Sgurr Innse and Cruach Innse

Monday 29th and Tuesday 30th May 2017

“Take Care: you are entering remote, sparsely populated, potentially dangerous mountain country. Please ensure that you are adequately experienced and equipped to complete your journey without assistance”. I first came across these words in Glen Dessarry in 2008, and I saw them again in 2012, posted beside a bridge over the Allt Fѐith Chiarain near Loch Treig, while on my way out from Stob Coire Easain. Rather than deterring me these words excite me and actually encourage me to keep going along the path with the promise of adventure ahead. After leaving Corrour station I headed towards the mountains in cold, overcast weather passing recent hydroelectric works as I slowly descended to Loch Treig until eventually I reached the same sign that I had seen in 2012 that promises excitement. I had also taken this path from Loch Ossian in 2013 while on my way from Dalwhinnie to Fort William and on that occasion I had turned left when I reached Creaguaineach Lodge to follow the Abhainn Rath through to Glen Nevis. This time I walked past the lodge and into Lairig Leacach retracing my steps of 2012 through a strange narrow gap in the terrain.

I wondered what could have caused this: was it a gorge formed by the river until it was diverted uncounted years ago? Eventually I decided that it must be the result of a landslide where the rock has pulled away from the side of the hillside leaving this fantastic passage through the rocks that is an absolute delight. It turns several times with a clear path at the bottom until eventually opening out in a lovely meadow with the river coming alongside just before it plunges through its own narrow ravine. My map was not very helpful at this point in deciding which side of the river to follow, but as the river seemed easy to cross at this point I decided to take the other side, and almost as soon as I made that decision I saw that the path that I had been following headed straight into the river confirming my decision. However once across the river, the path was rather wayward and hard to follow which made for a tough walk as I tried to make my own way beside the river and up Lairig Leacach. Occasionally the walk was enlivened by the sight of a spotted-orchid, a delightful flower that always reminds me of the Highlands and always lifts my spirits whenever I see it.

Frustratingly there often seemed to be better paths on the other side of the river and then it started raining quite heavily, which left me with the unenjoyable prospect of forcing myself to keep going through the dreary weather until eventually and after much effort I found an improving path that took me all the way to the Leacach bothy. This wasn't the best day to be in the mountains, and after it rain all night the weather was no better the following morning. By mid-morning the rain had finally stopped and with blue sky beginning to appear above the bothy I decided that I would do a short walk up the two Corbetts that lie east of the Lairig Leacach. The one nearest to the bothy, Sgurr Innse, looks almost impenetrable from the bothy with sheer crags defending the top. Nevertheless I crossed the valley and climbed the heather-covered slopes until I reached the foot of the surrounding crags. I followed a faint path that heads to the right side of the peak onto a shelf below the crags until I found a stone rake that afforded me with an accessible route past the crags and up to the summit ridge. There are two tops to this mountain and the Corbett lies on the northern top, so after I made my way along the craggy ridge I reached the summit cairn for Sgurr Innse.

Just to the north across the saddle of Bealach na Cruaiche lies Cruach Innse, which despite the similarity in names looks very different with more of a domed shape and less crags. However first I needed to get off Sgurr Innse and although there is a faint path leading from the summit, heading towards the col, it soon reaches a T-junction above the crags with the left branch leading to a very steep scree gully. In the wet weather I decided that this would not be a wise direction to take so I turned right (which is the direction recommended on websites) where a difficult, steep descent eventually brought me down to the broad saddle where a long traverse took me to the start of the ascent up Cruach Innse. The hints of blue sky that I’d seen at the start of this walk were short-lived and by now it was starting to rain once more with little let-up in the downpour. The southern slopes of Cruach Innse are decorated with outcrops that provided me with enough rock to make the ascent feel mountainous, but without any of the difficulties of Sgurr Innse.
 

When the terrain eased, and during a brief respite from the rain, I took shelter from the cold wind and had my lunch. Behind me was the craggy peak of Sgurr Innse while ahead of me a short easy walk over the rock-scattered dome led me all the way up to the summit of my second Corbett of the day: Cruach Innse. Beyond the summit the terrain drops gradually over increasingly grassy ground with patchy views appearing through the clouds towards the Great Glen. This relatively mundane descent quickly brought me down to the bottom of the valley where a clear landrover track climbs up over the top of the pass and provided me with an easy walk back to the bothy. The weather had not improved during the walk and I was back at the bothy by mid-afternoon after a relatively short walk, but despite all this I had actually enjoyed it. It was great to be out in proper mountain scenery climbing proper, rock-covered mountains. I had often stopped to gaze out over the fabulous mountain scenery, as even though it was grey and overcast these were still mountains and I loved being out amongst them.

After the stroll back to the bothy I decided to have a wander south down the valley on the opposite side of the valley from the route that I’d taken the previous day to see if the paths were any better. Naturally, although different the paths were not consistently better than before and after a while I crossed the river and returned to the bothy retracing my earlier steps. The weather never really improved throughout the day, but it was still great being out in the mountains and with no pressing engagements and no urgency to do anything I could afford to just sit out the bad weather and enjoy the surroundings for what they were and not moan about what the weather could be. I spent a lot of time just standing in the doorway of the bothy gazing out into the rain and taking in the mountain scenery. I wasn’t depressed by the rain even though it had altered my plans, but instead I was revelling in my surroundings. I was in awesome, potentially dangerous mountain country, and despite the rain and low clouds I was enjoying being there.