IrishBhoy Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 4 hours ago, Central Belt Caley said: Slightly tougher day than I expected and the descent after coming off the top Stob Garbh was brutal, few boggy patches and had to deduce a bypass route. Went through close to 3 litres of water/juice due to the heat. Barely seen anyone due to it being midweek, not sure how popular these 2 are at the weekend but would highly recommend on a clear day. Climbed Cruachan and Stob Diamh on a foggy Monday morning about 6 years ago, never seen another person all day. Had about 10 feet of visibility as we walked from the summit of Cruachan along to Stob Diamh, and stopped at the summit cairn for 20 minutes or so for a sandwich and headed off into the thick clag thinking we were completing the horseshoe and descending back to the dam. After about an hour of walking the wind got up and the fog cleared, giving us fine views of the Cruachan dam to our left hand side, which should have been to our right if we followed the correct route. It was only after seeing that we realised we had become disoriented in the clag and walked back to the summit of Cruachan. Took us about 10 hours in total and we were knee deep in bog at points as we came down the section after the dam wall, which was basically just walking through a stream. Very interesting place though, I believe you can take a tour inside the hydro station and under the mountain. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Central Belt Caley Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 11 hours ago, IrishBhoy said: Yes mate that was us. That downhill section heading back towards the car was the dodgiest I’ve encountered so far, even in the dry. I’m usually fine going back down but I had about 3 near misses nearly going over on my ankle and once where I slipped and just managed to stop myself snapping my groin. Wouldn’t even attempt that route in winter conditions. We were talking to the blonde guy at the top of the first Munro he seemed to know his stuff, looked fit as a fiddle as well you done well to keep pace with them. I was gonna ask one of my mates to come with me and I’m glad I didn’t know as he’d have hated the descent. The big rocks weren’t great and I kinda just slid down them on my arse Aye the guy knew so much about mountains and hillwalking, it was a lot to take in. They done a full round in just about 2 years they said after the first lockdown ended they started their round and were out every weekend for almost a year straight. Absolute nutters but they were great company. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Central Belt Caley Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 11 hours ago, IrishBhoy said: Climbed Cruachan and Stob Diamh on a foggy Monday morning about 6 years ago, never seen another person all day. Had about 10 feet of visibility as we walked from the summit of Cruachan along to Stob Diamh, and stopped at the summit cairn for 20 minutes or so for a sandwich and headed off into the thick clag thinking we were completing the horseshoe and descending back to the dam. After about an hour of walking the wind got up and the fog cleared, giving us fine views of the Cruachan dam to our left hand side, which should have been to our right if we followed the correct route. It was only after seeing that we realised we had become disoriented in the clag and walked back to the summit of Cruachan. Took us about 10 hours in total and we were knee deep in bog at points as we came down the section after the dam wall, which was basically just walking through a stream. Very interesting place though, I believe you can take a tour inside the hydro station and under the mountain. That sounds absolutely brutal, least you didn’t make that mistake off Cruachan as the pull up to that summit feels like it’s never ending! The visitor centre does look good, wouldn’t have been an enjoyable experience if I had went yesterday. Reckon my clothes could’ve walked themselves home last night. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swello Posted September 20, 2023 Share Posted September 20, 2023 Was up north for a few days, so I decided to go for a mountain that I've always liked the look of but never got round to doing - Streap from the Mallaig road. The walk in was easy along the Dubh-Lighe river through some nice forest. I popped my head round the door of the Dubh-Lighe bothy which I'd never seen before - it's small but in great nick. With Streap - I think they put the "r" in the name so folk aren't put off by the fact that it's a relentless b*****d of a climb up to the ridge and an equally relentless 2500ft descent back to the glen afterwards - you need to be feeling fit for this one. On the other hand it's a stunning part of the west highlands. The ridge walk is fantastic but I was caught out by the forecast getting the rain time wrong and as soon as I got up there, the heavens opened and I was in full waterproofs for the rest of the day and robbed of the views from the summits. Downside - missed the views, upside - didn't stop in the rain and was back at the car in 6.5 hours and in time for a late lunch. Really recommend this one for anyone that can deal with the climb onto the ridge. