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The darkest day- nightmare on the Fannichs

The darkest day- nightmare on the Fannichs


by Mountainlove » Thu Sep 12, 2013 2:38 pm

Munros included on this walk: A' Chailleach (Fannichs), Meall a' Chrasgaidh, Sgùrr Breac, Sgùrr nan Clach Geala, Sgùrr nan Each

Date walked: 06/09/2013

Time taken: 14 hours

Distance: 29.4 km

Ascent: 2683m

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Re: The darkest day- nightmare on the Fannichs

Postby tomyboy73 » Thu Sep 12, 2013 8:56 pm

p.s how did you get that dragonfly to stay on your hand ? it must have known you needed cheering up, your own little daemon for the day
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Re: The darkest day- nightmare on the Fannichs

Postby weaselmaster » Thu Sep 12, 2013 9:02 pm

Hey - at least it didn't snow :lol: :lol:

Enjoyed that - honest account of the slip ups we can all make - it was just as well you waymarked your rucksack otherwise it could have been really grim- I share your anxiety when leaving the sack on a more remote route :shock: It is also quite a thought to do a big route like that solo when things go wrong.
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Re: The darkest day- nightmare on the Fannichs

Postby celt54321 » Thu Sep 12, 2013 9:42 pm

[quote="mountainstar"]Mistakes like that happen to most of us, even if most of us would not admit to it..yes i like your honest approach,im sure as mountainstar says things like this probably happen to far more people than would care to admit it. :clap:
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Re: The darkest day- nightmare on the Fannichs

Postby Fife Flyer » Thu Sep 12, 2013 10:00 pm

Wow what a report & adventure :clap: :clap:

Bet you have never been so pleased to see your car :lol:

It will take some report to beat that this month, well done excellent read & photo's :wink:

There are plenty of lessons you will learn from the experience & you won't do ever again :lol:
Prime example when I forgot my water/drink & only realised when I got my rucksack out of the car, never done it since & it is one thing I always make sure I have 8)
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Re: The darkest day- nightmare on the Fannichs

Postby KeithS » Thu Sep 12, 2013 10:21 pm

That's quite some walk Maya, glad you got back safely.
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Re: The darkest day- nightmare on the Fannichs

Postby Collaciotach » Thu Sep 12, 2013 10:23 pm

That's a day n a half ! ...... can be tricky hills the Fannichs , if you want a guide for the Eastern four I m cheap and never saw a thing on them three weeks ago so I ll be back :wink:

Glad you got back safely :)
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Re: The darkest day- nightmare on the Fannichs

Postby Ibex » Thu Sep 12, 2013 10:56 pm

What a walk. At the very least you came back from a pretty great adveture and you returned with stories, valuable experience and some absolutely stunning photographs.
The photos of An Teallach and the bedewed dragonfly are amazing! :clap:

We all have an internal compass malfunction at times. I ended up in the wrong valley in the Lakes once.......
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Re: The darkest day- nightmare on the Fannichs

Postby laconic surf » Fri Sep 13, 2013 12:16 am

:shock:
When it rains, it pours eh? :lol:
Glad you got back safe
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Re: The darkest day- nightmare on the Fannichs

Postby Mountainlove » Fri Sep 13, 2013 9:20 am

@ Backpacker
Lol I am hoping you will make it in a full round...and have better luck than I had :thumbup:

@ SAVAGEALICE
It is when you look forward to the next easy hill even more so

@ LeithySuburbs & basscadet
Thank you. I will keep that in mind for the next Walkhighland Meet :-) :clap:
I did not think the hills would have so many 'surprises'. Thats what you get when you think you are in for an easy round.

@ mountainstar
Honesty works out most of the times and at least one can think...at least I am not the only daft one out there. 8)

@ dogplodder
Oh to walk through that plantation was on my mind...but crossing the big part of the burn would have been a challenge (one I decided to pass) 8)

@ scoob999
Reust me doing extra hill sound so much better than a 3x repeat. I already decided to put them in document sleeves next time and tape them up...I have learned my lesson! :roll:
Regarding the return...at least the next time I can complete them in a day...although that will be next year.

