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It was back to reality with a bump this week - not only back to school but also working Saturday
However, at least it was a Saturday morning’s work in Helensburgh which meant escaping up to the Arrochar Alps for the afternoon
I headed up towards the Rest and Be Thankful, missed the intended layby and parked 50m further up the road. Boots on (old boots as I still hadn’t broken in the new ones
) and I headed straight uphill. Initially it was a horrible ascent – very steep, long grass, tussocks, bracken, those weird fuzzy bobbles that stick to you
And then I had to climb a barbed wire fence and ended up in a burn. So much for it being dry
The steep climb gave good views of Beinn an Lochain
Once above the bracken it became easier walking - still crazy steep but at least I wasn’t adding any more mountain to the inside of my boots
Once on the ridge I was exposed to the wind; nothing compared to what must have been at least 50mph on Beinn a’ Ghlo last weekend but enough to feel a bit chilly
It was a simple pathless wander to the summit of Beinn Luibhean where the views opened out nicely
Beinn Narnain and the Cobbler
The Brack and Cnoc Coinnich
Loch Restil and Beinn an Lochain
Cruachan, my nemesis, in the background
Towards Ben Lui and the Bridge of Orchy hills
Next target – Beinn Ime
I think this may be looking towards Arran
The Paps of Jura in the distance
Ben Donich
Beinn Luibhean cairn and Ben Donich
Once stopped it was chilly in the wind so wasn’t really hanging around weather. That was fine with me as I had one of my sort of open ended routes where I could keep going as long as I wanted
I headed back down the ridge a short way before heading North towards bealach a’ Mhargaidh. There was nothing difficult but some of the wet grass on steep slopes had me taking a lot more cre than usual as I was very aware of the lack of grip on my boots – I have my new boots on in the house as I type this
Narnain and the Cobbler from the bealach
I’d picked up my assault route on Ime as I’d descended and it was much easier than I’d thought it would be. I guess a summer of wading through a lot of heather has made short grass and rocks seem like a doddle
Looking back – as I gained height I could see over tiny little Beinn Luibhean towards Beinn an Lochain
I picked up the motorway (the usual ascent route) a few metres from the summit, along with hunners of people! A couple of minutes later I was on the summit of Beinn Ime
Beinn Narnain and Ben Lomond
Ben Vane – steep bugger
The last time I’d been up Beinn Ime I’d come over Ben Vane; not a good idea as it turned out
Looking back to Cruachan – if anything the visibility was getting better
North to Tyndrum and towards Glencoe
Beinn Ime summit pose
Beinn Luibhean, Beinn an Lochain and Loch Fyne
Again it was quite windy so after soaking up the views for as long as I could without adding more layers I headed off back down the motorway
Loch Arklet and Loch Katrine
On an actual path for the first time today made for some easy walking – a nice treat for now!
The Cobbler
Beinn Narnain ahead
As I approached bealach a’ mhaim it got a lot more soggy underfoot and the big holes in my boots started to let water in…
I headed off piste up Narnain through bog, heading for the obvious path. Looking back to Ime I could see the impressive cliffs
Looking down Coire Croe
Soon enough I met with the path which made for easier walking although it was still steep going
The last time I’d come up here had been in arctic conditions so it was definitely easier on this occasion
As I gained height I could see down to Loch Long – it really was a stunning afternoon
A short climb later and I was on the summit of Beinn Narnain! Less icy cold, less wind and blizzard and less catching crampons and face-planting than last time
The Spearhead with Loch Lomond and Ben Lomond
Looking down Loch Long to the Firth of Clyde
Looking at the Cobbler – should I go for number 4?
The Beinn Narnain Trig and Beinn Ime
Towards the Bridge of Orchy hills
Glencoe and Fort William – Ben Nevis on the horizon
Ben Nevis
Loch Katrine and Ben Vorlich in the distance
The Brack, Loch Long and the Luss grahams
This took a couple of attempts
It had taken me 3 hours to this point so I reckoned I might as well head up the Cobbler too
I set off back down the path and spotted these big white bags of rocks – clearly there was going to be more path-building around here
The Cobbler
I followed the new path which led me down almost opposite the path leading up the Cobbler – all these paths made for very easy walking
It was an easy (but steep) climb up before the final climb to the summit.
As I reached the summit I was surprised to bump into Ben and Kirsty who had been climbing on the North Summit
I wasn't sure if I'd go up top but my boots seemed to give me enough grip on the rocks so I could hardly resist
Cobbler selfie
Looking over the Beinn Narnain
The Brack and Loch Long
Beinn Ime
Beinn Luibhean and Beinn Ime
It turned out that Kirsty and Ben were parked at the same place as I was so we headed back into the corrie before following a vague path down. It was slippery underfoot and care was required
At the dam we picked up a much better path along the right hand side of the burn that they had spotted too late on their way up
This looked like a great waterslide
The Brack
We made it past the cows unscathed before crossing the bridge into the car park that I had missed earlier
All I had was a couple of metres up the road to my car and a leisurely drive home. Cracking wee afternoon out on some great hills
