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Feel it closing in...at the start of the weekend we had 3 Grahams left to do - Mullach Coire nan Geur-oirean on the south shores of Loch Arkaig, Creag Ghuanach near Loch Trieg and Mullach Buidhe on Arran. With it being Easter weekend it wasn't really practicable to get from Fort William to Arran, so we decided to settle for the two northernly hills and add in some Munro Tops (Allison having decided she wants to tick that particular box). Both the Grahams were longish walks - I decided we'd make use of Invermaille Bothy for Geur-oirean and tackle Ghuanach from the wee minister in the north rather than rely on trains to Courror station.
We arrived at the car park at Eas Chia-aig at a reasonable hour and set off into the gloaming. I'd packed the small tent in case the bothy was packed out, but hoped we'd not have to use it. The track is of good quality although does undulate quite a bit, the rain was staying off. I must have missed the turn off for the bothy, as I could see it across the field, getting no closer...a bit of squelchy field crossing had us at the front door. No-one else inside - recently renovated and a good size of a place, 5 useable rooms. We managed to get a small fire going using bits of rubbish and charred wood in the grate and enjoyed a late meal by candle light.
Loch Arkaig
P1150266 by
Al, on Flickr
Bothy
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Nice and warm overnight, no ghosts or unwelcome scampering visitors to disturb the slumber. Up early and off into the morning. We see a bridge marked on the map just behind the bothy - um, well a bridge it may have been a long time ago but now just posts either side of a fast flowing river. Fortunately there is a good bridge back on the track we took last night - there's a path leaving from the bothy to this. Up Glen Mallie for a couple of kilometres then we turn north up the heathered hillside of Sron nan Leac at the eastern end of Guer-oirean. Across the glen the deep corries on Beinn Bhan are scooped out of the hillside. Meall a'Phubuill stretches to our left, a reminder of a good, long day on Corbetts. Back to the task in hand, up to the flattish tail end of our mountain at around 360m. We can see the back of the hill stretching off into the distance. To the north, the hills of Kintail are white with snow.
Our hill
P1150276 by
Al, on Flickr
You don't want to wade this - River Mallie just up from the bothy
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Al, on Flickr
Scooped coire on Beinn Bhan
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Al, on Flickr
Meall a'Phubuill
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Al, on Flickr
Guer-oirean from halfway up
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Al, on Flickr
More easy walking over an increasingly mossy surface takes us finally to the top of Guer-oirean. Ahead are the twin peaks of Gaor Bheinn, to the north Loch Arkaig embraces the Glen Dessarry hills. We nip further along the ridge to the west top (a Simm) then start to make our way steeply down into the upper reaches of Glen Mallie, aiming for a walled sheep enclosure. After lunch, we begin walking back along the glen, the rounded form of Beinn Bhan ahead of us. The track is quite rough but reasonable, with several bridges of varying quality crossing the river. We remain on the north side, pass the ruined buildings at Glenmallie and some impressive waterfalls. Back at the car around 3pm, not bad for a long day.
Approaching summit - Gaor Bheinn in backdrop
P1150282 by
Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Looking north
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Al, on Flickr
Loch Arkaig
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Al, on Flickr
On Simm business
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Al, on Flickr
The long walk back along Glen Mallie
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
One of several interesting bridges
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
We have decided to camp at Bunroy campsite - it's just changed hands - hopefully it will remain as friendly as of old. Despite it being Easter weekend there are not many tents when we arrive - although several parties of kayakers soon change that. Knowing the next day will be quite long too, we grab an early night.
Saturday - we notice a fair amount of new snow on the tops - down to around 650m. Shouldn't trouble us too much as Creag Ghuanach is a feeble 621m. Up the Coire Choille road to the wee minister where we meet a guy taking a lot of supplies to a bothy - with help from a Landy/Argocat combination. Cheating! We set off along the track passing the always impressive pair of Cruach and Sgurr Innse - the latter especially dramatic when viewed from the south. We pass the bothy at Leacach, where the Landy is parked but the Argocat it was trailing has gone on. From here we cross the river and begin to walk down the Lairig Leacach which ends at the southern end of Loch Treig. The path isn't up to much - boggy and frequently crossing streams. And it down downhill
I mutter something about job creation for the unemployed...
Saturday morning snow on Aonach Mor tops
P1150298 by
Al, on Flickr
stob ban
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Al, on Flickr
Creag Ghuanach in distance, Meall Mor to R
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Al, on Flickr
Leacach Bothy
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Al, on Flickr
sgurr Innse
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Al, on Flickr
The Innses
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
"Track"
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Al, on Flickr
At length we reach the slopes of Creag Ghuanach - a mountain that is craggy on the north/eastern aspects, but docile from the west. An easy lope up the slope takes us to the summit cairn. Visibility is quite poor with bands of snow coming and going, but there are nice views to the Mamores and Glencoe beyond. We descend towards Feithh na Ghleannain, on our way to climb Meall Mor. This Simm is a full 100m higher than our Graham, which seems a bit weird. The weather closes in as we pull up to the summit, almost - but not quite - hiding the dramatic Grey Corries behind snow clouds and permitting a fine full profile view of Stob Coire Easain. Descending towards the track we join up with the outward track at the bothy and return to the car. Neither of us can quite believe we have only 1 Graham left now.
