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A great Saturday morning forecast enthused me into a 6am rise and a choice between Beinn Chabhair and the long-awaited Ben Lui. The met office suggested the latter was more likely to be foggy at the summit at times, so I would save this for another day and plump for Chabhair (a meteorological balls up as it would turn out - more on that later).
The drive past Loch Lomond as usual was stunning - crisp and clear with only the odd whisp of cloud. I honestly don't think I will ever get bored of the view from Firkin Point on a fine morning. Arrived at the Drover's Inn at 8am and although there looked to be a fair bit of cloud above Beinglas Falls, I was confident this would burn away as I ascended. After an amusing incident walking along the road which involved an emergency stop by a car, being called an expletive rhyming with banker, and subsequently being mistaken for a friend of the driver, I was over the bridge and (as recommended by WH) skirting round the campsite to begin the steep ascent to the falls.
campsite bridge by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
initial climb by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
P1010396 by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
beinglas falls by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
towards vorlich and loch lomond by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
I was caught out initially with how cold it was. Fleece was applied but quickly packed away again once a sweat was built up. The amount of cobwebs I walked through told me I was the first one up. There are good views towards Loch Lomond and Ben Vorlich, but for me these were still obscured by the lingering cloud. I had a quick stop for water and a breakfast bar at the falls before climbing the last deer fence and on to the moorland plateau above the falls.
As previous reports have mentioned, the usual ascent of Beinn Chabhair can be split into 3 parts - the initial climb to the falls, the boggy trudge over moorland to the lochan, then the more mountainous climb past Meall nan Tarmachan and the summit ridge. And so it proved.
I stuck to the north side of the burn, although as cloud thickened it became increasingly difficult to see where I was going and where the path was (went off-piste and lost my bearings several times, including an uncomfortable detour through bog - see gpx above). The vegetation is pretty thick, and the eerie calm was somewhat unsettling. So much for the met office forecast, think I will stick to MWIS in future! The highlight of this section was spotting an otter further up in the burn, which unfortunately quickly scarpered on my approach.
ben glas burn by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
into the gloom by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
I was still hopeful the cloud would all burn away, and maybe I would even have my first experience of inversion at the summit. Maybe.
As others have mentioned, the path to the left before Lochan Beinn Chabhair is reached is hard enough to spot in fair weather, never mind in the clag. I'll admit to having to use GPS here, and finally the ridge of Meall nan Tarmachan appeared (only when was pretty much underneath it). Aside from the lack of a view in any direction, this is pleasant enough, and as I reached the bottom of the final ridge, a first sight of the big ball in the sky spurred me on (apologies for the fleck of dust in my camera lens).
P1010413 by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
sun poking through by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
Summit was reached quicker than I had imagined, about 2 and a bit hours after I'd set off. I stayed for about 25 minutes and had lunch, willing the cloud to lift, but eventually gave up and headed back down.
summit by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
You can probably guess what happened about 15 minutes later.
clag lifting by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
Briefly considered going back up to the summit but decided against it. Started to meet a few other walkers coming up, and remarked jealously on their better timing. With the cloud lifting, I spotted the inviting Lochan a Chasteil by Ben Glas, although the terrain between me and it did look difficult. Consulted my GPS and decided I would try and follow the 600m contour line across to the Lochan, avoiding the boggy section, adding a fourth section to the walk and hopefully making the best of what had hitherto been a disappointing morning.
lochan a chasteil by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
loch long by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
glen falloch by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
lochan beinn chabhair by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
More views opened up towards Troisgeach on the other side of the glen, although cloud was still persistent. Navigation to the lochan was difficult as expected, with a couple of unavoidable steep pull-ups, but (maybe because of the change in weather) preferable to the bog below. I held off looking back for a while, but when I inevitably did, could see the cloud-free summit of Beinn Chabhair. Sometimes you just have to accept bad luck.
troisgeach and meall nan caora by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
pathless terrain to lochan by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
back to an annonyingly clear summit by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
The lochan is well worth the detour, and in retropect I wish I had tried to negotiate Ben Glas alongside it for a better view.
lochan a chasteil and ben glas by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
P1010440 by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
Stayed here for a short while before beginning the southwest descent towards the access road above the falls, making good time. The descent is quite rough through heather and ferns, but eventually I found a stream and stuck with it.
the way down by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
company by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
back on the path and troisgeach by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
Before reaching the final descent, I passed a few walkers clearly confused by the multiple feint paths even in clear weather. As I said, not the easiest one for navigation at the best of times.
Back down past the falls and into the glen I went, which seemed somehow steeper than on the way up, and the knees and toes were feeling it. Rebelliously walked through the campsite this time, and was back to the car in 4hrs 47mins, decidedly tired if not a tad frustrated. A morning well worth the exercise despite the weather, and certainly the detour to Lochan a Chasteil in clear weather is recommended.
last steep descent by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
image by
Ross Thomson, on Flickr
