Still fresh from my Cairngorms adventure last weekend, it was time to get back out on the hills for a midweek Midsummer Munro adventure with Toezi. Regular readers (who am I kidding!) will know that Toezi and I generally make some kind of attempt each year to bivvy on the top of a hill around the longest day of the year. This reminds us both that bivvying can actually be a pleasure, and that it can still be completely freezing on the tops of hills.
Shutting down the laptop on Thursday evening was a protracted and emotional affair as I wanted to get a catchup with one of my team who was leaving the following day. So when the doorbell rang, I was ready to go but my mind wasn't completely on the trip. However, a gab in the car with your best friend is always a good leveller and we were onto the A82 and up Lomondside in no time.
We stopped in at the Real Food Cafe at Tyndrum for the most expensive sausage suppers I have ever purchased and we were soon on our way, overtaking the tourists who were clearly favouring the scenery over expediency.
It's been a wee while since we've been down the Glen road and there have been some changes - the new Hydro buildings have been 'blended in' but still stick out like a sore thumb to those of us who know the place so well. We arrived at the car park at Coileitir at 1925 and got changed into more appropriate hill attire, then headed down the new hyrdo track towards the Allt Mheuran.
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| Glas Bheinn Mhòr and Starav |
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| Glas Bheinn Mhòr and the pines near the Eas nam Meirleach |
It was hot and sticky and the extra weight from sleeping bags and camera kit meant for slower going than I'm used to. However, we passed the Eas nam Meirleach and could see where it gets it Gaelic name
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| Eas nam Meirleach - the Robber's Waterfall |
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| Top of the Eas nam Meirleach |
Clegs were our biggest problem, I could feel them land on me and a few got a bite in. I could even feel them penetrating my t-shirt which was fairly horrific. As we gained height though, they started to fade away. It was later than we thought as well - and the sun was now starting to dip. We really wanted to hit the summit for sunset, so we pushed ourselves a bit.
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| Views back into Glen Etive |
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| Bog Cotton in beautiful light |
We hit the bealach and the views into Glen Orchy opened up and we finally got a breeze. However, we still had 300m of ascent to go and about 30 mins till sundown. The slope from the bealach is steep, but up we went - with the sun dipping rapidly all the time.
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| Sun dropping |
Once the contours levelled off a bit we saw some deer on the hill ahead of us. They clocked us from a long distance off and headed off down the hill. We pressed on to almost the summit.
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| Hinds |
As soon as we had a high vantage point, I got out the camera and tripod and started work. When the sun was up, the contrast was too high, so I didn't really get what I wanted, but once the sun dipped below the horizon, we were in for a treat.
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| West Highlands |
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| Summer sunset skies |
I shot a lot of bracketed pics so that I could merge in HDR later and that was a good choice. The colours were incredible.
I joined Toezi on the summit and we had a nice dram to celebrate our decades-long friendship and another Midsummer Munro.
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| Celebratory Dram |
I managed to get one more shot I was happy with before the light dimmed, and my favourite of the trip:
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| Nevis and everything before |
We had some food, sat for a bit, then realised it was 2345, so it was time to settle into our bivvy bags for the night and get some kip.
I slept reasonably well - waking a couple of times and opening my eyes, each time surprised to not see any darkness.
I woke just before 4am, which was when we had kind of decided to get up.
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| Lightening sky |
The sky was starting to lighten and it wouldn't be long before the sun was up. I didn't want to miss sunrise so crawled out of my bivvy bag, put my contact lenses in and readied my camera for the capture. I was not disappointed.
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| Sunrise |
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| Up a bit further - sun filling the glen |
It wasn't warm and the rain was starting from the west, so we packed up and headed off about 0440, heading back down the way we came. When we hit the bealach again it was warm enough to drop a layer, then it was a long walk back down to a midge-riddled Glen Etive where we hit the car for about 0645. Quick change of clothes and then down to the Green Welly for a breakfast roll and some coffee. We were back in Glasgow at 0930 and I went for a shower and a wee snooze.
Hike Distance: 15.81km
Ascent: 1016m
Time: 4h 15m hiking, the rest sleeping and faffing with a camera
No new Munros this time
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