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The day before conquering the mighty Aonach Eagach I set up camp in Glen Etive and made my way down to Invercharnan in order to walk up Sgor na h-Ulaidh. [Spelled 'Sgurr' on the OS map] I chose this route over the traditional approach from Glencoe simply because I wanted to stay in Glen Etive - Gable Gable End was meeting me at my campsite later so I thought it would be best to stay in the area. I had planned to add the corbett, Beinn Maol Chaluim to this route but due to a late start I had to leave it for another day. The forest track from Invercharnan is a breeze and at this time of the year it's lined with purple rhododendrons. It took about 40 mins to reach the open hillside, at which point I broke right and headed up to the lower top of Meall a'Bhuiridh. This was a slog and a half. I had been cooped up for the past 3 weeks, writing away on a chapter of my thesis, and my legs were feelin awful. But, the steady breeze kept the 23 degree heat off me and the views were excellent, so I pressed on. From the summit I turned northwest to carry on up the ridge of Sgurr na h-Ulaidh. There are some crags along the ridge, but you can pick up a path that follows some fence posts and they guide you through most of the steeper bits. Once at the summit I had views for about 5 minutes, then sadly the cloud came down. I chose to descend to the bealach and then carry on down to the glen between Sgurr na h-Ulaidh and the far end of Beinn Fhionnlaidh. The line of fence posts used for the ascent takes you all the way down to the stream where you will eventually pass a nice waterfall. But from that point there was basically no path. Every step was squishy until I finally hit a path taking me back to the forest track. Relief! Five hours after setting off I was back to the car and then I met up with Gable Gable End back at the tent. We had a pretty nice spot along the River Etive, a good fire, some bratwursts cooked on a disposable bbq, and some drinks to steel our nerves for the Aonach Eagach the following day. A good end to what was a pretty tough day on the hills.
