Sgùrr na Feataig

Wednesday 22nd May 2019

The evening before this walk, in the Bearnais bothy, I made grandiose plans to walk up the Munros Sgùrr Choinnich and Sgùrr a’ Chaorachain, and if there was time to spare afterwards to climb the Corbett Beinn Tharsuinn, but to do this I was hoping for good weather, and this was the Scottish Highlands. When I got up in the morning the weather was awful with low clouds and miserable rain. All my plans had gone awry as it wasn’t a day for going for a walk up a mountain. I have been accused of being a fair weather walker, and, frankly, they are right. It is a lot nicer to be up a mountain when the sun is shining and you’ve got a view, however, I couldn’t stay in the bothy all day so I decided I would climb the Corbett Sgùrr na Feataig. This seemed my best option as not only is this mountain the nearest to the bothy it also has a clear footpath that leads almost all the way to the summit. After getting kitted up in all my waterproofs I headed off into the rain and up the path that climbs beside the Allt Mòr a’ Bhearnais with surprisingly good views behind me of the bothy and Loch na Laoigh behind that. The weather at this time was not as bad as it would later become.

After plunging into the clouds and reaching the top of the pass that Ordnance Survey calls Baobh-chacan Dubha I came across a small cairn that I took to be marking the junction I needed even though there was no sign of a path coming off the one I was on. Despite this I turned off onto an imaginary path and headed up the hill soon realising that I had gone the wrong way. This is one of the problems with building lots of piles of stones on hills as they can be easily misinterpreted. I had been sheltered from the wind during the climb and the rain, at this time, was merely a constant drizzle, but when I eventually reached the top of the ridge I was suddenly assaulted by strong winds and an increase in the rain. I also found no path at the top of the ridge, but nevertheless I headed fearlessly east along the ridge passing over a small top and suddenly a clear path materialised through the mist. Where this path had come from would become clear on my way back down. While climbing a steeper top I thought the sky was brightening, though this may have been my imagination as I reached the 805 metre top that is marked on Ordnance Survey’s Explorer maps as Sgùrr na Feartaig.

The Ordnance Survey Landranger map gives this name to the whole ridge while Harvey Maps uses the slightly different spelling, Sgùrr na Feataig, that I have adopted, for the 862 metre summit of the Corbett. Despite the poor weather I enjoyed my walk along the ridge and reflected that all the best hill walking is along a ridge where one can gain maximum enjoy from being at the top of a mountain while expending minimum effort walking along the ridge. This ridge would have been better if the weather was better and gave me a view of the sensational mountains that are in every direction. The path along the ridge is very well made with a miner’s talent for negotiating the contours weaving along the undulating ridge and was a real pleasure to walk upon. Soon after the best example of this cunning path it bypassed a broad top and eventually began to descend, which made me wonder if I had just walked past the summit. Checking my compass revealed I was now heading north, which confirmed my suspicions, so to establish my position with certainty I powered up my GPS device and this showed that I was north of the summit having indeed passed by. Turning around I headed back up the hill and coming off the path crossed the trackless slopes to find a well-built cairn sitting on a wide base of stones.

After eating I took a bearing and headed back onto the path passing some pretty yellow flowers growing in a boggy area that I took to be marsh-marigold, though I am no expert. Back onto the excellent path I headed back along the ridge now with my face into the wind that seemed to have increased while the rain was more persistent, and this made the journey back along the ridge less appealing than it had been earlier. When I reached the point where I had joined the clear path at the start of the ridge I now found the path dropping down the northern side to reach the pass on the northern edge of the wide saddle. Turning left I headed along the path over the pass eventually discovering that I had not lost the path at the fictitious junction, but earlier than that where there is a sudden turn that was not clear in the low cloud. Some cairns here would have helped. Descending in the rain I came all the way back down into the valley and back to the bothy where I spent the rest of the afternoon reading and playing cards. Considering the bad weather this was not a bad walk that was helped by a clear path on a good ridge.

