For some ungodly reason, we saw the forecast was for a hot cloudless day, and thought "let's escape to the hills, it will be cooler higher up". Let me tell you, next time I will go for a gin cruise, settle down with a nice book, or remove my own fingernails as a more relaxing alternative.

We headed up to Crianlarich not too early, after a night before with friends (thankfully sober, but quite a late finish). We planned to tackle Ben Challum via the alternative route kindly posted by @IainMacG in his blog "a better way"- after a dry summer we figured the famous "bog slog" would be as crispy as we were ever likely to get, and preferred the sound of a circular route.

We parked at Auchertyre farm in the walkers car park, and set off just before 11- first mistake we recognise as the day was already baking, but we figured some delightful Scottish hill breezes would sort that out once we got to the up.



The walk up the glen was GLORIOUS- a track, but nonetheless a really nice gentle wander in the sunshine, and we were feeling very smug about the day already.



We could easily see the bealach mentioned in the report, so navigation wasn't an issue. We didn't reach the end of the track, but set across the terrain to the burn roughly aiming for the bealach. The burns were pretty low and easy to cross, and we spent some time cooling off before the ascent part of the day. The area is beautiful and we didn't see another soul around all day.



We set off up to the bealach, and then headed up the shoulder. There are clearly various preferred routes taken by sheep/humans/rabbits and so we stopped frequently to assess what was going to be the easiest trek- in the end we went to the right of the slabs and slightly circled round the east side of the hill, figuring the other option looked more exposed, never a good option with an excited spaniel. He is a cracking athlete but also once walked into a plateglass window and concussed himself, so I'm not 100% confident in his decision-making capabilities.



And this is where the day took a tough turn. The sun was unrelenting, the hill was very steep, and the promised breezes made nary an appearance. There were definite points on hands and knees up an endless grassy slope whilst being baked alive that I was questioning ALL my life choices. Even the dog was looking at me in disgust (see possibly the most telling photo in this whole blog), despite being thrown into every bog we could find to keep him much cooler and more hydrated than the rest of us.



Dear god, we finally reached the summit after the slowest ascent known to humankind. This route is nicer in so many ways, but don't underestimate the slope- it would be unpleasant in the bog. Absolutely amazing views on a clear day- Cruachan horseshoe, looming Ben More and all the way to Nevis easily picked out.



We descended down the classic WH route, actual heat shimmers in the corrie by the ridge. Yikes.



Very little bog to be spotted, although clear evidence of some spectacular offerings come winter once again. Rather impressively, the dog managed to find one through dint of sheer effort, and used it as some low budget sun cream to cope with the ever rising temperatures.



Here's my key warning to others following this route- stay on the right side of the fence and turn right from the classic route early, and head for the ridge top to head down to the viaduct. We had the GPS route but made the (in hindsight, foolish) decision to "just go a bit further", trying to achieve the next rise and an easier place to cross the fence with a dog. We then thought to turn right and try and just head down rather than the effort of climbing up to the higher ridge top through laziness, knowing where we were roughly headed and not being worried about getting lost on a day where you could see Iceland if you squinted.



In case you couldn't already tell, reader that was a mistake. We made it back fine, but over some energy-sapping terrain, filled with crossing burns and climbing in and out of small gorges, through tussocky bracken covered fields. No photos of this, because there is a reasonable chance if I'd tried she would have punched me Lesson learned- not climbing to the ridgeline is a false economy!

It took us a lot longer to get back than bargained for, and we were all hotter than the surface of the sun by the time we returned. A quick nip down to Crianlarich and to the river was the only option, and it says something that I've never stripped off faster



A stay in Crianlarich that night meant a trip to the pub was mandatory, and I swear that Schiehallion is made for tired hillwalkers specifically. Overall a really cracking day and a great alternative route- if you're less daft than us- and a wee bit less Scottish about the sun!