Fish, Wind and Fire.
When plans for that wedding were announced Matt and I decided that the best way we could celebrate would be to get as far away from civilisation, TV's and newspapers as possible, so plans were made to head north and play on a hill or 6. (Matt's comments in italics)
Preparation.
Easter found Matt and his family on Mull, going for the odd gentle stroll to loosen the leg muscles and of course a wander up Ben More just to make sure that he was fit for the forthcoming trip north.
(I also fitted in a load of bouldering on the little crags that surround Calgary Bay (where I was staying) and managed to fall off a couple of times so I prepared for a week of hardship by covering myself with cuts and bruises…Add to that, we had been staying in a cottage that had been incredibly well provisioned with the a most prodigious stock of food and drink,(a bit like being locked in Waitrose for a week) and, well, it would have been rude not to make full use of it)
Meanwhile on Easter friday I went back into A'Chuill bothy in Glen Dessarry as I had some unfinished business there. Unfortunately as well as carrying in a large rucksack I was also was carrying in a stomach bug.
After dropping off sleeping bag etc in the bothy I headed down the Glen to wander up Sgurr na Ciche and Garbh Chioch Mhor, This should have taken around 6 hours but thanks to the bug it took me 8 hours and when I returned to the bothy I was completely wasted.
The intention on the Saturday was to do Sgurr Mor and then head north to meet Matt however thanks to the bug I decided on plan B, head to Fort Bill and get some Dioralyte then find somewhere to chill. Saturday and Sunday nights were spent at Ledgowan on a fluid only diet trying to flush the bug out, not the best of preparations for playing on big hills hey ho.
Fish. (erfield)
Matt was met at Inverness Station on Monday afternoon (having prepared himself two days worth of sandwiches but then eating them all on the train…) and we headed north towards Braemore Junction. Car was parked, metal steeds mounted and we followed a horrible gravel track along the north side of Loch Bhraoin to the bothy at Lochivroan which at times was like cycling through treacle. We stopped for a bite to eat at the bothy before heading on a good stalkers path to Loch an Nid, then crossed the Allt Cul Doireachan and headed up the quartzite slabs on the side of Sgurr Ban, across a boulder field to eventually reach Am Briseadh where a sheltered spot was found to pitch the tent and enjoy a glass of red wine
Cycle 6 Km Walk 7.1 Km 518m of ascent
Tuesday morning, with not a cloud in the sky, found us heading up a horrible boulder field to the summit of Sgurr Ban 989m then on to Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair 1019m, all before 9am. From MCMF it was a steep descent to the coll where we found a bypass path around Meall Garbh and then on to Beinn Tarsuinn 937m. The ridge was followed over the tennis court and then a steep descent to Pollan na Muice at 525m.
By now I was beginning to feel the effects of very little food in the previous 96 hours and the relatively gentle slope of A' Mhaighdean felt like the north face of the Eiger, (luckily Frank neither fell off, nor froze to death) On reaching the summit 967m Matt fed me lots of jelly babies which helped revive me. Poll Eader dha Stac was soon reached but by this time I was completely wasted and the thoughts of the steep climb up Ruadh Stac Mor done nothing for me, a rest was needed, so while Matt studied the map I slept for half an hour !! (There is a great little cave on this col. If you are ever stuck out that way late in the day then I would recommend booking yourself in there)
The ascent of Ruadh Stac Mor 918m was not as bad as I feared and soon we descending east towards the Alt Leacan Gorma and into Gleann na Muice, we then traversed across horrible deep heather back to Loch a' Bhriseadh and the campsite, where we had to move the tent as the wind had changed direction!!
18Km 1984m ascent / descent
(While Frank had a pre dinner snooze, I made a brew next to a huge slab of sandstone. The sun had been shining on it all day and it acted like a huge storage heater. It had handy little shelves on it to put things like spoons and mugs and teabags. The perfect place to bask and relax after one hell of a long day)
Wednesday after breakfast we ascended Beinn Chlamydia then packed up and headed back to the bothy via a slightly different route which included a down climb and then back to the metal steeds, both of us feeling rather knackered by this time.
11.7Km 462m ascent 848m descent.
Recovery was needed so we stopped off at Ledgowan for rehydration and lunch, couple of phone calls later (thanks Andrew) we were booked into the bunkhouse at Kinlochewe where an enjoyable evening was spent.