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swello Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 Been doing plenty of walking the last couple of months but the weather has been so shite every time I've been out, I've not had much worth sticking on here. At the weekend I decided to bite the bullet and head along to the end of Loch Arkaig on Scotland's worst road to clean up the remaining hills I have to do in there so that I don't ever have to do it again. The forecast was again looking garbage so I was quite surprised by how nice it was at Loch Laggan on the way up on Friday - stopped for lunch there in fact. I had decided to start with (the Lochaber) Beinn Bhan, which is a half day walk that I wouldn't make a 4 hour drive to do - so doing it on the way past was a good idea. I started in thick mist and had no expectations until I started to see a hazy sun and a bit of blue sky, and then I knew what I was in for - some bonus cloud inversion views of snow capped Ben Nevis and the surrounding mountains. Fun stuff over, I braved the road from hell - in the dark and in the mist - and was relieved to eventually make it to the middle of nowhere road end at Strathan. Next morning, I headed out to climb Sgurr Mhurlagain and Froach Bheinn. It was freezing, rainy and misty - and as it's November, every step was in a bog. Still weirdly enjoyed it though despite the no views above 400m. Tourist brochure would call it atmospheric I guess. (It's impressive that every walk on this signpost is an absolute b*****d, don't do them. Anyone going this way to Morar should be locked up for their own safety) By the time I got back, every bit of gear and clothing I had was completely soaked and only the idea of having to come back this way had me up and away again the next morning to climb Sgùrr Cos na Breachd-laoidh, the last mountain of any size I still had to climb round here. More rain, more cloud - I spent most of the walk micro-navigating and after hours in the clag, it was re-assuring to find that I was on exactly the right line to drop into the back garden of the deserted Glendessary Lodge (was under construction when I last walked past years ago) and the way out to the road end. Job done, won't be back Summit photo sample (of Sgùrr Cos na Breachd-laoidh) that's pretty much identical to every one I've been on for the past 2-3 months: 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arab_joe Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 Two thumbs up from me, @Swello - those photographs are absolutely stunning (likely more so as I am currently sat in the middle of the ugliest city on earth...). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florentine_Pogen Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 4 hours ago, arab_joe said: Two thumbs up from me, @Swello - those photographs are absolutely stunning (likely more so as I am currently sat in the middle of the ugliest city on earth counting the poop tankers to pass the time...). FTFY. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swello Posted December 7, 2023 Share Posted December 7, 2023 I'd like to declare the winter walking season open. Using a bit of end of year flexi time and the need for something to make up for the inevitable defeat at Victoria Park, I decided to do a couple of shorter walks on the way up and down to Dingwall. The forecast was for decent but baltic weather, which is a vast improvement from my luck recently and a bit of snow always makes duller hills a lot more interesting. Meall na Leitreach (and the Drumochter hills in general) are on no-one's must do list but after walking through a cloud layer, I got out into the sun and the visibility was brilliant - this is the geographic centre of Scotland, so the views are great on a day like this. The hill was surprisingly icy and so I used spikes (but not crampons) all the way down to avoid the cartoon fall I had on the way up. Nice quick walk done, it was off to Victoria Park <scene deleted> Next morning was even colder (-10 on the car temp reading when I arrived in Dalwhinnie) but was nice again. I had decided to do a short version of the The Fara as I didn't have time for the full ridge. Network Rail have still locked the normal level crossing at the station, so I parked up next to an underpass at the other end of the village. Loch Ericht was looking great in the early morning light - I could see Ben Alder in the distance and it reminded me that I need to do that again sometime soon - one of the best bits of backpacking you can do in Scotland IMO. Steep but short climb had me up at the summit pretty quickly - visibility great again today. Nice to see the winter back - hope we get some decent snow this year as I'm in the mood for some big winter mountain days if we're lucky... 