Lurg Mhòr and Bidein a’ Choire Sheasgaich

Tuesday 21st May 2019

On my trek north from Cluanie to Strathcarron following the route of the Cape Wrath Trail I had reached the Maol-bhuidhe bothy, which is situated in a fabulously isolated location beside Loch Cruoshie many miles from the nearest road, and is popular with walkers tackling the Cape Wrath Trail. When I woke up at the start of this day I was pleased to see sunshine and blue skies for the first time on my holiday which made me hopeful for a good walk. If I had been tackling the Cape Wrath Trail I could have easily reached Strathcarron before the end of the day and even crossed the valley before climbing beside the Fionn-amhainn to the Coire Fionnaraich bothy. However that was not my goal and I wasn’t actually walking the Cape Wrath Trail, but simply using the route to reach more mountains. I had hoped to climb some mountains at the western end of Glen Affric the day before until poor weather had intervened, but now that I had good weather I wanted to take advantage of it so I headed towards the nearest Munro. I was sorry to leave the Maol-bhuidhe bothy as I set off north along the Cape Wrath Trail across the River Ling and through pathless peat hags around the eastern shoulder of the Corbett, Beinn Dronaig.

Once I got to the highest point on the traverse I found a vehicle track that effortlessly took me down the other side of the hill to the mouth of Loch Calavie where I found a wide, clear track that follows the edge of the loch below the steep slopes of the Munro, Lurg Mhòr. Towards the western end of the loch, immediately after crossing the Allt Coire Calavie, I turned off the track and started climbing the grassy slopes where many wild flowers, including my favourite, spotted-orchids, decorated the ground and alongside the nearby stream adding to my delight and compensated for my exertions as I toiled up the steep terrain. Eventually I reached the top of the saddle between the two Munros, Lurg Mhòr and Bidein a’ Choire Sheasgaich, where I abandoned my heavy rucksack and in lovely sunshine headed up the boulder-strewn slopes to the summit of Lurg Mhòr. The view behind me was stunning with the mountains of the Coulin Forest and Torridon looking particularly stunning in the distance where the sun reflected off the white quartzite to stunning effect. The views all around were great with mountains everywhere and the only sign of the interference of man being the vehicle track to Bendroniag Lodge.

I tried to continue along the ridge beyond the Munro but I got into difficulty when the ridge narrowed and requires a steep scramble down to the col before the rise to the eastern 974 metre top. As a lone walker I often decide to err on the side of caution so I didn’t proceed any further down the crags where I might have got myself into serious difficulty or injury. Returning to the summit of the Munro I made my way back down the boulder-strewn slopes until I reached my rucksack where I had my lunch. After eating I put my heavy rucksack back on, the weight of which was very noticeable after the brief walk up the Munro without its load, and set off up the Munro on the other side, Bidein a’ Choire Sheasgaich. Behind me, the mountains that I had passed the day before were basking under dark clouds and rain while I was enduring blue skies and sunshine, but enjoying a strong cold wind as I slowly made my way up the Munro. The walk up to the summit of the Munro was relatively easy on gentle grassy slopes, but beyond the summit the ridge narrows deliciously and excitingly in amongst dramatic, steep, rocky terrain. I had been a little worried that I would encounter at this point similar problems to those I had found on Lurg Mhòr, however an excellent path weaves a cunning course through the difficulties.

The terrain was fabulously craggy and a tremendous pleasure to be walking through thanks to the brilliant path that enabled me to negotiate the rocky ground with safety. I thoroughly enjoyed walking through this complex, craggy terrain though with great care as I slowly made my way along the path with steep drops not far to my left and my right while ahead of me were stunning views north-west across the Coulin Forest towards Torridon. At the end of the ridge is a ridiculously steep descent to Bealach an Sgoltaidh that I felt sure the path would fail to negotiate, but despite being very steep with a little erosion it successfully and safely brought me all the way down to the bottom of the pass. Despite the difficulty this descent was a joy to walk in such a rock-filled landscape. I considered continuing north onto the Corbett, Beinn Tharsuinn, but when I saw how deep was the col and how steep was the slopes up the hill on the other side I decided it wasn’t worth the effort. Although it was only two o’clock I turned left at the bottom of the pass and headed down towards the Bearnais bothy making my own way across the pathless slopes down to the bottom.

Slowly I made my way across the heather and grass slopes to the valley bottom where my problems really started as I had to cross the peat hags to the reach the bothy on the far side. Not far from the bothy there is a wide bog and rather than going around I thought I’d be able to step across, and my leg disappeared up to my knee. Soon after that I reached the Amhainn Bhearnais where I attempted to wash my dirty leg and foot in the stream, but only succeeded in getting water inside my boots. So it was that when I reached the Bearnais bothy I had wet feet, and although it was only mid-afternoon I was thankful to be at this fabulous bothy whose location is amazing surrounded by great mountain scenery, especially towards the pass of Bealach Bhearnais. On this walk I went up two great mountains that are infamously a long way from any road while the second Munro has some awesome rock scenery that, although challenging, provided me with some great walking. It was a pity the walk ended as early as it did, and I possibly should have gone up the Corbett. Nevertheless I was more than happy to be at the Bearnais bothy and quite happy to be spending the next couple of days there.

