Carn Ban - tour de midge
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 5:49 pmAll right, here we go!
A week of hillwalking, one I was looking forward too. The dream was to bag Foinaven and maybe finish off the Cairngorm Munros (3 left) but sadly, weather was far too capricious and we had to suffice with a few easier routes. We still managed 4 new Munros, 3 Corbetts and 3 Grahams, used bikes a couple of times, got soaked, midge-bitten, bruised and exhausted, but isn't that what hillwalking is about?
Our first trip (Sunday, 24th of June) was a local Corbett, Carn Ban. The world "local" may suggest it was an easy quickie in the neighbourhood, but nothing more misleading. This hill is situated in the middle of Alladale Estate, 20km away from the nearest public road. Very awkward to get to if you want to do it in a single day. Luckily, one can cycle either from Glencalvie (east) or Black Bridge (south). We chose the latter as it was much closer to home and much easier to drive to with bikes attached to the car.
As I underlined many times before, I'm a rubbish cyclist, especially when it comes to stony mountain tracks and steep uphills. Biking is fine on tarmac and downhill
anything else is suffering for me. But in case of Carn Ban, there was no other option. Yes, it's a walkable distance, just about, but it would take us ages, so bikes came out of the shed.
Our route:
We have walked that track about 2/3 way up along Loch Vaich, when we did Beinn a Chaisteil a couple of years back so we knew what was to come. Most cyclists would regard this track as very good, for me it was a C- on a scale from A to F. Ironically, a few days later I had even worse experience on the track to Fhidhleir and Sgarsoach, but that's a story for another day.
Back to Carn Ban, Kevin joked it should be re-named CAR BAN, no cars allowed nearby Poor Black Arrow had to stay by Black Bridge 
At least they share a name
Just before leaving home, Kevin discovered that his bike had a flat tyre, he had to quickly change the tube, which left us with no spare in case of a puncture. We packed in a repair-kit and prayed that we didn't have any nasty accident along the way.
There were a few midges buzzing around when we prepared for cycling, but not too bad at the moment. We were more concerned about encountering rain on the way, as the morning looked rather cloudy and forecast suggested more unfriendly weather pushing in from the south-west in the afternoon. So far, most cloud was above the summits, but who knows what may happen as the day develops.
We hopped on the bikes and rushed up the track. The first 3km or so were easy on the tarmac road, but once past Lubriach farm, we turned onto less friendly terrain. My teeth chattered and my head wobbled as we cycled, midges were getting worse and we had to stop at some point to apply repellent. Tour de Midge - I thought with a good dollop of sarcasm, but didn't dare complaining. Kevin is a keen cyclist and I just didn't want to bee seen as a weak, moody woman.
We reached the crossroads by the small dam, and of course, we were so busy waving midges away, that we took the wrong track, the one up Meallan Donn. Thankfully, we realized our mistake after a few hundred meters.
Turn right here:
At this point the track improved and cycling would be pleasant but for the black army, which was getting worse and worse. I think all midges from the Highlands got the news about our little trip by now, judging by the black swarms over our heads...
Looking good for cycling:
The morning cloud was lifting now and most hills were clag-free, the day was still sad and gray though... Even Loch Vaich looked sad:
As we continued along the loch, the track was a bit too bumpy for my taste, with lots of little ups and downs, well, at least it kept me entertained We pushed on and after a couple of hours of shaking, jumping and teeth chattering, we reached the bridge in Gleann Beag. For me it was a relief. I was now back to what I liked best, walking on my own two feet! Little did I realize, that by the end of the day my boots would be two swimming pools. Ha ha ha.
The bridge and the steep slopes of Meall a'Chaorainn:
The track continues up the glen and one can cycle up a bit further to climb Carn Ban via its 823m top, but we decided to go straight up from the crossroads. Weather was still holding at the moment:
Our route goes up this bumpy slope. There is a track to a little dam to start with, but it doesn't go very far up:
Getting ready for the walking part:
Zoom to Beinn Dearg:
From the top of the dam track we climbed up the heathery slopes, soon we came across a zig-zagging stalkers path. It was wet most of the time, in places more a boggy ditch than a path, but in case of this remote mountain, it was still better than expected.
View down to Gleann Beag:
The path is marked on 1-25k map as going up to 700m, but we got fed up with it as soon as we emerged on the flatter ground and headed straight across the peat-haggy ground. To be regretted by me later on, as my summer boots turned out to be as leaky as a rusty chamber-pot .
Too many peat hags to my taste, but weather still holding!
We climbed up another steeper section to the flat shoulder of Tuill na Gainimh...
