Life's been busy lately and in some cases, frustratingly so. I've been trying to get a free weekend to get out for a couple of months, but the weather's either been rubbish, or I've had other things on, including the building of a new fence in my back garden.
I did make a decision to get away this weekend however, and it looked from the forecast that I was lucking out with the weather.
However, other acts of God were in play, and there was a huge wildfire at Glenmore, ploughing smoke south and for a while over the A9.
I had picked a set of hills that required a bit of a journey to get there, so I decided to head up the A82 rather than the A9. I managed to get away just after 1700 on Friday. The day was very hot and there were multiple breakdowns on the Loch Lomond road, presumably from overheating engines. Progress was slow. I made it to Fort William at 1930 and stopped in for a haggis supper to keep me going for the next day.
I made a stop at the Commando Memorial to get a good view of the Ben and the Grey Corries. My van looking cool, but it has no air-con so isn't really!
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| Gunter the Van |
It was a busy road all the way up but I stopped at Glen Shiel for more pictures, the light was getting to be absolutely magnificent.
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| Glen Shiel |
I just wanted to stop and take loads of photos, but I knew I had to keep moving to get to my spot for the night.
I had hoped to get to Eilean Donan before sunset, but it wasn't to be. I did decide on one last stop...
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| Eilean Donan |
There was still plenty of light to see as I drove up the wee road to Achnashellach, where I was parking up for the night. I got there quite late so just got my kit ready for the morning and headed to bed.
The alarm went at 0630, and I had a wee keek out the window to see how bad the midges were. Without even opening the door I could they were pretty bad, so I stayed inside as long as I could.
After breakfast and significant faffing, I jumped on my bike at 0728 and crossed the railway line. The midges were bad - any slowness or stopping at all and they were on you. The morning wasn't as clear as the nice evening. Cloud had rolled in and there was some moisture in the air. It was humid too and there was no wind, so the midge were all over you instantly.
The ride into Glenuaig Lodge had a lot of ascent, and I over took a couple of other cyclists and walkers on the way. It took me just over an hour on the bike, with 312m of ascent. I dumped the bike at a significant point where some paths meet so I could remember later, then it was time to limber up for a big day of running in the mountains!
My short shorts seemed like a good idea but the midges were feasting on my legs, so I had to get moving. I headed up the side of Allt an Fhuar-thuill Mhòr and then to the bealach to the north of the first Munro of the day, Maoile Lunndaidh. I had some nice views of Fuar-tholl Mòr, but the cloud was sitting about 900m.
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| Fuar-tholl Mòr |
I was feeling a bit sluggish at this point, but I was encouraged to see the summit appearing out of the mist. The sun was trying to break through. Munro 238 was complete at 1009.
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| Maoile Lunndaidh |
Normally, people approach these hills as 2 separate walks, but I figured that moving fast and light would let me complete the lot in a day. From Maoile Lunndaidh I had plotted a route down to a low point at 600m, called Drochaid Mhuilich on the map. I was in clag for most of the way but as I dropped to about 800m, the mist cleared and I got some great views.
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| Descending to the 600m point |
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| View up Srath Mhuilich to Loch Mhuilich |
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| Bidean an Eòin Dearg (not a Munro) |
The most obvious line was up the burn to Lochan Ghaineamhaich and then onto the north shoulder of the second Munro, Sgùrr a Chaorachain.
I was back in clag again, but still had plenty in the legs. I was on the second summit of the day at 1206 and chatted to 3 older fellas I'd passed on my bike on the way in. They were just doing the two today so were on their way back down.
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| More clag on Sgùrr a Chaorachain |
The descent to the bealach was welcome and I was moving quickly down the hill, fortunately only about 200m of descent this time.
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| Descending to 865m |
The clag was clearing finally, and the views were starting to open up on ascent. I met a couple who were coming back from Sgùrr Choinnich and stopped to chat, but then it was another 110m of rocky clambering.
I made the final new Munro of the day at 1235 and stopped for a few minutes to take in the views in all directions. However, the view out to Torridon was stealing the show.
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| Sgùrr Choinnich |
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| Views to Torridon |
It was quite stunning. I had strict instructions from my coach to keep my run to 6 hours, so I made sure to eat a roll, keep drinking and then just press back down again.
I caught up with the couple I'd seen earlier on the summit of Sgùrr a Chaorachain, after the last 200m ascent today. He was on his second round, and she was closing in on her first. We had a lovely chat about the view and then I just headed down off the shoulder - the clag now almost completely clear of the tops.
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| Sgùrr Choinnich |
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| Lochan Ghaineamhaich and Maoile Lunndaidh, showing the way I'd come over |
The descent was lovely - the sun was out, I was ahead of my schedule a wee bit, but once I hit the flatter ground towards Glenuaig Lodge, the midge had been replaced with lots of clegs. I frequently felt them land on my legs and my neck, and I kept swatting as I went but a few bites went in.
I got back to the bike at 1410, but the clegs were horrendous, so I just had to keep moving until I got along the road a bit. I got the money shot of my bike though!
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| Ride out |
The ride out was lovely - lots of descent on estate track and the bike just held up really well. I made it to the bridge at the river and decided to park my bike where no one could see then go under the bridge for a swim in the river and a good wash. I didn't bring my trunks or towel, so it was a naked affair, but no one would have seen.
I was back at the van at 1505, feeling a little tired, but not too bad. I decided to head to Aviemore and park up there. I discovered my friend Jim was in town so I biked up to meet him and then headed off to a fairly early bed.
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| Beers with Jim |
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| Good night Aviemore |
In the morning, I jumped in the Spey for another swim before the long drive down the road to Glasgow.
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| In the Spey for the third time in a month! |
Bike Distance: 20.47km
Bike Time: 1h 50m
Ascent: 439m
Hike Distance: 18.57km
Hike Time: 5h 33m
Ascent: 1550m
Munros Completed: 240 (42 remain!)
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