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A route I’d been looking at for ages; Malcy suggested the removal of the Corbett Creach Bheinn and addition of two Marilyns, because he’s a sad Marilyn Bagger
But I was happy with that – it looked like a good day out. Saturday’s forecast looked brilliant, so it was go time
Loch Lomond was looking beautiful – I love this time of year
Again, driving across Rannoch Moor was lovely – and the beautiful views took my mind off the caravans I got stuck behind
The obligatory Bookle photo
I couldn’t believe that Malcy was ahead of me so took my time driving down Glen Etive stopping to take photos, figuring he would come past me at some point
Ever get the feeling you’re being watched?
Beinn Trilleachean ahead
However, arriving at the tip of Loch Etive I discovered Malcy already there; he had obviously had a quicker trip than I
A quick stop at Loch Etive for a photo….
....before we headed off – a couple of metres down the track and we found a way onto the hill – it was obvious from the beaten down grass that folk had been this way before. However any sort of path instantly disappeared and we were off-piste already! Least the views were good
There were smatterings of a path which became better the higher up we climbed. It was fairly steep going and very sloppy underfoot but we had both resigned ourselves to wet feet – I was still wearing my old boots and they had let in water after 10 minutes
Loch Etive in the shadow of Starav
As we approached the ridge the views back up Glen Etive started to open out – I love this glen
The climb up the ridge was virtually pathless – there were moments which could have been a path but they soon disappeared as we picked our way in between rocky outcrops. It was hot work – sheltered from the wind I was regretting my extra layer!
Towards the summit of Meall nan Gobhar the gradient eased and we were onto the famous (or infamous) slabs of Beinn Trilleachan, looking over towards Beinn Sgulaird
Final ascent to Meall nan Gobhar (hopefully
)
There were a few clouds gathering over Glencoe but so far we were trusting in the forecast
This could be a cool way up in winter?
We climbed out onto the top and could see Meall nan Gobhar and the summit of Beinn Trilleachan in the distance
Creach Bheinn and Beinn Sgulaird
We easily reached Meall nan Gobhar and the views were just awesome
Creach Bheinn and Sgulaird again
Loch Etive and the Trilleachan climbing rocks, with Ben Cruachan hiding in the cloud
Looking back up Glen Etive
The descent from Meall nan Gobhar was steep and awkward on slightly damp slabs and we both took a couple of tumbles to the other’s amusement
As we began to climb onwards we looked back to what we had just come down
There was a path most of the way along which made for an easy walk, but it was definitely getting chilly – it was a cold wind. Winter is coming
The rocky summit of Beinn Trilleachan was reached with no further incidents and the views were awesome
Looking back along the ridge and up Glen Etive
Doing my thing
It was time for some food (or more food in Malcy’s case
) and also some more layers! It was more sheltered here than on the walk over from Meall nan Gobhar but there was a definite chill in the air.
We continued onwards – dropping off Trilleachan we weaved our way between slippery slabs and down steep, wet grass. It wasn’t as bad as our descent from Binnein an Fhidhleir in Arrochar a few weeks ago but it was definitely getting there
Malcy looking ahead to his beloved Marilyn (what a loser
) I think this was just before we took a synchronised slide, complete with sound effects
Finally we were on relatively level long grass and bog, which was infinitely preferable to steep wet grass and bog
Lochan an Lair with Beinn Sgulaird behind
Lochan an Lair and Ben Cruachan
I spotted a beach and attempted to emulate Malcy’s pose from Ben Macdui’s beach
Malcy on Macdui
Looking back to Beinn Trilleachan
It was a short but steep climb onto the ridge of Beinn Mheadhonach but once we were there it was a lovely walk along an easy ridge
More silhouttos
Looking back to the big guys of Etive
Beinn Sgulaird – looks big
We discovered that Beinn Mheadhonach, a Marilyn in the middle of nowhere, had fabulous views and were even throwing around ideas for a summit camp
Sgulaird
Loch Etive and the Cruachan massif
Looking back to Beinn Trilleachan – an interesting angle from this side!
