The Easains

Saturday 2nd June 2012

Over the last couple of years I have coincidentally found that the walk undertaken on the middle Saturday of my Scottish holiday has been the highlight. Last year, the middle Saturday walk was up An Cliseam, the highest point in the Western Isles, and I had a fabulous walk in great weather. The year before I once again had great weather this time for a walk up Suilven, one of the most iconic and distinctive mountains in the North-west Highlands. You can go another year back to a fabulous walk on the middle Saturday over the Five Sisters of Kintail, but before then for a couple of years I took only one week holidays in Scotland. However, a highlight of my two week holiday in 2005 was a walk on the middle Saturday over the Mamores, my first ever visit to that great range of mountains. This year has followed suit with another fabulous walk over a pair of fantastic mountains that provided me with truly sensational views.

First thing in the morning my walking companion of the day before and I caught the sleeper from London, which was a bizarre experience. I had caught this sleeper to Fort William before, fifteen years ago, actually sleeping in the berth, but I had never before caught the sleeper as a sitting passenger. There is only one carriage for normal passengers and it was full. Fortunately we got off at the next station, Tulloch, where we walked along the main road for a short distance before taking a narrow winding side road off to the left. After a couple of miles I was pretty fed up with walking along the road so at the first hint of a path, just before the small lake, An Dubh Lochan, I wanted to get off the road and onto the bracken-covered hillside at the northern tip of the Easain ridge. Eventually we reached the main path, which we probably should have waited for, at the foot of the steep crags of Meall Cian Dearg.

These were really steep, and at first I tried to climb them at a fair pace, though really just to try and keep up with my companion, but I just couldn’t keep up the pace and eventually collapsed into a heap. Just as earlier in the week, when climbing a mountain I didn’t have enough energy to maintain the pace that was being set by my fitter companion. After a rest I went into the lead and climbed up the hillside very slowly, one step at a time, saying to myself that it was not a race. Methodically I plodded my way all the way up the mountain until eventually we reached the top of the cliffs and across to the summit cairn of Meall Cian Dearg. Although I found this climb difficult I was still able to appreciate the fantastic path that had made it possible, that zigzags up the steep cliff-face. At the top, despite warm sunny weather, a cold wind forced us to put on our cagoules before continuing along the ridge. This was an easy walk along a level ridge with great views all around us until another hill loomed ahead, though not as daunting as the cliffs below Meall Cian Dearg. The eastern edge of the ridge had steepened into awesome cliffs, which afforded us with stunning views down to Loch Treig far below as we climbed up to the summit of the Munro, Stob a’ Choire Mheadhoin.

The views west were now clear and awe-inspiring. The full length of the Grey Corries were arrayed before us in all their splendour as a fluctuating ridge of white quartzite stones with the taller, darker mountains of Aonach Mòr and Ben Nevis behind. Even when looking away from the Grey Corries the views were amazing; all around me were mountains forevermore in awesome abundance and splendour, but the best views were always towards the Grey Corries. I had a memorable walk in 2006 along that splendid ridge, and seeing them now from such a perfect viewpoint made me long to be walking over those mountains again. After lunch we crossed the col to the neighbouring Munro of Stob Coire Easain that required a steep descent down loose, granite stones and an even steeper ascent up white quartzite stones to the summit. An excellent path zigzagged up the steep sides of the second and higher of the Munros to a tiny summit, especially when compared with the wide summit plateau of the neighbouring Munro.

With steep cliffs in all directions, this summit made us feel like we were at the top of a real mountain. The easiest route off the mountain is to continue south and descend all the way down the south ridge of Stob Coire Easain over Creagan a’ Chaise. Now I was in my element and left Justin behind as I leapt like a gazelle from crag to crag and ran down the steep grassy slopes. My companion may have been quicker than me in ascent, but I was never going to be beaten in descent. This was a gorgeous ridge that I enjoyed with every step as we slowly dropped down towards the river at the bottom of the valley. The valley we dropped down into was the Lairig Leacach, which is really quiet and isolated, where orchids grow in abundance and I felt like I was truly in a wilderness. A faint path took us beside the river and through a spectacular dry gorge to the shore of Loch Treig. The lack of rain in this part of Britain had severely depleted the lake revealing the old field boundaries that were flooded when the lake was extended to provide water for the aluminium works near Fort William. Beside Ceaguaineach Lodge we joined a track that took us all the way back to Loch Ossian climbing wearily up beside the railway lines. This was a fabulous walk over a wonderful pair of Munros, with awesome terrain underfoot and stunning views. Truly, a walk to remember.