...and from there, up another peat-haggy area to the col between the Corbett's two lower tops (823 and 838m, no names). At this moment, weather started to show the first signs of breaking, cloud descended on Beinn Dearg:
Looking back south, Loch Vaich in the middle, Castle Hill to the left:
Castle Hill and Meall a'Chaorainn:
Just below the summit of the middle top, we noticed a nasty-looking shower charging towards us from the east, so we stopped to waterproof ourselves and to take a few photos as long as we had any views at all.
It's coming! Brace up!
Me, Lucy and Beinn Dearg:
View north-west:
Yes, weather was definitively taking a turn for worse:
The crags of Seana Bhraigh:
Just before the rain arrived, we caught a glimpse of Ben Mor Coigach...
...but the rest of the way to the very summit was a viewless experience. At least there was a vague path:
Over the 838m top, we reached the summit eventually. The rain was hardly more than a drizzle, but the cloud was thick and milky. We waited by the cairn for a while, munching snacks and hoping for the clag to disperse, but nada.
Kevin posing by the cairn:
On the way back, we could have taken the route over the southernmost top, but as the cloud was now down to about 750m, we decided we couldn't be bothered and retraced our steps across the peat hags, to the stalkers path. We actually found its "upper end" on the way down, and most of the time we had to walk on the heather alongside the path, it was more a stream/ditch full of wet moss.
Surprisingly, midges didn't bother us a lot during the "walking" part of this route (there was a good breeze on higher ground), but as soon as we started the final descent to our bikes, they attacked us with double appetite for our blood. We quickly prepared the bikes, jumped on and started the long cycle back to Black Bridge. My boots were making squelchy sounds as I pushed the pedals, making me laugh sarcastically, even more so every time I thought about "Tour the Midge" Here we go, that's Scotland for you, BP!
We returned to the car park midge-bitten and wet, but in surprisingly good mood. I was just happy that the whole experience was over, to be honest
........
Shame we didn't see the views from the summit, but with current weather, I'm glad we at least got a half-decent day. Will I be returning to this Corbett? Sincerely doubt it. Might suffer up this track again to climb the two Alladale Grahams next to it, but not this year. Once a year into Alladale is more than enough
.........
There's more to come from me, a whole 5 new TR's, but most of them in rather cloudy conditions. For some walks (as the one described above) we didn't bother taking the heavy bridge camera, so photos were snapped with my little pocket compact. Not as good and sharp, but when everything around you is gray and dark-ish, it really makes little difference.
A week of hillwalking, one I was looking forward too. The dream was to bag Foinaven and maybe finish off the Cairngorm Munros (3 left) but sadly, weather was far too capricious and we had to suffice with a few easier routes. We still managed 4 new Munros, 3 Corbetts and 3 Grahams, used bikes a couple of times, got soaked, midge-bitten, bruised and exhausted, but isn't that what hillwalking is about?
Our first trip (Sunday, 24th of June) was a local Corbett, Carn Ban. The world "local" may suggest it was an easy quickie in the neighbourhood, but nothing more misleading. This hill is situated in the middle of Alladale Estate, 20km away from the nearest public road. Very awkward to get to if you want to do it in a single day. Luckily, one can cycle either from Glencalvie (east) or Black Bridge (south). We chose the latter as it was much closer to home and much easier to drive to with bikes attached to the car.
As I underlined many times before, I'm a rubbish cyclist, especially when it comes to stony mountain tracks and steep uphills. Biking is fine on tarmac and downhill
anything else is suffering for me. But in case of Carn Ban, there was no other option. Yes, it's a walkable distance, just about, but it would take us ages, so bikes came out of the shed.Our route:
We have walked that track about 2/3 way up along Loch Vaich, when we did Beinn a Chaisteil a couple of years back so we knew what was to come. Most cyclists would regard this track as very good, for me it was a C- on a scale from A to F. Ironically, a few days later I had even worse experience on the track to Fhidhleir and Sgarsoach, but that's a story for another day.
Back to Carn Ban, Kevin joked it should be re-named CAR BAN, no cars allowed nearby
Poor Black Arrow had to stay by Black Bridge At least they share a name 
Just before leaving home, Kevin discovered that his bike had a flat tyre, he had to quickly change the tube, which left us with no spare in case of a puncture. We packed in a repair-kit and prayed that we didn't have any nasty accident along the way.
There were a few midges buzzing around when we prepared for cycling, but not too bad at the moment. We were more concerned about encountering rain on the way, as the morning looked rather cloudy and forecast suggested more unfriendly weather pushing in from the south-west in the afternoon. So far, most cloud was above the summits, but who knows what may happen as the day develops.
