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So this weekend, we had plans for Kintail.. Weather reports looked poor for Saturday though, so we decided to meet up at Roybridge, and do a couple of hills round there on Saturday before heading to Kintail after. Sounded like a fine plan.
So after the usual rush to get away on Friday and a very nice night of civilised camping at Roybridge, we headed down to Fersit. There was dampness in the air, and clouds shrouding the summits.
The walk round Stob Coire Sgriodain and Chno dearg gets a bad press on account of their bogginess factor, but we found it nae bad going at all.
Sure there were wet bits, but the ground was all firm and we managed the walk with dry feet.. Apart from me slipping a foot into a river near the end, but you can’t blame the terrain for my own stupidity!
So up the Allt Choarach Beag we tromped.
The cliffs of Stob Coire Sgriodain looking impressive above. The burn was affy bonny, so we stuck with it as long as we could.
Eventually the path petered out, and we saw we were in danger of walking past the summit.
We took a slabby spur in the right direction, further up taking a unrelenting steep, boggy gully to the summit.
From there it was an easy walk. Undulating and rocky at first, over a couple of tops.
the ridge turned wide and grassy. We were right up in the cloud, and visibility was down to a few yards at some points, so plenty potential for getting lost, especially seeing as the path seems to bypass the summit
Made it up fine, and stopped awile,
then there was just the long descent to go. There is a good path for a wee way, which gets lost pretty quickly in the bog.
We skirted round a bit and found a stream to follow, its banks rather firmer than the surrounding ground. We enjoyed following the gully, hopping from bank to bank as the burn weaved its way down the hillside. Erosion forced us back up onto the heather, and the going got slower on the tussocky, splish-splashy ground. Made it back down to the track, both having had a brilliant day. Nice part of the world
We returned to the car, the rain just coming on – timed it brilliantly!
Then we were off to Kintail, the rain getting heavier all the time.. Managed to find some 3G to check when the rain would be going off, only to find out the forecast had changed, and the rain wasn’t going to be disappearing any time soon.
We decided to camp at the old bridge near the battlefield instead of our usual spot on the beach, as it was really windy as well as wet. The rain thundered all night, and we found our trusty tent has sprung a leak. At least it was on Dougie’s side
Mabon morning came and the weather was still battering off the tent with some ferocity.
Not a very good day for an enjoyable walk. IWe had a fine time pottering about though, and it did improve for at least half an hour in the afternoon
At least the wind died down, although that turned our sheltered campspot into a midge trap.. Canny win in this country!
Monday came, and my excited ‘its clear and nice outside’ proclamation at 7AM, didn’t have the desired effect on Dougie’s slumber.
It was late and cloudy by the time we got going up the glen, a couple of hills next to Clunae our target for the day.
It wasn’t long before we were on a steep, unrelenting path, and in humid conditions, without much of a breeze, it was a really hot ascent.
Up into the clouds we went, No views today we thought
We made it to the ridge, sweaty messes the pair of us.
A long easy jaunt took us up to the A’chralaig summit,
we could feel the sun trying to break through, and after a wee wait at the summit, it did.
A huge big azure sky opened up above our heads, and we could see a couple of hills poking their way through.. Just wonderful!
We carried on along the ridge, brocken spectres our constant companions,
over some rocky wee lumps and back down into the cloud. It was a relief to be out of the hot sun for a bit, and made the ascent up to Stob Coire na Chralaig a bit easier. We sat on the top for a wee while for a break, just at cloud level, so views came and went, then picked our way down the steep, slippy path to the bealach.
There are some right good rocky outcrops on the way up to Mullach Fraoch-choire and we messed about scrambling for a while, but with poorly chosen boots, and slippy Kintail rock,
it wasn’t as enjoyable scrambling as it could have been. Still a beautiful part of the ridge, especially as we got back up above the clouds.
We sat at the top for ages, soaking up the rays, the cloud clearing all the time, so more and more hills were revealing themselves.
Eventually we realised that we had long drives ahead, so we headed back the way we came, this time on the bypass path which was scarier than the scrambling in places
Down the descent path we went, the going pretty slippy and boggy for the most part, but at least kind on the knees.
Then we got down to the glen, and the path there was worse
Bog hopping takes time, so it took us a fair while to get to the relative firmness of the track, where we were finally able to make good time back to the car.
Wasn’t even going to bother with a report for this weekend until the inversion happened, but too good a day not to share
Oh and I just worked out it was my 250th as well, so another milestone I suppose
Getting harder to chse the good weather...