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So another long day out for me.. I had recently completed the east 4 Fannichs so thought why not try and improve on that and get the other 5 completed
Credit to those who do all 9 in a day, complete madness
So the forecast was fog and poor visibility untill around 11am, So i had a little bit of a long lie, packed the van and left Inverness at 9am.. that got me to the lay-by at Braemore Forrest for around 10am and I started straight away. As you can see in the video, the weather was stunning, (almost too hot
).
I had originally planned to do Meall a'Chrasgaidh first and attack it in a clock-wise direction, but when I got there I liked the look of going up Leitir Fhearna first, and honestly i think this way was probably the correct choice. The decent from Sgurr Breac to Sgurr Nan Each was rather brutal, but i think in this direction its probably the best of the two choices.
So I made my way up the rather steep Leiter Fhearna, then across towards the first munro A'Chailleach. I kind of made my own route across towards the right hand side of Toman Coinnich, there is a small path which will bring you to the lowest point between Toman Coinnich and A'Chailleach, it is narrow in places and takes you across boulder fields but will save any unnecessary acent/decent!
Before I knew it I was up A'Chailleach, In full Clag with no Views
The video shows this, My first proper experience of navigating in claggy weather, I actually enjoyed the cold weather after the hot ascent earlier
I then made my way over to Sgurr Breac, and this was also in full cloud mode
I bet the view was stunning aswell..
Then the dreaded descent, at this point I was swaying whether to return to the van through the valley path, or carry on and get the next three.. easy path home? or three huge munros on front? Well the weather was smashing so i couldnt resist
I made my way up to the gap between Sgurr nan clach geala and Sgurr nan each, this ascent was actually easier than expected, I then headed right to Sgurr nan Each. The views from here were amazing, totally made up for the previous two. I could have sat there all day long, although it didnt really feel like a munro sitting next to Sgurr nan clach geala
I sat for around 15/20 minutes admiring the views then made my way across to Sgurr Nan Clach Geala, I knew there was a fair ascent up there so just battered on with it. The grassy slopes make for quick progress and I was at the summit before I knew it, this was now my 4th Munro of the Day and 12th in total, and honestly so far my favourite summit. The views were incredible and I loved the ridgewalk before/after it.
I made my way down towards Meall a'Chrasgaidh, and by this point my feet were getting slightly sore, I was kind of in the "bag it and run" sort of mood, and felt like I had left the least favorable Munro to last, but I was wrong. Around 30/40 mins later I was at the summit of Meall a'Chrasgaidh, and I have to say the views were great. Even though it is more rounded then the others, the view you get is amazing.
So I had a quick coffee, got bitten to death by midges (As you can see in video, me walking around like a Sim Character trying to avoid them
) and then made the final descent. Again, the grassy slopes made for quick walking. I made a choice to pretty much go straight down and pick up the ATV track at the bottom, then follow the river back to the bridge at loch A'Bhraoin, I think this made it easier on the feet! By this time it was about 8pm, and the sun was setting over the loch. Wish i could have waited to see sunset but the midges were getting the better of me!
Anyway heres the video if you have a spare 15 minutes to watch
It is probably better to watch than read my poor description.. I am trying to keep a video log of all my Munros so I can look back and remember what they were like, and if it inspires anyone to go and do the walk, or brings memories back to anyone that has completed the same walk then all the better!