We hopped on the bikes and rushed up the track. The first 3km or so were easy on the tarmac road, but once past Lubriach farm, we turned onto less friendly terrain. My teeth chattered and my head wobbled as we cycled, midges were getting worse and we had to stop at some point to apply repellent. Tour de Midge - I thought with a good dollop of sarcasm, but didn't dare complaining. Kevin is a keen cyclist and I just didn't want to bee seen as a weak, moody woman.
We reached the crossroads by the small dam, and of course, we were so busy waving midges away, that we took the wrong track, the one up Meallan Donn. Thankfully, we realized our mistake after a few hundred meters.
Turn right here:
At this point the track improved and cycling would be pleasant but for the black army, which was getting worse and worse. I think all midges from the Highlands got the news about our little trip by now, judging by the black swarms over our heads...
Looking good for cycling:
The morning cloud was lifting now and most hills were clag-free, the day was still sad and gray though... Even Loch Vaich looked sad:
As we continued along the loch, the track was a bit too bumpy for my taste, with lots of little ups and downs, well, at least it kept me entertained
We pushed on and after a couple of hours of shaking, jumping and teeth chattering, we reached the bridge in Gleann Beag. For me it was a relief. I was now back to what I liked best, walking on my own two feet! Little did I realize, that by the end of the day my boots would be two swimming pools. Ha ha ha.The bridge and the steep slopes of Meall a'Chaorainn:
The track continues up the glen and one can cycle up a bit further to climb Carn Ban via its 823m top, but we decided to go straight up from the crossroads. Weather was still holding at the moment:
Our route goes up this bumpy slope. There is a track to a little dam to start with, but it doesn't go very far up:
Getting ready for the walking part:
Zoom to Beinn Dearg:
From the top of the dam track we climbed up the heathery slopes, soon we came across a zig-zagging stalkers path. It was wet most of the time, in places more a boggy ditch than a path, but in case of this remote mountain, it was still better than expected.
View down to Gleann Beag:
The path is marked on 1-25k map as going up to 700m, but we got fed up with it as soon as we emerged on the flatter ground and headed straight across the peat-haggy ground. To be regretted by me later on, as my summer boots turned out to be as leaky as a rusty chamber-pot
.Too many peat hags to my taste, but weather still holding!
We climbed up another steeper section to the flat shoulder of Tuill na Gainimh...
...and from there, up another peat-haggy area to the col between the Corbett's two lower tops (823 and 838m, no names). At this moment, weather started to show the first signs of breaking, cloud descended on Beinn Dearg:
Looking back south, Loch Vaich in the middle, Castle Hill to the left:
Castle Hill and Meall a'Chaorainn:
Just below the summit of the middle top, we noticed a nasty-looking shower charging towards us from the east, so we stopped to waterproof ourselves and to take a few photos as long as we had any views at all.
It's coming! Brace up!
Me, Lucy and Beinn Dearg:
View north-west:
Yes, weather was definitively taking a turn for worse:
The crags of Seana Bhraigh:
Just before the rain arrived, we caught a glimpse of Ben Mor Coigach...
...but the rest of the way to the very summit was a viewless experience. At least there was a vague path:
Over the 838m top, we reached the summit eventually. The rain was hardly more than a drizzle, but the cloud was thick and milky. We waited by the cairn for a while, munching snacks and hoping for the clag to disperse, but nada.
Kevin posing by the cairn:
On the way back, we could have taken the route over the southernmost top, but as the cloud was now down to about 750m, we decided we couldn't be bothered and retraced our steps across the peat hags, to the stalkers path. We actually found its "upper end" on the way down, and most of the time we had to walk on the heather alongside the path, it was more a stream/ditch full of wet moss.
Surprisingly, midges didn't bother us a lot during the "walking" part of this route (there was a good breeze on higher ground), but as soon as we started the final descent to our bikes, they attacked us with double appetite for our blood. We quickly prepared the bikes, jumped on and started the long cycle back to Black Bridge. My boots were making squelchy sounds as I pushed the pedals, making me laugh sarcastically, even more so every time I thought about "Tour the Midge"
Here we go, that's Scotland for you, BP!We returned to the car park midge-bitten and wet, but in surprisingly good mood. I was just happy that the whole experience was over, to be honest
........
Shame we didn't see the views from the summit, but with current weather, I'm glad we at least got a half-decent day. Will I be returning to this Corbett? Sincerely doubt it. Might suffer up this track again to climb the two Alladale Grahams next to it, but not this year. Once a year into Alladale is more than enough
.........
There's more to come from me, a whole 5 new TR's, but most of them in rather cloudy conditions.
For some walks (as the one described above) we didn't bother taking the heavy bridge camera, so photos were snapped with my little pocket compact. Not as good and sharp, but when everything around you is gray and dark-ish, it really makes little difference.