Thursday Matt wandered up Fionn Bheinn to stretch his legs and I chilled 🙂
(the MWIS had predicted “isolated pockets of rain” across NW Scotland… well, one “isolated pocket of rain” accompanied me for a considerable portion of the walk…thankfully I recently had rather shrewdly purchased a new waterproof that is a little more effective than that old red goretex that I have been using for the last half decade. I was an hour quicker that predicted to get up and down, so sat in the front porch of the Ledgowan Hotel with a pint – isolated pocket of rain now having finally isolated itself, and chilled)
Wind
Thursday night was again spent in Kinlochewe with an excellent meal in the hotel and good company in the bunkhouse. The landlady of the hotel declaring the place a wedding free zone and anyone who mentioned it had to contribute to the local MRT.
Friday morning found us heading to Craig, car parked, metal steeds mounted and the long, mostly uphill cycle to the wire bridge at Pollan Buidhe, the river was low so we were able to walk across it and head up to the Bealach Bhearnais. By this time the wind had picked up a bit so we spent a bit of time searching for a sheltered spot for the tent. Soon we were ascending the Corbet Beinn Tharsuinn and on to Cheesecake, couple of scrambly bits and on the summit where we met a guy who had walked in from Killilan.
Lurg Mhor soon followed and then the long walk back to the tent via the Bealach Crudhain where we traversed as high as possible across lots of small gully's, the last uphill stretch was a nightmare as we were both suffering by this time.
Cycle 5.5Km 278m ascent
Walk 17.3 Km 1611m ascent
By the time we reached the tent it was blowing a hoolie and although we had a walk about we couldn't find anywhere decent to repitch it, wind was gusting so much that it was impossible to light a stove so supper consisted of a cheese roll and some red wine. Rather sleepless night was spent, combination of the wind and Matt snoring making sleep difficult 🙂
(I don’t recall sleeping much either… it was like being inside a bass drum. The wind was booming and roaring so much. I really did suspect that without us inside the tent , it would just have been blown away. At one point, the flapping fly sheet threw my boots out, and when I took a peep outside I thought for one awful moment they had been blown away!)
Saturday morning we woke early and after a cold breakfast we were on our way by 6.30am heading up the Sgurr's where the wind was really blowing and it was difficult to stand up on the top of Sgurr a' Chaorachain, back to the tent and out as quick as possible to get out of the wind and get some hot food, by 12.30 we were sitting in Kinlochewe having breakfast!!
(And what a breakfast it was. If you are ever in need of some sold food and a cup of fresh ground filter coffee of the finest quality, and you are in Kinlochewe, then the Whistle Stop Café is the place for you! The toilet facilities are particularly luxurious too)
Walk 8.2Km 742m ascent 1080m descent (and one stupendous cycle descent back into Craig… just make sure your brakes are in good fettle before you start)
Fire
Saturday night we were booked into Torridon Youth Hostel but as we were heading south on the Sunday we decided to try and get our booking changed to somewhere further south, arriving at the hostel early afternoon we had a word with the warden who informed us that he couldn't do anything about changing the booking until after 4.30pm when the hostels opened.
Decision was made to stay the night, go for a cup of tea and pick some mussels for a starter. Mussels picked we noticed lots of smoke coming from the area of the hostel as we were heading back.
At the hostel, the staff were evacuating all personnel possessions and flames appeared to be all around the hostel. Matt and I, with the help of some passing Aussies then used all the hostels fire extinguishers to prevent the fire reaching the hostel from the east, that fire out it was then time to head to the west side and with buckets of water helped the fire service prevent the fire spreading to the houses until they got their hoses set up. (it really was a most surreal experience and quite an eye opener – and it does make you think: Next time you consider making yourself a “nice little camp fire” while out wild camping – what might you be letting yourself in for?)
More fire engines turned up and apart from helping clear the camp site Matt and I left them to it and enjoyed the mussels and a beer or two. The fire continued to rage at night and we could see it spreading all the way to the summit of Liathach
Pic fire in evening
Sunday it was up early and away back to sunny York
Thanks Matt for making it a good week and dragging a sick old man around some big hills 😉
(Brilliant week – and we still need to go back and climb Slioch, and go up Liathach when it has cooled down a bit…)
(NB Frank now has only a dozen Munros left to do, and I just passed the halfway point, and am now counting down. 141, 140, 139…. )