Beinn Mheadhonach summit
“Do that again, you look like an idiot”
It was another awkward and slow descent from Beinn Mheadhonach – it looked like we might not have time for Malcy’s second Marilyn of the day – An Grianan. He grumpily said we would see about that
We had spotted that the Hydro track had been extended down to the glen so decided it would be easier to use that to reach the bealach instead of heading directly up the side of Beinn Sgulaird. It wasn’t as good underfoot as it had appeared but still easier than the alternative. And we’d both had wet feet for hours anyway – how much worse could it get? Actually it could get worse, as I sunk my entire boot into a deep muddy pile of sludge, much to Malcy’s amusement
We could see showers here and there but by and large we missed them - eventually we got hit by a heavy one which meant the waterproofs went on.
Beinn Mheadhonach
It was a straightforward climb on the track and it was nice to have something a little more solid underfoot as we gained height – looking back to Beinn Mheadhonach and Beinn Trilleachan
Reaching the top of the pass we headed up on rough ground – scoping out our route we actually discovered something of a path, although it was possibly more of a sheep track
Looking back down to the track and Creach Bheinn
We were confident in the forecast – the fluff would clear
It was looking good – sunshine towards Loch Creran, Lismore and the Ardnamurchan peninsula
Creach Bheinn – an impressive hill for another day
Looking back to Loch Etive and Ben Cruachan
Still looking good….
We hit the ridge and had reached the fluff
But only just, and we were confident it would clear as we set off along the ridge – we even picked up a real path!
We came across a wee lochan as we picked our way over the lumps and bumps of the Sgulaird ridge
Another sign it was going to clear – a fog bow!
A wee glimpse of Fraochaidh
Finding a cairn, there was no way that we thought we’d reached the summit here….
Although as we were continuing along the ridge we didn’t really feel the need to bother checking
Beinn Sgulaird not-summit
The path continued (a warning bell) followed by a steep descent and another big ascent to….wait for it….the actual summit
Beinn Sgulaird actual summit
It was getting late – the ridge along with everything else had taken longer than we had expected and the sun would be setting in about 10 minutes! Not that we would be able to enjoy it as the clag had definitely thickened
We had a quick bite before continuing along the ridge. The path was much fainter now and often non-existent!
It did look like it would clear at one point but then changed its mind. We were also really beginning to notice the light going
We made our way along the ridge – it wasn’t easy underfoot; slippery rocks and plenty of hands on required. As the level of light dropped it got more and more awkward but at least we had dropped below the cloud level!
We carefully made our way down the rocky sections. Malcy had finally realised than his second Marilyn was not going to happen
We made the decision to drop off the ridge into the glen to save a final ascent and descent over a steep rocky lump. Once off the ridge the ground was less rocky but more boggy and slippery. Given the approaching dark this was definitely the safer option!
We decided to try to manage as long as possible without a head torch in order to keep our night vision. It did eventually start to clear and the stars came out which gave us a little more light. Fortunately we could hear the burns before we fell into them, however eventually we came across a much larger burn. The head torch came out and after an initial panic as we saw a foaming white waterfall and lochan we found an easy crossing point. Disaster averted, for now.
Looking back to Beinn Sgulaird….
We had another burn to cross; an easy crossing on a large slab, before crossing more crap ground
Another map check – we were still where we thought we were! We decided that the easiest route would be to walk due East until we hit the forest which we could follow all the way back to the car. The ground underfoot was difficult, there were slabs and rocks and tussocks and bog to negotiate and we had to drop in and out of a corrie with another burn crossing. There were plenty of "arghh" and "whoaaa" noises from both of us as we negotiated worse and worse ground! We could see the outline of Beinn Starav ahead, and then suddenly, finally, it looked spiky….and we realised we’d reached the forest! WahoO!
The home straight was all that remained….what should have been the easy bit became even worse; I managed to sink into a bog and nearly lost a boot, and then managed to faceplant into a different bog (thank goodness for waterproof trousers
) Not that Malcy was having much joy staying on his feet either
We bashed our way through bracken, bracken and more bracken. We could see lights in the caravans in the car park ahead but they didn’t seem to be getting any closer
The bracken was a nightmare and we were probably getting quite close to a sense of humour failure at this point…
500 lumen head
And then at last we were on the track and back at the cars – it was definitely time for a high five! We had been on the hills for over 11 hours, the last 4 in darkness, and had somehow managed to enjoy ourselves
We both agreed that there weren't many other people we could have done that with and still been on speaking terms with afterwards
Malcy produced chocolate donuts for dinner as we removed our wet boots and headed off in our separate directions for home and a very late night after a fabulous day out