Sgùrr Gaorsaic

Monday 20th May 2019

My plan for this day, while staying in the Camban bothy at the head of Glen Affric, had been go up a Munro, preferably Sgùrr nan Ceathreamhnan, but when I got up the weather was dreich, which is a Scottish word meaning bleak and dreary. There was low cloud and it was drizzling with rain, so not the sort of weather for going up a Munro and therefore I prepared to move on from Camban. My plan for the week was to gradually head north until I reached Glen Carron following the route of the Cape Wrath Trail which runs from Fort William to Cape Wrath at the north-western corner of Scotland. Setting off from the bothy I headed towards the Alltbeithe Youth Hostel, however it wasn’t long before the rain stopped, the sun started to shine and blue sky appeared in the east. Despite the tops of the mountains still being covered in clouds, ten years ago this improvement in the weather would have been enough to convince me to immediately start climbing to the top of the mountains, but now I’m more wary. On reaching the Allt Gleann Gnìomhaidh I turned left beside the stream along what looked like a faint, though constructed path, but this soon disappeared so I moved away from the river to head slightly uphill until I reached the clear improved path that I should have taken originally and heads up the valley.

I came up this path in 2014 after staying in the youth hostel in Glen Affric, and just as then I enjoyed walking along this fabulous path as I made my way up the valley in the improving weather while at my feet I saw spotted-orchids and other delightful wild flowers. The weather was so good with the sun shining down onto the valley, even though clouds still covered the tops, I felt I had to go up a mountain. When I saw a small group of people heading up the hillside towards the saddle between Sgùrr Gaorsaic and Sgùrr nan Ceathreamhnan I immediately turned off the valley path up the grassy slopes and eventually passed this group as they admired the abundant array of wild flowers at our feet. It was very tiring climbing the steep terrain while carrying a heavy rucksack and I got very hot as I slowly dragged myself up the side of the hill until eventually the terrain eased and I was able to catch a breath. By that point it had also started to cloud over and soon it was briefly raining again, which seemed to be all the reward I got for making the effort to climb a mountain. Slowly I made my way up to the top of the Corbett-classed mountain of Sgùrr Gaorsaic plunging into the clouds that covered the summit.

While eating my lunch sheltered from the wind near the summit the clouds suddenly cleared and I raced up to the top to see a tremendous view of the surrounding mountains. After eating I turned north and made my way down the mountain while more rain showers plagued my progress with really dark, ominous clouds ahead of me, but behind me, in Gleann Gnìomhaidh, the sun was still shining as it had when I'd diverted up Sgùrr Gaorsaic. I recalled similar highly localised weather when I was in this area in 2014. When I reached the bottom of Gleann Gaorsaic I could not find any trace of a path and thought I might make better progress on the other side of the river, but this was no better and was probably worse with peat hags everywhere that were really difficult and tiring for me to make a way through. I had been trying to reach the Falls of Glomach to see this spectacular waterfall again, which I had previously seen in 2014, and then I planned to camp in Glen Elchaig. However I’m a reluctant camper and I preferred to stay in the bothy at Maol-bhuidhe, so after I calculated it would take me four hours to get there I decided it was worth the effort.

Crossing the river again I made my way towards the saddle ahead and soon found a vehicle track that provided me with much easier walking, which makes me wonder how far this track goes into the valley and why I hadn’t been on it earlier. This track took me past Loch Lòn Mhurchaidh and straight past the path that goes into Coire Easach steeply down to Glen Elchaig. I don’t know where the junction is, but I completely missed it and had to stay on the track as it takes a circuitous route gradually descending into the valley. Once at Carnach I followed the wide estate road along the bottom of the valley until after passing Iron Lodge I started climbing once again into Coire a’ Chadha Ruaidh Mòr. At the end of a long tiring day this climb was really tough and although I had a good path underfoot it was still absolute agony. Eventually I reached the top of the pass and wearily made my way down the path to the bottom of the valley where the Maol-bhuidhe bothy sits in splendid isolation.

