by Clach Liath » Fri Jun 08, 2018 4:02 pm
Date walked: 27/05/2018
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From the road end at the west end of Loch Arkaig. Via Strathan and the forestry road to A'Chuil bothy. I then cut across the moorland to the Allt Coire an Eich. I crossed this in a narrow defile and climbed up on to the far bank. I followed animal tracks until the stream split and I followed the split up towards the col to the south west of Meall nan Spardan.
The ridge was then taken to the summit. Both the large cairn and the small cairn (the true high point) were visited (though they are only 10m apart). It was a beautiful day but a fresh chilling breeze blew strongly and the atmosphere was a little hazy. But the panoramic views were stunning. It is wild and remote. No human tracks once the forestry road was left.
As I had never previously visited Glen Pean I varied the return going almost to the col with point 616 and then descended steep grassy slopes with the Munros, Sgurr Thuilm and Sgurr nan Coireachan, looming ahead. There is a path in Glen Pean, but it loses itself in quite a few places in marsh especially as the bothy is approached. Fortunately it had been dry in the week or so prior to my visit so I did not get wet feet. Expect a different experience after rain or snow-melt.
After the bothy it was a bit of a maze through the harvested forest until a forest road is reached. After 4k the outward route was joined and I sweltered in the unusually high temperatures in the glen back to the start point.