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al B Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 Alright folks! Apologies for chucking a charity thing in here, absolutely no pressure to donate at all (although please do if you'd like to and are able to!), but thought it would be of interest to the good people of this thread. Tomorrow me and my mate kick off our hike of the Cape Wrath Trail which has been the best part of a year in the planning. For anyone who isn't familiar with it, it's approx 380km of unmarked wilderness from Fort William to the Cape Wrath Lighthouse which is the most North-Westerley point in mainland Scotland. It's going to be fully self-sustaining with the exception of a full day off in Ullapool near enough halfway, with just what we can carry on our backs, and sleeping in our tents or available bothys. I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon so it doesn;t leave much time for anyone asking questions or discussing, and for the most part the full hike is off-grid, but I'll pop on when I can before I go, and come back on afterwards to give a full run-down for anyone who's interested. With regards to the charity side, my best mate's dad passed away of cancer a couple of weeks ago, and his funeral is this Friday. When I realised I wasn't going to be able to go I decided to dedicate the hike to him, and see if I can raise a few pounds for Strathcarron Hospice, who provide pallative care for those navigating the final leg of their own journey. A really special place that's fully reliant on donations. Link is below for anyone that would like to make a small donation, but as I say no pressure at all, there's lots of charity things that are close to people and we can;t give to them all. https://www.justgiving.com/page/alan-bone-1711537956667?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Falan-bone-1711537956667&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swello Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 1 hour ago, Al B said: Alright folks! Apologies for chucking a charity thing in here, absolutely no pressure to donate at all (although please do if you'd like to and are able to!), but thought it would be of interest to the good people of this thread. Tomorrow me and my mate kick off our hike of the Cape Wrath Trail which has been the best part of a year in the planning. For anyone who isn't familiar with it, it's approx 380km of unmarked wilderness from Fort William to the Cape Wrath Lighthouse which is the most North-Westerley point in mainland Scotland. It's going to be fully self-sustaining with the exception of a full day off in Ullapool near enough halfway, with just what we can carry on our backs, and sleeping in our tents or available bothys. I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon so it doesn;t leave much time for anyone asking questions or discussing, and for the most part the full hike is off-grid, but I'll pop on when I can before I go, and come back on afterwards to give a full run-down for anyone who's interested. With regards to the charity side, my best mate's dad passed away of cancer a couple of weeks ago, and his funeral is this Friday. When I realised I wasn't going to be able to go I decided to dedicate the hike to him, and see if I can raise a few pounds for Strathcarron Hospice, who provide pallative care for those navigating the final leg of their own journey. A really special place that's fully reliant on donations. Link is below for anyone that would like to make a small donation, but as I say no pressure at all, there's lots of charity things that are close to people and we can;t give to them all. https://www.justgiving.com/page/alan-bone-1711537956667?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Falan-bone-1711537956667&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share Good luck on your CWT walk - I did it about 15 years back and it was genuinely one of the best things I've done in my life. I was actually quite sad to reach Cape Wrath - I could have kept going as I was enjoying it so much. Looking forward to seeing the pics on here in a couple of weeks Over and above the actual walking part - It's hard work keeping yourself and your gear in good nick for that length of time in the conditions you're likely to experience - so make sure you use any good weather windows to dry/air stuff (especially tents and sleeping bags) and get stuff re-organised as doing stuff in the rain makes life a lot harder. It might seem obvious but take *really* good care of your feet each night (it's probably too late but this stuff is an actual miracle for that purpose - one of the best 75g you could carry) because small problems can escalate with daily punishment. DM me if there is any help/advice I can give at this late stage.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al B Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 10 minutes ago, Swello said: Good luck on your CWT walk - I did it about 15 years back and it was genuinely one of the best things I've done in my life. I was actually quite sad to reach Cape Wrath - I could have kept going as I was enjoying it so much. Looking forward to seeing the pics on here in a couple of weeks Over and above the actual walking part - It's hard work keeping yourself and your gear in good nick for that length of time in the conditions you're likely to experience - so make sure you use any good weather windows to dry/air stuff (especially tents and sleeping bags) and get stuff re-organised as doing stuff in the rain makes life a lot harder. It might seem obvious but take *really* good care of your feet each night (it's probably too late but this stuff is an actual miracle for that purpose - one of the best 75g you could carry) because small problems can escalate with daily punishment. DM me if there is any help/advice I can give at this late stage.... Yeah I've seen/heard stories of people getting quite emotional as the approach the lighthouse, one of those trails that's long enough where you get used to a certain way of going