Glen Carron Episode 1

[Benaden887]

Glen Carron episode 1 20.5km 1975m 8.3hrs. 11/09/1993

The KMC are at the Jacobites hut in Glen Carron for the w/e. After opening the place up on headtorches and dumping our gear, we headed for the Ledgowan hotel for a pint. It`s shut but there`s a light on in the back. I knock - the verbals go like this - manager says sorry but we`re closed early for the winter- Jeez oh, so what do you do for 6 months, - Wait until the season restarts in April. - Can you still sell beer ?- Well we do have a license - Look my friends an I have driven up from Ayrshire and could really use a beer. He looks at the four of us - there`s more cars coming - I stress, he opens the door wide and turns on the lights. We give our orders at the bar as next lot arrive. The arrangement is, bars open until we go and he will also open tomorrow for us. The party`s just winding down when a bus pulls in, a beaten shinty team and friends who just happened to see the lights and need to drown their sorrows. A great time was had by all until about 2am when the wee missus driver of the bus came storming in frozen and kicked up holy hell.
The next day started dry. A group of us headed for Achnashellach. Sarah, Phil, and I cross the railway, a path up leads past trees, waterfalls, to Coire Lair. A track leads S our way back ifn we only add Sgorr Ruadh. Further on to a split, left a ROW passes Loch Coire Lair for Torridon. Right a stalkers path over Drochaid Coire Lair to Coulin lodge. We follow this to a couple of lochans where another track leads up a grassy face to a cairn @ 876m. Beinn Liath Mhor has three tops, the first two having almost the same height and drop before a rise to 936m reaches the cairn. A light shower of rain. Here Phil`s had enough but says he`ll come get us later at Coulags. Down to Coire Lair, skim a wee top then a 100m climb gets the ridge and 200m more the top of Sgurr Ruadh@962m. Great views here of, Raeburns Buttress on the way up. The Torridon peaks and hills to the SE. Here Chean dearg looks far away, but Sarah says we`ll make it and I believe her. Down again to Bealach na Lice, a rest at the lochan, then a climb thro crags to the huge boulder top of Meal Chean dearg @933m down a rocky crest to Bealach a` Coire Gairbh. An Ruadh stac looks awesome from here but we turn away down into Fionn glen where a track leads past a bothy. A looksee finds one of the rooms is padlocked. Unusual. A bridge across Fionn river and a walkout to Coulags then wait for Phil to come get us.
A good day turned out to be a great w/e.