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Following a week of being ill I was crawling up the walls – I was going up a hill, ill or not. Malcy’s plans had cancelled on him and he was happy to drive down to meet me after a morning’s work on Saturday. I’d suggested a summit camp as the weather was looking awesome and Malcy as usual couldn’t think of an excuse why not
16.18km
1179m ascent
5 hours 30 minutes
We met at Inveruglas and headed off in the glorious sunshine just after 1
I had been up Ben Vorlich a couple of weeks ago and had managed to
mess up the beginning…fortunately I had learned from this mistake and we successfully headed up the right track and didn’t have to climb any fences and railway lines
Looking back to Loch Lomond – the fluff on the tops was forecast to clear during the afternoon
Ben Lomond poking out the clouds – we were hopeful for our summit
Initially an easy walk up the track we made good progress. As it was a stunning day we were meeting quite a few others, mostly on their way down.
It took us around 35 minutes to reach the bottom of the path, and suddenly we were heading steeply uphill. Attempting to be sensible I suggested a slower than usual pace as I was still a bit under the weather…unfortunately we kept forgetting and speeding up
Looking back down to the dam
As we gained height we started to get caught by the wind – the forecast had suggested it would be strong but we weren’t expecting it here! We were into the clag before we hit the ridge and once up there it was pretty miserable. Everyone we met coming down said it was awful up top....
Occasionally we could sense the blue sky above…
And at times the sun really was trying….
I was still trusting in the forecast….it was to clear! Although when we reached the summit at 3.40, half an hour before sunset we weren’t hugely hopeful. We had a pause to add layers...realised we probably should have done that before the wind was trying to blow everything to China
We wandered out to the 931 munro top because Malcy wanted to bag it
As we were heading back…this happened….
We got a shift on to try to get to higher ground in time for sunset – it was absolutely freezing and we both managed to freeze our fingers attempting to get photos of this
It was blowing in and out but we were so chuffed that we’d managed to see something even if the photos weren’t very good
The next step was to find somewhere to camp…and to be honest we were both pretty sure we were going to have to drop down towards Loch Sloy as all the sheltered spots were on the wrong side of the hill (although neither of us wanted to be the first to suggest it
) ….however….Malcy spotted something just below the summit, and credit where it’s due – it was a perfect spot! However, we only had space for one tent, so pitched Malcy’s 2-man and put all our stuff in a convenient wee cave where we were able to cook and sit relatively comfortably whilst enjoying the afterglow of the sunset. The cloud was still blowing in and out but as the evening progressed it became more and more settled
We cooked up some food (and as I was feeling pretty ropey Malcy blew up my mat for me – what a gent
) before realising that we were really really cold (and it was dark
)
Although we were pretty sheltered in our cave it was still a cold wind and still a bit damp to sit out in sleeping bags so retreated to the tent. It took me a long time to warm up and was wondering if this had been a sensible idea….
It should have been a hugely boring evening but fortunately we both had some chat
Getting out the tent later on it was still cold but the sky had cleared, there were thousands of stars in the sky and it was stunning. We had a wee wander up to the summit before playing around with the night mode on the camera.
Head torch head
Eventually we were too cold to stay out any longer and got back into the tent. Although not the best quality sleep we managed to get a decent amount and when we woke up in the morning we felt so cosy that getting up wasn’t hugely attractive. But we had business with a sunrise…. Heading the few metres back to the summit we were greeted by a brutal wind but a beautiful sight….
In the wind it was really cold so the key was to keep moving – it was a bit too windy for one leg
Just about managed it on the ground
We got the best views from just beyond the trig point – looking down Loch Lomond and Loch Arklet to Ben Lomond
Loch Lomond and Ben Lomond
Ben More and Stob Binnein
Loch Arklet
The sun starting to come up
Hiding from the wind
Here comes the sun
It was cold so we wandered back over towards the trig….
…then back to the summit….
….and had another wander out to the 931 top just because
Ben Lui, Oss and Dubhchraig
Cruachan in the distance
Arrochar alps
Beinn Narnain and Arran in the distance
Ben Vorlich and Ben Lomond
Mull in the distance
Beinn Bhuidhe and Ben Cruachan
Binnein an Fhidhleir
Arrochar Alps
North looked awesome
Starting to warm up despite the wind
We headed back towards the tent….looking down from the summit
And Malcy looking up towards me
Once we’d got the tent down it was time to get going – it was getting on 9.30 afterall
As we headed down it was still brutally windy and we were glad of all our extra layers
It was nice being able to see where we were going today
Little Hills with Ben More and Stob Binnein behind
Poser
It wasn’t long before we started meeting people
Looking down to the dam
Loch Lomond
As we dropped height we were out of the worst of the wind and had to lose some layers; Malcy was still wearing 3 pairs of trousers which has to be unheard of
Sloy dam
As we were approaching the dam we were recognised by someone coming up – she turned out to be Hillbeback! Always nice to meet fellow WalkHighlanders on the hills
Back at the track we had to lose more layers…it was roasting down in the glen!
Ben Vane
From here it was an easy walk out – I was feeling a lot better but we were both looking forward to a cup of tea in the café
Ben Lomond
We were recognised again by Chris Mac – looks like it was the place to be today! A short distance further we were at the road and soon after back at the café and sitting down to a cup of tea and a roll and sausage. Nom nom nom
Loch Lomond from Inveruglas
A’ Chrois
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4.33km
410m ascent
1 hour 50 minutes
It was a beautiful day and it seemed a shame to head back already…so something small seemed a good idea – we decided to head up Cruach Tairbeirt; a revisit for me but a new Marilyn for Malcy (loser
)
We decided to avoid antagonising the angry woman and parked at the Slanj – this added an extra couple of hundred metres of distance and 6 metres of ascent
There were a few notices saying the path was closed due to fallen trees…we chose to ignore these as we’re pretty used to bashing through stuff on the hills
Looking towards Arrochar
Ben Lomond
I had made the mistake of heading too far right last time, so we made sure not to this time….which meant we ended up climbing over a lot of trees. I struggled to get my leg over
Soon enough we were out of the trees and the views were stunning. Malcy tried to look epic….and ended up with weird arms
The Cobbler
I got a bit stuck….
But it was generally an easy climb to the summit where the views were awesome
Malcy attempting not to put in a call to Arrochar MRT…
We had a nice wee wander around the summit – the wind had even dropped a lot now which made it a lot more pleasant to stand around
The Cobbler
Eventually we headed down – via my Loch Long viewpoint; this involved some bashing through heather which delighted Malcy
Loch Lomond
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1.43km
87m ascent
35 minutes
Back at the cars it was time to part company – Malcy was heading for a sunset on his way back north and I was heading home to be sensible….well….via a wee detour
I left the car just up the wee track from Gartocharn and headed up the good track towards Duncryne. It was pretty muddy and I maybe ought to have put my boots on instead of my trail shoes
Sunset was imminent as I headed up
The Campsies
Yup….it may only be a tiny wee hill but it’s got a fabulous view down Loch Lomond!
Ben Lomond
Sun setting
I headed down and paused to enjoy the sunset before I lost too much height
Then it was a slip and slide back through the mud to the car and an easy drive home – yet another fabulous weekend
Nae regrets!