@ litljortindan
Thank you :D

@ The Rodmiester
Thank you...never thought so many things could go wrong at the same time...but I guess tiredness had a lot to answer for. Camping in the rain and storm is always scary...I usually avoid it and always laugh when non campers say--- it must be so romantic in the rain...ehm no. :lol:


scottishkennyg
Oh yes back I will be and I am looking forward to look back and remember - preferably on a dry and sunny day. :D

@ Tomsie
Thank you :D

@ Essan
Looking back it does not seem that bad anymore. I know what you mean with a proper map...but usually I try to avoid any extra weight and use print outs...but for that walk a proper map would have been great...although in strong winds they can be a nightmare...GPS are great (when they work) 8) :D

@ tomyboy73
and one I will not forget

@ weaselmaster

Oh you are so right...snow would have made me cry. About walking alone, yes it can be scary...but you also learn a lot more...although with another person or a small group it is always more fun. :thumbup:

@ Fife Flyer
Yep thats always the good times...you will never make the same mistake twice. I once forgot half of my food...and had to life on 3 rolls and a bag of nuts throughout a 15h day...that will never happen again either. :lol:

@ Keith
It was a slight nightmare.,..and thats after looking so forward to get back to the area...but at least I had some good days after

@ Collaciotach
Never thought they would be tricky - they look so easy...but at least I had some views...but I am looking forward to do the remaining 4. :D

@ Ibex
Thank you regarding the photos...about internal malfunctioning compasses...tell me about it...when the map says one thing and your head says something else...been there done that too :D

@ laconic surf
Its a day when you think you should have stayed in bed
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Re: The darkest day- nightmare on the Fannichs

Postby BlackPanther » Fri Sep 13, 2013 12:06 pm

Hell of an adventure you had!! :shock:
In the cloud with flat GPS and soggy map falling apart - that would make me panic for sure...

I remember standing on the summit of Sgurr nan Each thinking, why it was classified as a separate Munro? Doesn't look distinctive enough... No wonder you overlooked it the first time.

I think we all have such "accidents" on our account. Ours happened once on An Teallach, silly as it sounds, we walked it from south to north and only half way up Bidein a'Ghlas Thuill we realised we missed Sgurr Fiona - and it happened on a beautiful sunny day. No clag to have as an excuse... We had to return to the col, climb SF and then BGT once again :twisted: :twisted:
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Re: The darkest day- nightmare on the Fannichs

Postby ceaser » Fri Sep 13, 2013 3:35 pm

report of the month ......reminds me of when me and tomsie got stuck up the essians ,everything that could go wrong did ,at least we had each other for comfort ,you had to stick it out alone .....well done :D

its all about learning from our mistakes ,and im sure you will :D
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Re: The darkest day- nightmare on the Fannichs

Postby Graeme D » Fri Sep 13, 2013 9:15 pm

The word "epic" has been used to describe this - well it's funny, but any time I've been out walking without my mate Robin and I later report back to him that I had "an epic" at the weekend, his response is always "Oh, what went wrong?" :lol: :lol: :lol: Sometimes the hills have a rather cruel habit of seemingly compounding the mistakes we make along the way! I think lesser mortals may have crumbled and wept in the face of these setbacks but you are clearly made of sterner stuff. Well done! :clap:
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Re: The darkest day- nightmare on the Fannichs

Postby kevsbald » Fri Sep 13, 2013 9:38 pm

Well, what a 24hrs. I think the dragonfly shows you that even in the most adverse moments, nature can still reward you. A very honest tale. Danke schon.
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Re: The darkest day- nightmare on the Fannichs

Postby brpro26 » Sat Sep 14, 2013 5:34 am

Lessons learned is an over-rated saying that really means you didn't fully prepare for the unexpected and got caught out. Were you solo? it's sad when you take photo's of yourself walking away...2nd sign of madness.
The poor guy at the back in the photo looks like he's followed through....what did you say to him?
Was that your wee tent for the hills as the one on the first night was red.
Can't have many lives left now....it's a remote place that needs respect. If you go down with a twisted ankle or a dislocated a*se from sliding down a water rock-shute your in soapy bubble.

Worst thing of all is I can't believe you didn't brush your teeth in the morning.......no Tic-Tac nothing.... :shock:
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Re: The darkest day- nightmare on the Fannichs

Postby gaffr » Sat Sep 14, 2013 7:04 am

Trying to disentangle a report is no bad thing..... asking questions can be useful....I'm sure that the person of the report will reply. :)
A tent for the car for close to the road camping and another for the higher ground would be perfectly logical.
There are a number of folks around here who do solo journeys and camp on the higher ground.
Images could well be taken with the camera of the trip reporter by others on the hill at the same time.
I like to travel solo and camp and especially at my advanced age having the means to go to ground can be useful. :)
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