walkhighlands

Knoydart: Glenfinnan - Inverie via Sgurr na Ciche Munros

Munros: Garbh Chioch Mhòr, Sgùrr na Cìche, Sgùrr nan Coireachan (Glen Dessary)

Date walked: 19/08/2023

A Tale of Wilderness, Weather and Venison

Walking out to Knoydart - the romantically named 'Last Wilderness' - had been an ambition for several years and it was with some excitement that I met up with two old friends, Stefan and David, in Fort William on a Friday evening. We had bunkhouse accommodation booked in Inverie on the Monday, but no other plans set in stone, so we had three days to walk across the Rough Bounds and climb whatever Munros we could manage en route. We had vaguely intended to take a bus to Glen Shiel and walk in either from the Cluanie or Shiel Bridge, but the forecast was looking increasingly unpleasant as Storm Betty arrived, with MWIS giving graphic warnings of 70mph gusts "roaring over the tops", "heavy rain" and "at times any mobility challenging", so we opted to take the early train to Glenfinnan and walk in from the south instead. It was still quite a daunting prospect to face three days of potentially dire weather in some of the UK's most rugged landscape, but at least there was a good chance we'd be able to scurry into a bothy for overnight shelter rather than cowering in tents! The trip would prove to be quite an adventure...

Day 1
Setting off from Glenfinnan just after 9am, we were pleased to see that the weather wasn't quite as apocalyptic as the forecast has predicted. There was some occasional drizzle, but the gale-force winds were notable by their absence - in fact, it wasn't even windy enough to keep the midges at bay when we paused. We plodded steadily up Glen Finnan, popping into the Corryhully 'Electric Bothy', then over the steep-sided pass leading to Gleann a' Chaoruinn. I was anxious to cross the stream early to avoid any difficulties lower down the glen - I'd waded it almost knee-deep going the other way last year - but we probably crossed it higher than we needed to and were rewarded with an extra few hundred metres of boggy, pathless effort on the east bank.

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Glenfinnan Viaduct

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Stefan and I setting off up Glen Finnan

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Stefan approaching the Bealach a' Chaorainn

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Wet underfoot and misty up ahead in Gleann a' Chaorainn

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Looking back up to Bealach a' Chaorainn

We had seen and briefly chatted to a group of 4 others heading the same way; they seemed to be lacking a map, so I gave them my Cape Wrath South - our group had plenty of map to spare. They promised to leave it for me at the bunkhouse in Inverie, and sure enough, we would find it waiting for us 3 days later with a message reading "for Alex! thanks =)" written on the cover.

After hopping across the swamps in Glen Pean we continued on the easy track into Glen Dessary, pausing at A' Chuil bothy. There was a brief discussion about continuing on to Sourlies, but we were already quite damp, and the spacious and comfortable A' Chuil gave us an excellent excuse to stop early. Stefan set about hacking up some wood with a combination of a saw, axe, maul, and wood grenades, then got a promising fire started, David dealt with wet clothes, while I began boiling water; all in all, we were a picture of domestic bliss.

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Stefan gets to work

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Stefan in his element

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Trying vainly to dry out our boots

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Me enjoying bothy life

Day 2
The next morning, the weather continued to be a substantial improvement on the forecast - light wind, and even some clear sky - so we decided to tackle the Sgurr na Ciche Munros, going west to east over the tops, meaning a longer walk-in but shorter walk-out. It was a great relief to leave our heavy kit at A' Chuil and set out with day sacks, and we made good time through Glen Dessary, then up onto the Bealach an Lagain Duibh. We followed an intermittent track cutting upwards and across the slopes of Garbh Chioch Mhor, with views opening out to the west as the rock scenery on the hills north and south became increasingly wild. In Coire na Ciche, we turned upward towards a narrow gully running down from the bealach above. The gully was easy enough, though I imagine it could look a bit intimidating if tackled in descent.

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Morning at A' Chuil

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Setting out through Glen Dessary

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Looking southwest from just above the Bealach an Lagainn Duibh - the peak is Bidein a' Chabair

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Rough ground on the slopes of Garbh Chioch Mhor above us

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Ascending the track into Coire na Ciche

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Looking west over Coire na Ciche to Loch Nevis

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Looking up to Sgurr na Ciche

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Me heading up the gully

Up on the bealach, Feadan na Ciche, the mists were swirling, and after some refuelling we set off west on the path running under the ridge, then curving back up through rocky ground to the summit of Sgurr na Ciche. The views were hazy and evanescent in the shifting cloud, but all the more atmospheric for it.

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Looking back to Garbh Chioch Mhor as we ascend Sgurr na Ciche

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Final slopes on Sgurr na Ciche

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Looking north from the summit of Sgurr na Ciche

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Garbh Chioch Mhor from Sgurr na Ciche

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David negotiating the descent from Sgurr na Ciche

We set off back to the bealach, then pushed on over the many little lumps and pinnacles of Garbh Chioch Mhor and Garbh Chioch Bheag, enjoying the occasional chance to get our hands on rock. We then gritted our teeth for the descent to the Bealach Coire nan Gall and the final ascent of the day, to the summit of Sgurr nan Coireachan. On the way up, we met two others who had been staying with us in A' Chuil, walking in the other direction, having set off at about noon. They were the first (and only) people we met that day; as it was now 4pm and they had another two Munros to go, we anticipated that they'd be quite late back to the bothy!

