Archives for November 2011

After scaling two unfashionable hills the day before it was time for another one – Gairich.  After a leisurely I drove up from Spean Bridge and we arrived at the Loch Quoich dam for about 9.45am.  Given the weather forecast and the late start I had expected to see a car or two parked at the spot just past the end of the dam.  But no.

After a bit of fiddling around rucksack on back, camera at the ready and Jet on the lead we were ready for the off.

I should have read the few previous trip reports on WH.  About 45 seconds later we were confronted with the locked 5ft high gate at the end of the dam.  So, off with camera and rucksack and the small matter of getting a dog over the gate.  Well I managed it and then I followed.  There are plenty of notices warning of the risks of drowning. But I guess you would have to be very determined to achieve this as the path across the dam has 4.5ft walls either side.

I suppose it was not surprising that after weeks of rain the normally wet ground between the dam and the foot of the Druim na Geid Salaich was well, wet.  Actually very wet.  Within a couple of hundred yards I was slipping and sliding like an uncoordinated break dancer and within a mile my left leg had disappeared twice into the goo.  To be fair, the path does get a bit better half way along but it lays traps for the unsuspecting with pools lying across its sinuous way – each one requiring careful prodding with a walking pole to determine whether or not the ground was firm or a bottomless pitch of black squelch.

Eventually the hazards were passed. We dropped down to a stream and a broken gate at an old (wet) grass track.  That is followed to the left for 60 yards or so before a path breaks off to the right partly hidden by bracken.

The path lifts you nicely up on to the ridge.  And we had our first nearer view of Gairich.  Looking back at the way we had come I could see no sign of anyone following.

The path as shown on the map stops at the 470m contour.  It does.  After then it degenerates into a quagmire.  For the next mile along the ridge beyond Bac nam Foid I looked for any sign a fresh footprints.  I had thought that given that the previous few days had been good weatherwise the place would have been swarming with other walkers.  But no, the few prints that I saw were obviously quite old.

The cloud had lifted of the tops and before the final pull to the summit we paused to take in some calories.  There were views to Gleouraich and Spidean Mialach and back along the ridge towards Ben Tee.

Suitably refreshed we started up the 900ft or so to the summit.  With the steeper ground the path became much dryer, though in places deeply cut into the ground.  There were a couple of scrambly places, at one of which I had to haul Jet up.  The light became darker and sod’s law determined that I was not to have a view from the top.  The final views were back to the dam…

and down to a silvery River Kingie.

Well we reached the top and stopped for 30 minutes in the hope that perhaps the cloud would clear and we might see Brocken Spectres like others were elsewhere in the hills that day.

http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=16424

But the cloud stayed determinedly down.

So back on down.  Only a couple of hundred feet from the top we popped out of the cloud to some glowing autumn light.

To start with I kept further to the north side of the ridge.  The ground was a bit better over there and Loch Quoich remained in view.  Eventually though it was necessary to swing across the squelch to find the top of the (proper) path.  It was then a straightforward stroll back to the broken gate where I geared myself for the final assault of the bogs.

I still had not seen anyone all day.  That was a surprise because once up on the heights there are wide views.  I speculated that, perhaps, others had not been so lucky and the bog had consumed them before they could reach the hill.  I kept an eye out for signs of walkers flailing their arms for help.  But I saw none.  Somehow the return did not seem quite as bad, though this time my right leg disappeared twice.

Approaching the Loch I decided that the dog needed to return to his proper colour.  A quick swim should see him clean.  So I lobbed a few sticks into the water and Jet duly obliged and fetched them back for me.

The sun was setting behind the hills by now, though it was still before 4pm.

I kept to the Loch side as long as I could before braving the last couple of hundred yards to the dam.  There was then the matter of scaling the gate again…

… and the long drive home to Yorkshire with work the following day.

Another blog involving an ascent of Gairich, this time from the west, is here. 

Like many I had been keeping an eagle eye out on the weather forecasts.  Many weeks went by without a forecast that was optimistic enough to justify a quick dash up to the Highlands.  Woo hoo, the forecast for the weekend of 5^th/6^th November was good. So I made a last minute decision to journey north after work.  A quick call to C&S secured a bed in Spean Bridge for the Saturday night and Jet and I were off. Carn Dearg and Sgor Gaibhre were on!

The Highlands were reached in the early hours of Saturday morning and a suitable spot for a few hours kip was found.  Plans for the Sunday plus the accommodation at the end of the walk determined a start from Tulloch Station and thence to Corrour on the 8.15am service.  I had scoured the winter train timetable and it seemed possible to do this round in time to catch the 3.21pm train back to Tulloch.  If missed, however, there would be a 6 hour wait for the next one, or a very long walk out.  So essentially I followed the WH route.  Many years ago I had done these two hills as part of a much longer walk through to Corrour Bothy taking in Meall a’Bhealaich, Ben Alder and Beinn Bheoil.  Today’s route choice was therefore in part driven by a trip down memory lane.