This was a very tiring day that was not helped by climbing a Corbett on the way. I was walking in a very challenging area of the Scottish Highlands through weather that was highly changeable and very localised. The Cape Wrath Trail seems to be the most common reason why someone would walk in this part of Scotland, although lovers of solitude would find much to their liking as after leaving the group on the climb up the Corbett I didn’t see a single person until I reached the bothy. Ignoring my excursion over Sgùrr Gaorsaic it was easy to forget that I had good paths for much of the walk while the worst part was when I tried to take a course beside the Abhainn Gaorsaic where with hindsight I should have tried to find a higher path in the valley which might possibly have made the walk easier. However I think my best option was the one I rejected of visiting the Falls of Glomach and camping in Glen Elchaig. Although this would have added a couple of hours to the following day's walk, hindsight shows this wouldn’t have been a problem.

An Caorann Mór

Sunday 19th May 2019

Several years ago I came across the Cape Wrath Trail that runs from Fort William all the way up the west coast of Scotland to Cape Wrath on the north-western tip. This is probably the most challenging long distance trail in Britain as it passes through some of the wildest and most deserted landscape in Europe, and despite this I thought I might want to do it. However, the more I read about the trail the more I realised that this may not be to my liking, and yet in 2017 I tried to walk along a small part of the trail from Glenfinnan into Glen Dessary, but soon I turned around and came back out. This year I was still looking at the trail and thought I could walk along another part of it starting from the top of Glen Shiel at the Cluanie Inn, so after travelling to Scotland the day before I caught a bus from Inverness past woodland beautifully strewn with bluebells to reach the Cluanie Inn where it was raining lightly. After walking beside the road for almost a mile I reached the clear track that heads over An Caorann Mór towards Glen Affric while behind me the views over depleted Loch Cluanie opened as I started to climb.

The rain had been short-lived and there was hardly any wind, which is often a welcome change when walking over mountains where it is usually very windy, though on this occasion I would have appreciated some wind as it would have cooled me as I slowly climbed the track. Soon, I became hot, which prompted me to take off my cagoule while straining under the weight of my heavy rucksack that I was not used to carrying and was weighed down with all the food I would need for the next five days. I hadn’t endured such a heavy load since my walk along the Hebridean Way in August 2017, and I was feeling all the weight as despite my rucksack doing its best to spread the load it couldn’t hide it from my legs. The good track was a bonus and a joy to walk upon and seemed to have seen some recent improvements that made me hopeful for the rest of the path, though this was not to be as the track eventually began to deteriorate with pools of water that I had to dodge around. However, these pools just added to the interest as beside the expected pond skaters on top, there were also tadpoles swimming around underneath.

Eventually the track came to an end beside a small herd of deer, possibly the same one that I had seen on this path in 2016, and beyond this point I had to make my way along a sketchy, boggy path over the pass while it briefly started to rain again. When I reached the Allt Coire a’ Ghlas-thuill I stopped beside the stream to have my lunch at the point where I had planned to turn uphill to climb Mullach Froach-choire, which is a mountain I had not succeeded in reaching in 2016 due to bad weather, but the weather was no better on this occasion. Therefore, after eating, I continued along the slender path that heads down the other side of the pass into Glen Affric. I had assumed there was a good path down, but if I had checked I would have discovered that the path into the valley is notoriously boggy, despite how popular this route might be. While struggling through the bogs the distinctive peak of Sgùrr nan Ceathreamhnan appeared through the clouds ahead of me continually taunting me about where I could be walking at that moment. As I came down to the bottom of the valley any trace of a path disappeared amongst the bogs which made me think I’d gone the wrong way and I possibly had as maps indicate the best path keeps high away from the river.

As it started to rain again, and heavily, I battled through the bogs to higher ground and finally made my way to the bridge over the River Affric not far from the Alltbeithe Youth Hostel, whose setting at the head of Glen Affric must be one of the best. There I found an excellent path, and with the rain ending and a cuckoo merrily singing away I had an enjoyable walk into Fionngleann on a path that was a joy after the miserable bogs I had just endured while coming down from the pass. Just as I came near the Camban Bothy it started to rain again and this time there was no end in sight, so despite the early hour I decided to stop and join the others who were staying there for the night. All I could do was hope for better weather on the following day. This was a short but enjoyable walk, when I had a good path under foot, which is always an important requirement for me. Despite not going to the top of any mountains it was still great to be walking amongst them.