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I was back to
the Highlands and glad to be so. The route I climbed was similar to that
from the 7th September 2008, although I added a couple of extra tops and
altered my route of descent. Due to these alterations, 24.4km of
distance and 2300 climbed vertical metres is my single biggest walk yet. I went alone again and this time around, I'd
caught the good weather. We'd seen sunny skies for around about a week
and there seemed to be no change on the horizon.
I caught the 8.40am train at Dalmuir Station, arriving at Crianlarich at
10.10am. The weather during the journey suggested to me that I was going to be spending
some portion of the day in cloud. I didn't really want to, but with
cloud obscuring Ben Lomond and The Cobbler it seemed inevitable. I
knew conditions could change, because forecasters suggested that the sun
would be out for most of the day. When I got off at Crianlarich, I
enquired about sun cream in the local shop. It was priced a little
higher than I could afford because the train ticket had used up most of
my money (I took a gulp when I discovered the train would cost me
£19...) and I left without buying. I took my chances with the sun,
because although it was lightly overcast, Ben More was now clear and the
cloud could disappear altogether.
I walked east out of Crianlarich, expecting a short walk to reach the
foot of Ben More. In the end, it took 40 minutes. I never thought the
start by Benmore Farm was so far out, and I walked along the grassy
verge as lorries flew by, hoping that around the next corner, I could
get off the road and start the climb to Ben More.
Ben More
My intention for today was to go a little long distance and clock up a
few more kilometres than normal. My first shot at this route in
September 2008 revealed that should I travel at a full-blown pace, I
would tire myself out and wind up running on empty. I didn't want to do
this of course and made a conscious effort to walk in a rhythm, at a pace that would
never burn me out. I followed the zigzagging track before cutting off in
the direction of Ben More's summit.
I was surprised to find that I could walk at a comfortable but brisk
pace and never be burned out. I climbed to the higher reaches of
the mountain in reasonable time, walking past the corrie with it's dry
stone wall and then through the crags above. The views were wonderful,
and with light cloud above, I knew I'd be on top in the sun.
I followed the path to the top, where a cairn first greeted me, followed
by the trig point itself. It had taken 95 minutes up get up, September
had seen me up in 90. Did I go too quickly, and would I burn myself out?
I was sweating, my legs had had a good workout but I couldn't locate the tiredness. 95 minutes to the top and
I'm not tired? It didn't seem right, but I was proud of it and didn't
mind much as long as I wasn't going to burn out later.
Stob Binnein
After five or ten minutes on Ben More, I continued onto Stob Binnein.
Following the crags just off the summit of Ben More, I had a quick
descent to Bealach-eadar-da-bheinn,
and the subsequent climb to Stob Binnein felt as much of a slog as the
climb to Ben More. It was
a speedy ascent, and it seemed like no time until I was up. On the summit,
I was met with many people coming and going - a big contrast to Ben
More. I spoke to one guy in particular about our own hill experiences,
about our day so far and when and where we both had our walking-above-the-clouds
moments. He'd ascended from Inverlochlarig, commenting that the ridge
was a long and slightly torturous route. I'd considered going to Stob
Coire nan Lochain which lies on this route, but now a little tired, it
looked like more effort than I could care to do. I took a panorama from
Stob Binnein and headed onwards to Cruach Ardrain.
Cruach Ardrain
I descended half way to Bealach-eadar-da-bheinn before cutting down Stob
Binnein's western slopes. The going was a lot easier compared to when I
first came this way in September - perhaps because I'd placed such an
emphasis on packing light. In September I'd been wearing heavy winter
boots, now I was wearing lightweight trail boots. Before I set out in
the morning, I'd decided to bring a small rucksack and pack accordingly.
To decide that anything that didn't fit wasn't coming certainly helped
me in keeping the weight down - I'd had a tendency before to throw
anything in the rucksack. Down at the bealach between Stob Binnein and Cruach Ardrain, it
was much warmer and the sun was now also out. I realised I had no sun
cream, and knew that should I stay out, the consequences wouldn't be
pleasant. I became slightly intimidated by the sun's presence. So as I climbed
through Coire Bhuidhe beneath a June sun, a fleece was the only reasonable
way to cover up. On went my fleece, and out poured the sweat...
In September, I made an casual promise to myself that next time, I'd
find another route to ascend Cruach Ardrain asides Coire Bhuidhe. It had
been torture that time around. But I was back once more because it seemed like the easiest option. I wanted to climb Stob Coire Bhuidhe, a top which I
unknowingly omitted last time. The ascent through the corrie wasn't as
bad as I'd remembered. It was hotter than before and the bugs were
swarming, but all was okay. I emerged near the summit of Stob Coire
Bhuidhe and arrived at it's summit soon after, at 2.45pm.
Then it was a short climb to Stob Garbh, where I arrived at 3.20pm. The
descent from the summit was as arduous as I remembered it to be. More
than once, cliffs would bar the way, leaving me to find an alternative
route down. Scrambling was minimal, but route finding here was probably
the most difficult out of anywhere I'd go today. When it came for me to
climb Cruach Ardrain, I avoided the steeper east face and cut around the
steep eastern slopes to to take an easier approach.
