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I was itching to get back on the hills again so rounded up a couple of friends to join me on a trip up Ben Lui and Beinn a'Chleibh.
Everything looked very cloudy and not very promising as we drove from Glasgow to Glen Lochy...We parked up, got organised and set off. I had brought a pair of old trainers to cross the river but I ended up just going barefoot. The river was very shallow due to our insanely long bout of hot weather recently. Would not recommend going barefoot, it was very uneven and slippery and had a few close shaves. At one point I was clinging onto my friend's backpack for dear life, almost dragging her in with me!
We set off up the first section of the walk which was a steep, muddy path that climbed up alongside the river. It was very boggy in places and we had to get creative with ways around or over all the mud. I managed up without too much bog in my boots but my friend, who only had a pair of running shoes on, had bog halfway up her shins!
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- Hopping across lovely burns
We soon came out onto the grassy slopes of Ben Lui. As we ascended, the mist became thicker. There was absolutely NO discernible path up the slope that we could find, we just picked our way up using the map. As always, I was yet to get into the swing of things and found the climb up this steep, grassy, misty slope hard work. The grass was absolutely soaking wet, as were my feet! We heard some voices and two men came stumbling out of the mist from above. They were wondering where the path was...Advised them there wasn't one and just to keep going down, down, down! We carried on up and soon we reached the path that leads up to the summit. The path was a welcome sight and in good spirits, we all powered on up it. The clouds soon fell away as we got closer to the summit and it was amazing looking down on the clouds and seeing distant mountain tops peeking through. One of my friends (who has not done a munro before) kept saying 'I think we're near the top!' I informed her, very wisely, 'Don't get your hopes up, it's probably a false summit.'
But suddenly...there we were! We could see the summit! I was surprised to reach it so quickly. It felt like we had flown up the last bit. We had some snacks and admired the views for a wee while. There was no wind up there and it was all very calm and tranquil.
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- Finally above the clouds!
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- Lovely pals at summit of Ben Lui
We then set off for Ben a'Chleibh. The descent between them felt quite steep and long. We reached the point where the ascent begun and due to the fog, couldn't see much of Beinn a'Chleibh at all so wasn't sure what to expect.
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- Beinn a'Chleibh hiding in the mist...
We actually made very light work of Beinn a'Chleibh and it felt like we strolled up to the top in no time at all. I don't know if it just felt a lot easier in comparison to the steep ascent up the initial grassy section of Ben Lui! We couldn't see much at all from the summit unfortunately.
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- Well deserved pieces at the top
We had a nice picnic before heading back down. Everyone was in very good spirits and full of beans and we all agreed that if there had been another one nearby, we would have attempted it. I feel like my fitness has improved tenfold over the past few months of regular walks. I'm sure 3 months ago that hike would have absolutely wiped me out but not anymore!
The walk back to the car was very slow due to my friend's dodgy dislocating knees but pleasant enough. It was lovely watching the clouds swirling over the mountain tops. I didn't bother taking my boots off to cross the river this time, it felt good to have a little splash and wash away the bog.
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- Slow and steady on the homeward bound
Fantastic walk today, so much fun! Now wondering what I'll do next...
