Walkhighlands

Part one of this adventure is here http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=63084 After a wild night we eventually woke in our tents. Oh yes, we had slept, lots of times, and woken up lots of times, and all felt like we had not really had a great deal of sleep. We could, however, get the internet from our mobiles (wow that is amazing) and found the forecast was for wind and rain, but during today the wind was to drop, and it was just possible that the tops might clear briefly. We decided it was worth going for it. The plan was to leave our camp near Coiregrogan tucked in by a little bluff, walk up the glen to the bealach between Ime and Narnain, tackle Narnain then Ime and walk home. There had been a LOT of rain overnight and it was a bit of a dreich morning which dampened the spirits a bit but it was quite exciting seeing all the water in the burns which had turned from trickles into raging torrents.


So off we set up the track past some really interesting bits of pipe and dams and channels all full of water.
The track came to an abrupt end just at the point marked on the map, and there was a raging torrent we were able to bypass as it came straight out of a tunnel. But from this point on we could see no trace of a path so we picked our way up the slope across snowdrifts and getting ever steeper to reach the Bealach a'Mhaim. Looking back the cloud was drifting in and out but gradually started to lift .





There is a gate through the fence which crosses the bealach and from here path was difficult to find because it spread out across the boggy bealach and got lost under snowdrifts. Visibility was pretty poor so we had to use skill (!) to find a route up the hill without straying onto the cliffs. But then suddenly we got a glimpse for a few seconds, of the Cobbler looking very steep and rocky. After a few minutes the mist cleared again and this time it lifted right off the tops. What a difference that made to morale!


After a while we came upon the "proper" path and reached the summit at about 12.35pm. We never expected to see anything but we did!!!






It was cold at the top but we all needed a rest and a refuel so we snuggled into the bothy bag, which was remarkably warmer than being outside.
After a bit of a confab we decided that for various reasons we would all be very grateful if someone would suggest calling it a day at one summit. We really did not fancy the trog up Beinn Ime from the bealach and we wanted to get back to the tents before the weather closed in again. So only one tick today but it was great when we got a view from the top.
So we retraced our steps taking a slightly different line down the steep hill but making it to the track in one piece.






Back to the tents for a brew and a rest, we decided that as the forecast was truly dreadful for Monday we would not tackle Ben Vane as planned -gives as a good excuse to come back again. Mother Goose decided to pack up and head back to Yorkshire straight away and the rest of us just managed our tea before the rain came on again. After another wet and wild night we packed up camp in a brief dry spell and stopped at the Inveruglas cafe for a large slice of cake before heading back home.




Of course as soon as we headed off South the sun came out and we had lovely weather for our long drive - hey ho!!