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David on a rocky little section of Garbh Chioch Mhor

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David, with the view northeast to Loch Quoich behind

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Looking back to Sgurr na Ciche

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The three of us on the summit of Garbh Chioch Mhor

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Looking along the ridge east from the summit of Garbh Chioch Mhor

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Emptiness - Coire nan Gall to the north of Garbh Chioch Mhor

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Looking west to Loch Nevis, Garbh Chioch Mhor and Sgurr na Ciche from Sgurr nan Coireachan

I had briefly entertained the thought of continuing along the ridge to the Corbett of Sgurr Cos na Breachd-laoidh, but none of us had much appetite left for this, so we headed straight down to Glen Dessary along the south ridge of Sgurr nan Coireachan, picking up a very boggy path down to the River Dessary, then retracing our steps back the A' Chuil. We found the bothy now occupied by a group of nine intrepid German scouts on a few days' trek to Shiel Bridge, as well as a Frenchman called Baptiste walking what sounded like a significant chunk of the Scottish National Trail. There would be fifteen of us altogether by the time we settled down for the night; luckily, A' Chuil is relatively spacious and everyone got on well.

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David descending towards Glen Dessary

Day 3
The next morning, we jammed everything back into our rucksacks and set out for Inverie; we knew we had a long day ahead of us. Baptiste had asked to join us, so we were a group of four as we trudged back up Glen Dessary, over the bealach, and on west along the Finiskaig River. For now, the weather continued to defy the forecast and it was almost windless in the glen. This is beautiful, remote country, but we couldn't stop to admire it for long as the midges were out. The path disappeared somewhere below Lochain a' Mhaim but after some initial confusion we crossed the Finiskaig without difficulty and enjoyed a lovely descent down to Sourlies bothy on the shore of Loch Nevis, stopping for a makeshift lunch of trail mix.

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Baptiste pausing above Lochain a' Mhaim

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Waterfall on the River Finiskaig

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Looking down towards Loch Nevis

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Final bridge before Sourlies

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Approaching Sourlies bothy, fearless deer in front of us

Once we left the bothy, though, the rain that had been intermittent for the first couple of days began to fall in earnest, fine, drizzly rain that inevitably permeates through any and all waterproof layers. We faffed around finding our way over the headland through chest-high bracken - given that it was low tide, it would probably have been much more efficient to simply walk along the shoreline. We then had to cross the marshland at the mouth of the River Carnach, each of us eventually abandoning our hopes of keeping dry feet as we tiptoed through the minefield of bogs. We crossed the bridge at Carnach, then steeled ourselves for the slog up to the Mam Meadail. We were going to have to earn our dinner.

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Marshland in the mouth of the Carnach

The next hour or so (though it felt longer) was pretty purgatorial: the path zig-zagged its way upwards, gradually morphing into a stream as the rain continued. We shuffled on slowly, morale gradually sinking; I noted the first 1000 double paces, but at this point found myself barely halfway up to the bealach and gave up counting. "I've never been this wet", I heard Baptiste mutter. At last, we emerged onto the bealach and stuffed some Starburst into our mouths.

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Looking back down towards the Carnach from halfway up to the Mam Meadail

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My spirits somewhat flagging

At this point, the full force of the weather was finally unleashed, the wind lashing horizontal rain directly into our faces from the west. By now, though, we had reached full saturation - every single item of my clothing was completed soaked - so it made little difference; since we couldn't get any wetter, the wild weather was, if anything, quite exhilarating. And now, because we knew it was all downhill, and because we weren't worried about keeping our boots dry, and perhaps because of Starburst sugar-high, we suddenly felt a collective second wind, hurtling down through Gleann Meadail almost at a jog; we would cover the next 9km in under two hours. The glen felt like a wonderfully chaotic place, the burns frothing and foaming down the hillside and the river roaring over waterfalls and under bridges. Sadly, none of us were focused on taking photographs at this point!

We were passed by a jeep heading in the other direction - the first vehicle we had seen in days - and the driver offered to ferry our rucksacks the last couple of kilometres; for reasons that I still don't understand, Stefan turned her down! We passed under the Brocket Memorial, erected by a previous landowner, Lord Brocket, a Nazi-sympathiser who famously attended Hitler's 50th birthday, and later evicted the Seven Men of Knoydart. We turned left through the woodland above Inverie, less than a kilometre away. But it was hard work by now, and Knoydart wasn't quite finished with me; firstly, I brained myself on a low-hanging tree branch, then 100m later I slipped, pirouetted, and crashed into the mud. There was nothing for it but to laugh. A few minutes later, we emerged, sodden and dishevelled, on the tarmac of Inverie. I have never felt more ready for a beer.

We dumped our rucksacks at the bunkhouse, then headed to The Old Forge pub, where we discovered (to our delight) that walking in from Glenfinnan entitled us to a free drink, but (to our horror) that the pub wouldn't be serving food for several weeks. But just as we were resigning ourselves to a dinner of trail mix and cereal bars, David spotted one of his old school friends, Finlay, sitting at the bar. Finlay - now working as ranger on the Knoydart estate - joined us for a drink, disappeared briefly, then reappeared with a packet of diced venison; the whole episode felt like a minor miracle. Finlay, if you are reading this - I don't think we'll ever be able to repay you!

With dinner now assured, we settled in for a while at The Old Forge, reflecting on a fantastic few days in the hills, and looking forward to hot showers, a drying room, fried venison and warm beds.

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Comments: 16



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alexdw


Activity: Hill Bagger
Pub: The Torridon Inn
Mountain: Scafell Pike
Place: Coire a Ghrunnda
Gear: Osprey Aether rucksack
Ambition: Cuillin Ridge Traverse

Munros: 92
Corbetts: 5
Wainwrights: 147
Hewitts: 108



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Statistics

2023

Trips: 2
Munros: 3
Hewitts: 2
Wainwrights 1

2022

Trips: 3
Distance: 91 km
Ascent: 5000m
Munros: 13

2021

Trips: 3
Distance: 36 km
Ascent: 1280m
Munros: 8


Joined: Nov 30, 2015
Last visited: Mar 27, 2024
Total posts: 21 | Search posts