Glenfinnan to Inverie the hard way
Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2018 3:42 pm
After a very special trip across Knoydart last year, Dave, Alex and myself planned a similar trip in reverse starting in Glenfinnan and ending in Inverie. This time, we hoped to take in a few of the munros on the way, ones that I had missed due to poor weather last year (see my post 'Kinlochourn to Glenfinnan'). About an hour into our planned 5-day trip, as we neared the Corryhully bothy in Glenfinnan, we were met by the estate manager in his Land Rover. He gave us some advice about the lack of water in the high corries and made sure we were aware the Carnoch bridge was out. When we told him we were planning on 5 days to get to Inverie rather than three, he said 'you must be planning on climbing some peaks then?'. When we confirmed, adding that Sgurr nan Coireachan was to be the first, he nearly cried with laughter and said we must be 'bloody mad to be trying that with those heavy packs'. Later in the day, on the steep and seemingly never-ending descent into Glen Pean from the summit, I had to agree with him. Still, we managed it, and added another 5 Munros in all, including all three of the Knoydart Munros. In total, about 70 km and over 6500 m ascent, so pretty much everything went according to plan. I have to say we were helped out by the near-perfect conditions, with the long spell of dry weather in May meaning that the burns were barely running and we could cross areas with ease that would be nightmare bog under normal conditions. Our main difficulty, as the estate manager said, was actually finding water, not usually a problem in Knoydart. A couple of times that meant carrying too much weight, but although we had to range about sometimes to find a flowing burn, we never had to down-climb to find water. Here's how it went:
Day 1: Glenfinnan to Glen Pean
8 June 2018
14.2 km, 1389 m ascent.
We left the car in Mallaig and took the train to Glenfinnan, setting off about 11 am towards the viaduct via the footpath behind the station. Game on!
Day 2: Glen Pean to Sgurr na Ciche
9 June 2018
18.6 km, 1269 m ascent.
With the weather looking a bit more changeable and the slopes up to Carn Mor looking uninviting to say the least, we decided to take the line of least resistance and headed east down Glen Pean and then up Glen Dessary. We weren't sure what the next move would be, but probably to head up the Alt Coire nan Uth and camp in the bowl below the other Sgurr nan Coirachan. The idea of climbing both Sgurr nan Coireachan's in a row seemed quite appealing.
Day 3: Sgurr na Ciche to Meall Buidhe
10 June 2018
10.4 km, 1315 m ascent.
From the summit we retraced our steps back down the gully to break camp and pick up the heavy packs once again. Then we made a short traverse over the ridge to the top of the Coire na Cuairtich, and made the long descent down the steep, grassy coire, but without too much difficulty. We crossed the Carnach river without any trouble after the long dry spell and headed straight up the opposite slope to the Coire Ile below Meall Buidhe.
Day 4: Meall Buidhe to Stob na Muicraidh
11 June 2018
11.5 km, 1374 m ascent.
The next day we made the short climb up to the ridgeline with the packs and stashed them to follow the ridge west along to the summit of Meall Buidhe.
The clouds were down for the summit and after that we retraced our steps to pick up the packs and complete the ridge climb around to Luinne Bheinn, where the clouds lifted with spectacular views of Loch Hourn and Loch Nevis on either side..
Day 5: Stob na Muicraidh to Inverie
12 June 2018
13.6 km, 722 m ascent.
Day 1: Glenfinnan to Glen Pean
8 June 2018
14.2 km, 1389 m ascent.
We left the car in Mallaig and took the train to Glenfinnan, setting off about 11 am towards the viaduct via the footpath behind the station. Game on!
Day 2: Glen Pean to Sgurr na Ciche
9 June 2018
18.6 km, 1269 m ascent.
With the weather looking a bit more changeable and the slopes up to Carn Mor looking uninviting to say the least, we decided to take the line of least resistance and headed east down Glen Pean and then up Glen Dessary. We weren't sure what the next move would be, but probably to head up the Alt Coire nan Uth and camp in the bowl below the other Sgurr nan Coirachan. The idea of climbing both Sgurr nan Coireachan's in a row seemed quite appealing.
Day 3: Sgurr na Ciche to Meall Buidhe
10 June 2018
10.4 km, 1315 m ascent.
From the summit we retraced our steps back down the gully to break camp and pick up the heavy packs once again. Then we made a short traverse over the ridge to the top of the Coire na Cuairtich, and made the long descent down the steep, grassy coire, but without too much difficulty. We crossed the Carnach river without any trouble after the long dry spell and headed straight up the opposite slope to the Coire Ile below Meall Buidhe.
Day 4: Meall Buidhe to Stob na Muicraidh
11 June 2018
11.5 km, 1374 m ascent.
The next day we made the short climb up to the ridgeline with the packs and stashed them to follow the ridge west along to the summit of Meall Buidhe.
The clouds were down for the summit and after that we retraced our steps to pick up the packs and complete the ridge climb around to Luinne Bheinn, where the clouds lifted with spectacular views of Loch Hourn and Loch Nevis on either side..
Day 5: Stob na Muicraidh to Inverie
12 June 2018
13.6 km, 722 m ascent.