Arkle, a wonderful Corbett with stunning views
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2018 7:54 pmI had driven up on the Friday evening with the thoughts of maybe climbing the four most Northerly Corbetts and this one had been in my thoughts for the Saturday. After a pretty uncomfortable night trying to sleep in the car with the rain battering down and noise with Stags rutting at the start of the climb, there is quite a large area at the bridge over the burn but much of the surrounding area is waterlogged. I awoke on the Saturday only to hear the rain battering on the car and me thinking it was not such a bad idea sleeping in the car and leaving the tent inside it's pack.I was not about to start under these conditions and decided to drive towards Scourie which i did and by the time i'd got there the rain has stopped a little so decided to have breakfast in the layby near the toilet. After eating my cereal I saw a wee glimmer of blue in the sky so decided to return to the start point, by the time I'd reached it it was once again raining hard but more blue was showing so decided to sit it out for an hour. At eleven o'clock it was off and time to get booted up.
- The rain stops and the clouds lift and yes, looking good, Arkle in front at the start of the tarmac track
- Further on the well made tarmac track
- A fine reflection on Loch Stack
- After passing the house on the left continue on the good track and over this bridge, after crossing you are heading towards the tree plantation so take the left path when you come to it
- Looking over to Ben Stack
- The tree plantation guarded by the two enormous boulders which you pass through
- Looking back in the other direction
- Loch Stack and Ben Stack from the track above the plantation
- The route ahead after crossing the burn take to the heather slopes and keep on the high side of the burn (the right) and continue following same up the heathery slopes
- Looking back to the track which I have just left
- My target is the stony lump in the middle so I have to cross the burn at a suitable crossing point
- Higher up on the stone covered East summit which is vast and in bad weather may be difficult to find the cairn
- First sighting of the East summit cairn
- The actual summit of Arkle is on the left but the East summit cairn is on the left
- Looking over towards the summit of Arkle from the cairn on East Summit
- The scree slopes on Arkle
- Looking back again to Loch Stack
- After going down quite steeply to the bealach climb up again to come across the narrowing section of ridge which is an easy scramble in dry windless conditions
- Stone pavement
- Me at the actual summit
- Looking back to where i'd come
- Foinavon
- Heading down to the bealach between the two summits