With the sun in the western sky, the steep east face allowed me some
refuge from the sun. It being one of the few shaded areas, I stopped for a
rest. I was aware that boulders fields lay around about, and that the
stacked, crumbling cliffs above me were the source of these. I found it
funny that as I sat, I wondered to myself, could the
crags above come flying down as I sat, by chance? I was surely being
irrational. I felt a little anxiety, but such thoughts were instinctive and a natural reaction. I put the thought to
the back of my head and relaxed in the shade. After adequate rest, it was a brief climb
up to the summit of Cruach Ardrain, via. a gully on the south face.
Beinn Tulaichean
Beinn Tulaichean was, like in the past, an easy walk from Cruach
Ardrain. This was similar to September 2008, when I made this one final
push to Tulaichean, having already climbed over Ben More, Stob Binnein
and Cruach Ardrain. But I noticed that I felt a lot different to last
time. I felt stronger, and I still had energy. I almost contemplated
making the long journey to Beinn a' Chroin, I felt so good. I gave
myself a rest at Beinn Tulaichean's summit, lying in the sun, in the
peace.
I never went on to Beinn a' Chroin in the end (next time...) because as
I lay on Beinn Tulaichean, I realised that should I descend now, I could
catch a train and be home in reasonable time. Before I did so though,
I'd get one last top, Stob Glas, which was my last summit on the
Ardrain-Tulaichean group. But I lay in the silence, enjoying the sun and
absence of noise. Beinn Tulaichean has always been special in this way
to me, and has always been a welcoming and secluded final summit to sit
on and reflect on the days efforts. I always look forward to returning
to this hill.
Stob Glas, Meall Dhamh and Descent
I left Beinn Tulaichean, heading for Stob Glas, a top just west of
Cruach Ardrain. I contoured the western slopes of Ardrain before making
the brief climb to the top. Several crags had to be negotiated, but
asides this, progress was relatively easy. I walked upon the
bloodstained skeleton of a ram at one point, which was none too welcome.
I felt a little shock at the sight actually - an instantaneous jolt, a
response to the unexpected sight of bones and blood. Any flesh had been
ripped clean. It seemed to me that such a reaction is automatic and
could be built in to humans... In the end I couldn't resist taking the
camera out and soon moved on, reaching the summit of Stob Glas a few
minutes later.
From Stob Glas, I traversed Cruach Ardrain above Coire Cruaiche bound
for Meall Dhamh, a top I'd been to in September. But I was getting
tired, and picked up the path to the top of Meall Dhamh, where I stayed
briefly. I didn't stick around for long for the train was at 7.26pm and
it was now 6pm. At this point the plan was to descend to the A82 car
park in Glen Falloch and follow the A82 to Crianlarich. This would be a
6.4km walk from Meall Dhamh, and I was concerned I wouldn't make in time
it with my current levels of strength.
When I arrived at Grey Height, I looked down to Crianlarich, observing
the lack of trees left in the forests. Could a route directly through
the forestry be possible? I considered my route carefully as this place
was avoided by nearly all hillwalkers for being damn near impossible to
negotiate. I was sure I could do it, and I should save time too.
Intending to follow the breaks in the forest, I left Grey Height,
heading not towards Glen Falloch, but to Crianlarich.
I crossed the stile below, and began following my own route. I was
surprised to find that there was a path and when I reached the forestry
tracks, a cairn to mark the turn off had been built. My guess is that
provided you can arrive at this cairn without getting lost, a route from
Crianlarich to Cruach Ardrain is very possible. But as I stood at this
forestry track, I could only guess the way to go next. My map was
outdated, so with nothing else to go on, I left paths behind and
descended through open ground in a direct line to Crianlarich. I reached
trees, and had no option but to go through them. When they're planted so
densely, this creates problems and I fought through the branches,
arriving at Allt Coire Ardrain - the river that flows off Cruach
Ardrain. Knowing that it led to Crianlarich, I followed its bank until I
emerged out by another forestry track. A study of the map gave me a
guess as to where I was, and so I followed this track west, until I came
to a T-junction, turning right.
And I sincerely hope that the knocked over sign at this junction saying
"Warning: Chemical Spraying in Progress" (or something to that effect)
wasn't relevant. It didn't matter to me anyway - I followed this track
for several hundred metres, arriving at a signpost pointing the way to
Crianlarich. I was back at the train station at 7.10pm, exhausted and
beaten after the fight through the forest. I'd looked better, but I
didn't care too much, because four Munros and establishing a direct line
Grey Height-Crianlarich was more than enough to make me a happy man.
In the end, the train arrived early but sat at the station for about
twenty minutes - I heard rumours that an assault had taken place and
sure enough, the police did arrive. It was good to get going when we did
- I arrived home not far off 10pm.
Panoramas
Summit of Ben More (360˚)
Summit of Stob Binnein (360˚)
North from Stob Garbh
Summit of Cruach Ardrain (360˚)
Summit of Beinn Tulaichean (360˚)
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