There were a few cars parked at the station but the bunkhouse was quiet.  As I was getting ready two more cars arrived – one with James from Fraserburgh and the other with a couple from near Fort Augustus.  We discussed our plans for the day.  The others were going to amble up Beinn na Lap.  So Jet and I were going to be alone on our hills that day.

The journey on the train was a mere 15 minutes or so.  For the whole of that time Jet was in a state of high alert.  It was his first time on a train and the noises were unfamiliar.  It was all soon over though.  Alighting from the train it is amazing that such a short journey transports you to a place with such a feeling of remoteness.  Carn Dearg and Sgor Gaibhre are not perhaps the most stunning of hills. But they are nicely isolated and provide grand views in all directions.

But the first sight was that of stag posing near the station house. Unfortunately the café there was closed for the month of November.  So there would be no cup of tea to revive tired limbs at the end of the walk.

It was going to be a day of glowing reds, burnt browns and wispy grey.  The day started out grand, spoilt itself a bit and then improved again.

Carn Dearg

There was some activity around the Youth Hostel at the loch. We soon turned off the lochside track on to the Road to the Isles.  This path was very wet after the weeks of rain.  The WH route description states that this is “a newly repaired path”.  If so, then it must have been bad before!  However, the views opened up as I jumped over puddles, bog and streamlets.

Peter’s Rock is marked on the map. Soon enough I came to it.  There is a plaque, including a verse.

Anticipating that the hillside above was going to be as wet, I decided to stick to the path to gain a bit more height.  So I continued on for a further kilometre or so before breaking off to the left.  The first 100m of height gain was indeed soggy and heathery but further up the ground was surprisingly dry.  I gained the ridge shown as Guallain Chlachach and a path appeared on my left which I duly followed.

The summit soon came into view.

But the clouds had begun to thicken.  To the south Loch Rannoch was shrouded in cloud.

Streams of vapour lifted from the top of the mist and slithered upwards before joining the cloud above.  2 hours 20 minutes to the top.  We had good views of Schiehallion and back down to Loch Ossian.

The Mamores, the Grey Corries, Beinn na Lap, the Easains and Beinn Eibhinn appeared and then disappeared.  But the way ahead was clear.

We had a brief stop to eat before departing again. 

Sgor Gaibhre

The path onwards to the Hill of the Goat is not as strong as that coming in from the south.  The descent was pleasant enough.  A wall of cloud snuck up from behind and threatened to engulf us.  It spat a bit of rain at us but merely clung to the top we had just left.  Some descriptions I have read say that the Mam Ban is the bog from hell.  We did not find it too bad at all and we were soon on the climb to Sgor Gaibhre.  About 15 minutes from the top we passed a large erratic.  As usual Jet arrived at the cairn before me.

We stopped for some more food.  It had taken just under an hour between the two summits.  The cloud was brushing the top.  We had fleeting views of the flanks of Ben Alder and across to Chno Dearg.

I quite liked the bowl of a corrie to the east of the summit with its glacial scoop and lochan.

We ascended to the top of Sgor Choinnich and cloud still partly covered the parent peak. Carn Dearg was well blanketed.  One can easily avoid Sgor Choinnich either by dropping down to the Allt a’ Choire Chreagaich or by taking a flanking route to the north west.  However, this top does have some historical interest as it appears as a Munro in the original 1891 Tables.

The ridge of Meall Nathraich Mor was at a pleasant gradient and, more importantly, dry.  There were, of course, views back to Sgor Gaibhre.

The slopes towards the eastern end of Loch Ossian were very rough and wet though.  As the WH route description states, there is a gate in the deer fence.  The ground just to the east of the forest is extremely boggy.  It was like jelly with the thinnest of crusts.  I could imagine myself being devoured by the ground and disappearing for ever!  Beware.  So I made my way to the fringe of the forest where it was only slightly better. I hopped over a post and wire fence to a gate and a ford.  There I joined the track along the southern side of the Loch.

I think that the southern side is more picturesque than the route along the north.  A circuit around the Loch by bike is a nice short trip for an off day – particularly if you take in a stop in the station tea shop.

Binneins Mor and Beag came back into view;  there was Corrour Lodge with its backdrop of Beinn Eibhinn; and the sun came out for Beinn na Lap.  Best of all I made it back to the station with 25 minutes to spare before the train back to Tulloch.