easy ascent of Ghuanach
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Meall Mor with the Grey Corries behind
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
meall mor from meall beag
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Stob Coire Easain
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Al, on Flickr
Another band of weather incoming
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Al, on Flickr
View north from Meall Mor
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Al, on Flickr
Weasel on a Simm
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Al, on Flickr
Distance and time are wrong as battery ran out - distance is about 28k, time 8 hours, but ascent is correct
P1150334 by
Al, on Flickr
Back at the campsite I rustle up an impressive tofu green thai curry and we contemplate what to do on Sunday. I had thought of doing the 2 Tops east of Aonach Mor, but worry there might be too much snow (we have no winter gear with us). Similarly, Sgurr Choinnich Mor, Beag and Sgurr a Bhuic from Steall Meadows might be a bit awkward, especially the scramble up to Sgurr a Bhuic. Other nearby Tops still needed include Stob Coire Dubh (off Carn Liath) - I know that will pose no problems being a very flat whaleback and we decided to go for that one.
Sunday has clag down and it feels cold - hard to believe we were being roasted this time last week. We drive the few miles to the Creag Megaidh car park which is strangely quiet. We walk towards Coire Ardair, Allison turns and asks if we've missed the path up Carn Liath. I say no, my route takes us straight up from the path. Expecting a path to follow (this is a Munro after all) rather than 300m up heathery steep trackless hillside she is none too impressed and tells me she hates me. Such is life - but the routes I took for my Munro Tops did not tend to be the easiest ones
Towards Carn Liath
P1150335 by
Al, on Flickr
We get to the top of the ridge and have an easy saunter up the path now that we've reached it, making for the large cairn at the top of Carn Liath. It's quite cold up here - we don't linger but set off NE towards A'Bhudheanach. Whiteness all around, nice spongy surface to walk on. I'm about 50m ahead of her and spot a figure coming towards us from the Munro Top. Pretty odd to see anyone out there on a day like this I think. We say hello and as he passes I notice he's wielding a stick or staff. I think I recognise the stick and start to turn round just as he reaches Allison and recognises us - my Mad-Bagger hero Robert Phillips in person
I guess it had to happen at some point that our paths would cross on the hillside - he's come up from Melgarve and is doing Humps, Simms and Munro Tops. We have an animated chat and I'm delighted to learn he's getting round to finishing his Munro Tops and Furths as well as the many other challenges. Great to meet up.
Summit Carn Liath
P1150337 by
Al, on Flickr
A'Bhudheanach
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Al, on Flickr
Weasels and Mr Phillips
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Al, on Flickr
We trot down to the dip before the Top and have a bite to eat - summer boots get you rather cold toes in snow it appears. Quick nip up to the Top then across to the nearby Simm of Meall a'Chaorainn Mor - I'd planned to include this when I did the Top first time, but it is quite a tramp over peat hags and one needs to contour round the Allt Coire an t-Slugain, so I'm not surprised I abandoned it then, when Simms were less valuable. We return to the top of Carn Liath. It's gone 2.30 by now and I don't suggest heading round to Stob Poite Coire Ardair as I suspect there will be quite a lot of snow in The Window on the descent - actually it didn't look too bad when we looked over on our way down Carn Liath.
Summit
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Al, on Flickr
Meall a'Chaorainn Mor
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Snow Gate
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Al, on Flickr
Towards Creag Megaidh
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Our final night at the campsite, rain showers irritate by starting up every time we try and sit outside. Not sure what to do tomorrow, decide to leave it and see what kind of weather arrives. Sunshine and clear skies greet us. from what we can see of the nearby hilltops from the campsite it doesn't look as if any of the overnight rain fell as snow - I decide to do the 2 eastern tops of Aonach Mor - when I climbed them last time clag prevented good views of Aonach Mor.
Back to Coire Choille and park in the lower place, into the forest where timber operations are in progress and along to the dam. From here it's a walk over boggy hillside then a steady 400m ascent up Tom na Sroine.
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Al, on Flickr
Our 2 tops
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Al, on Flickr
Chul-Coire
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Al, on Flickr
Up the slopes of Tom na Sroine
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Al, on Flickr
The two tops are markedly different - the first, Tom na Sroine being a grassy lump contrasting with the imposing black cliffs of Stob a'Chul-Coire. When we get onto the back of Tom na Sroine, the deep coires dividing us from Aonach Mor come into view, the foreboding cliffs of that mighty mountain topped with icing sugar snow. We have our lunch at the top of Tom na Sroine and notice there's another climber on top of Chul-Coire. We head on over, in his footsteps. When we reach the summit - snow starting to consolidate underfoot we see he has gone on up Aonach Mor. If we'd had full winter kit with us, I would have been tempted to follow - although it did look a somewhat steep ascent - but as it was we turned around and retraced our steps, stopping every so often to check on his progress and giving a little cheer when we saw him reach the top.
First view of Aonach Mor
DSC03158 by
Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Summit Tom na Sroine
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Chul-Coire
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Al, on Flickr
Aonach Beag
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
Spur up to Aonach Mor
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Al, on Flickr
Sgurr Choinnich Mor & Beag
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Al, on Flickr
Aonach beag
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
I quite enjoyed doing 1000m tops again after the lowly altitude of Grahams, and I suppose if I am going to do the 88 she has left I will be well on my way to a second round of Munro Tops, which probably isn't a bad thing