about your day, and then don't want it to end. We're both pretty experienced in terms of long distance, multi-dayers and hiking in general. Amongst other LD trails I've done the WHW 8 times with my record being 3 and a half days, and my mate is very close to ticking off his full munro card, so thankfully we've managed to learn a lot over the years (mostly by getting it wrong the first time....the way I'm sure most of us learn! ), and you're absolutely spot on....how you treat your feet will make or break any trip! We've both been lucky enough to have new packs made for us in our own custom colours by the guys down at Atom just for this trip, so apart from a few test hikes this will be their first major outing! It's honestly hard to believe how light they are! We've got a full day off in Ullapool so that's going to be pretty valuable, as long as we don't spend the whole day in the pub . Oh, and we also always hike in kilts 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swello Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 (edited) There was a decent weather forecast for Easter Sunday - so I headed north for a long overdue visit back to Fisherfield. Given that the hills I wanted to do involved a monster walk in - I decided to cheat by using the packraft to cross Loch Maree and turn this into an achievable (but still epic) day walk. The conditions were excellent as I set off with the sun appearing behind Slioch. Crossing done - I stashed the packrafting gear under some tree roots on the shore, got my boots on and headed off past Letterewe and into the hills, where the views went from "nice" to "fucking amazing" pretty quickly Fisherfield is one of the most remote parts of the country and it contains (a) my favourite wild camping spot, at the causeway between the Fionn and Dubh Lochs and (b) one of my top 3 mountains in A'Mhaigdean - so to suddenly see these places from a new angle and only a few hours after setting off was a total treat for me. Any walk where from one spot (the mountain called Meall Mheinnidh, which was the middle of three I climbed) where you can see Slioch, An Teallach, Liathach, A' Mhaighdean and the entire length of the Outer Hebrides has to qualify as one of the best viewpoints I've ever been on. Three hills done, all that was left was a wander back to the lochside and a paddle back to the car park where I'd started and to go and get some much needed food. To get a summer epic type of walk done in March (with no midges or ked) was brilliant - top day out. Edited April 2 by Swello 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invergowrie arab Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 5 hours ago, Swello said: There was a decent weather forecast for Easter Sunday - so I headed north for a long overdue visit back to Fisherfield. Given that the hills I wanted to do involved a monster walk in - I decided to cheat by using the packraft to cross Loch Maree and turn this into an achievable (but still epic) day walk. The conditions were excellent as I set off with the sun appearing behind Slioch. Crossing done - I stashed the packrafting gear under some tree roots on the shore, got my boots on and headed off past Letterewe and into the hills, where the views went from "nice" to "fucking amazing" pretty quickly Fisherfield is one of the most remote parts of the country and it contains (a) my favourite wild camping spot, at the causeway between the Fionn and Dubh Lochs and (b) one of my top 3 mountains in A'Mhaigdean - so to suddenly see these places from a new angle and only a few hours after setting off was a total treat for me. Any walk where from one spot (the mountain called Meall Mheinnidh, which was the middle of three I climbed) where you can see Slioch, An Teallach, Liathach, A' Mhaighdean and the entire length of the Outer Hebrides has to qualify as one of the best viewpoints I've ever been on. Three hills done, all that was left was a wander back to the lochside and a paddle back to the car park where I'd started and to go and get some much needed food. To get a summer epic type of walk done in March (with no midges or ked) was brilliant - top day out. Looks amazing. Despite how amazing the summit of A' Mhaighdean is I think the the descent to Càrnmòr might be better. The upper part is almost Tyrolean and the you can barely comprehend the scale of Coire Breac. Yes I am going to follow that with the Glas Maol circuit. Enjoying the last knockings of winter in Glenshee and some stunning views over to the main Cairngorms 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swello Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 2 hours ago, invergowrie arab said: Looks amazing. Despite how amazing the summit of A' Mhaighdean is I think the the descent to Càrnmòr might be better. The upper part is almost Tyrolean and the you can barely comprehend the scale of Coire Breac. Totally agree - the first time I got there not long after I'd started out hillwalking (after the big hike in from Poolewe), I couldn't believe the place and I still feel the same - there aren't really many places in Scotland that compare to it. On the way out, I was talking to a group doing their DoE Gold expedition who were planning to camp there, I was massively jealous... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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