to compleat my Corbett round ( Beinn a Chaisgen Mor, Fisherfield). However I was booked for a 5 day JMT work party on Tanera Mor (Summer Isles) and the weather forecast for the end of the week was promising. I am currently not hill fit and am getting slower and slower as the years progress ( and the hills get smaller!). Still more time to savour but I know my limits. I started the weekend with the classic horseshoe trip around Ben More Coigach and Sgurr an Fhidhleir, a couple that have eluded me due to the conditions never being right when I’ve available. BMC was a delight and I spent hours going to all the peaks (including the unnamed ones) after the initial wonderful scramble up and along the ridge. At one time I had toyed with the idea of an overnighter and incorporating Beinn an Eoin and Sgorr Tuath and returning to Culnacraig but the midges threatened and I decided to tackle the latter 2 from the eastern side. Hats off to Malky C for doing them all in a oner in less time than I took to do the BMC range.
The morning started off well with the light from the rising sun being reflected off the western clouds as I enjoyed a very leisurely breakfast.....no hurry these hills shouldn't take that long should they?
Early morning light
Not following Malky’s route I was aware that the route from the road on the east side was pretty boggy, previously I remembered an information day a few years ago regarding the woodland regen. However my memory must have played tricks with me as I remembered a reasonable path from the car parking area at approx NC146061. It started off ok and took me to a gate in the deer fence but I frequently lost the path in the bog (how careless of me, if you find it please return it to dry land). This coupled with the ditch and mound method of tree planting meant there were some seriously big holes filled with water. It was ok where the subsequent tree had survived on its mound (I watched out for the corresponding watery hole) but there were plenty that had not and more than once I went in up to my knees, the hole and mound being totally overgrown and hidden.
Mound and ditch
This was actually taken on the way down but illustrates the problem which is less problematic in open ground.
Progress was extremely slow even when I made the comparatively drier slopes of the east ridge of Beinn an Eion where the mounds and holes continued. Finally I made it to the col between Cioch Beinn an Eoin and the summit.
Stac Pollaidh, Cul Mor and Beag
Despite time running away from me (It had taken 2.5 hours to reach this spot 2 hours of which were used up climbing out of watery holes) I walked back along the ridge towards Cioch Beinn an Eoin but only went as far as a cairn marking the high spot. Then I set off for the summit over easy sandstone slabby ground, bliss.
Broad shoulder up to summit of Beinn an Eoin
Ben More Coigach
The views of BMC and its peaks were tremendous but Beinn an Eoin suffered generally from the higher peaks around it blocking the views that I knew were there. As such I decided not to go out to Sgorr Deas but head down to the very uniformly shaped lochan at the bealach before ascending Sgorr Tuath.
Sgor Tuath and the lochan
Weather wise there was a lot more sun and blue skies than the day before, making a lie of the red sky in the morning warning. Like the day before I could see over to Seana Braigh
Sean Braigh (zoomed)
The ascent of Sgorr Tuath looked relatively straightforward but appeared to steepen significantly just before the summit. I was tempted by a swim in the lochan but unfortunately had to make sure of reaching a food retailers that (Sunday) evening as my stocks were sorely depleted. In fact I had the bare minimum of food for the day, another factor in making me pass by the lochan. It would have made a lovely camping spot. There were opportunities for scaling easy rock outcrops up to the summit of Sgorr Tuath ( the most easterly peak on this hill), already I was enjoying this hill much more than Beinn an Eoin, the latter probably tarnished by the boggy approach. The upper slopes were nothing like as steep as they had appeared from below. I was aware that I still had the bog to go through to get back to my van but I was determined to have as much fun as I could before then. From below Sgorr Tuath appeared to have rather an interesting ridge running out to the North and once I made the main peak I headed out to the end of the ridge. In fact it was less exciting than it promised, being broad and very easy to negotiate. Again, though, there were rocks to easily scramble over if one desired – I did. There were the usual sentinels of sandstone outcrops, one that could be interpreted in a variety of ways.
1 stone, lots of different interpretations
Just before the end of the ridge and with no hint before it I came upon a huge crack running across the whole width of the ridge, about 25-30 cms wide and apparently bottomless. The ridge ended in what was a fairly sudden drop off just about 1 metre beyond the gap and guess what…….. I decided not to make the step across to it, I had had my fun and one day there is going to be a bit of a slip and I didn’t want to be there when it did.
the Gap
Judging by the lack of wear from footprints on the otherside, I think most other walkers feel the same way. I dropped a pebble down the crack and heard it bounce a couple of times then silence. Had it landed in soft debris or is it still descending out of earshot? The angle of the crack (sloping under me…. aarggh) meant I couldn’t see very far down. One or 2 boulders had got jammed in the crack and vegetation had grown around them. It was a fascinating feature of what I regard as a pretty good hill, a hill that is probably usually missed out as it isn’t on any of the usual lists.
Overgrown boulders in the crack
I returned to collect my pack from the summit of Sgor Tuath and headed off initially SSW to join the broad south ridge down into the coire then across to the east end of the Cioch Beinn an Eoin ridge. The descent was easy enough,.
I disturbed a couple of deer and almost managed a photo of a lizard before it legged it into the undergrowth. I thought about heading to a boat house that I could see on the edge of Loch Lurgainn, figuring that there would at least be a path there to the road. At this point the prospect of a road for the last 1km as opposed to 1.5 k of bog and tree planting was very attractive. However my 1:50,0000 didn’t show a track but did indicate that the river was quite wide at this point so there may be problems fording it . I reached the lower slopes of Cioch Beinn an Eoin and started to contour round, picking up a probable deer track through the tree plantings. I decided to head for the corner of the deer fence at NC134064 and from there follow the fence to just below the road. When I reached the corner, joy of joys there was a distinct path. It was muddy but it took me safely to the road with the only obstacle an extremely muddy deer gate to negotiate on the way. Unfortunately the method of construction of said deer gate had left tips of nails sticking out on one side (the hill side) and I managed to catch and rip the sleeve of my jacket on one whilst balancing above the mud. The notice on the other side of the gate warned of entering the area at your own risk.
If I had known of this route in it would have considerably shortened the access to the hill and made for a much more enjoyable day (not that I didn’t enjoy myself but it would have been even better). I suspect that walkers approaching BCM from this direction would know of it and it would be the preferred route of access. I am not sure if there is parking any nearer than where I parked but walking a shortish bit of road at the start and end of the day is a small price for having longer out on the hill and the prospect of a swim in a beautiful lochan. I took an awfy long time doing these 2 small hills but I am so glad that I included Sgor Tuath
