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I climbed the
tops of the
Buachaille Etive Mor ridge the preceding day.
Having been in
the mountains almost non-stop for a week, the 27th June was my final day
amongst them. This week-long period included two camps (one alone), one
night climb, and many new experiences and memories. The 27th wasn't a
good day for weather - the mountains only saw the usual wind driven
mist, but this never bothered me too much. Having spent the previous night in
Tyndrum's 'By The Way' bunkhouse with the Up A Mountain guys, four of us
drove to the A85 Glen Lochy car park with Ben Lui and Beinn a' Chleibh
in sight.
Ben Lui
Glen Lochy offers a sharp ascent to Ben Lui and Beinn a' Chleibh, but
Lui's beautiful eastern corrie cannot be seen. Not that we'd have views
today anyway. At the car park, mist was shifting from Beinn a' Chleibh,
but Ben Lui never appeared. There were patches of sun on some of the
hillsides, but stayed only momentarily. There was also no wind, and the midges were out.
Teeth on display, looking for a meal. I wasn't bitten often, but they
sure are a pain. We began walking, following a path from the car park
which led to the River Lochy a few hundred metres away. Because there's
no bridge, I'd heard accounts of people wading across this river, but
today we only had to step from stone to stone. We then crossed the
railway line, climbed a fence and followed a path into the forests
alongside the river 'Eas Diamh'. The path alongside this river is known
to be excessively boggy, and today it was, even with the recent lack of
rain. The day before, the notorious Lairig Gartain had dried up; today,
the Eas Diamh was a mud bath at times. This was a 'good day', so if it's
wet, my guess is that Glen Lochy might not be the best approach.
Having spent some time following the Eas Diamh, the path forked right
and followed a tributary through more forest. Bog was abundant and with
lightweight boots, it was difficult to keep my feet
dry. We emerged from the forests onto drier ground and headed up steep
grass, aiming for the corrie above. I could
extract little inspiration from the landscape today - there was little
in the way of views and the midges were horrendous. Some larger insects
were out too, so it was none too pleasant to stick around.
As we ascended into Fionn Choirer, a breeze picked up. Above us, Ben Lui
was in cloud and showed no signs of clearing. When we arrived at the bealach
between Lui and Chleibh, conditions were no better. Having ascended a
considerable height already, the wind was fairly strong and we took a break here anticipating the long
slog to Ben Lui. It would be entirely in mist from here onwards and the
ascent remaining was 350 metres. The way to Ben Lui's summit was long
and steep at times, occasionally on loose ground but with a well worn
path. After almost an hour of walking in the cloud we arrived by
boulders, and Ben Lui's summit followed on shortly afterwards.
Beinn a' Chleibh
There was little reason to stay on Ben Lui now. It was none too pleasant
a day up here and there was nothing to see, so we headed down the way
we came and headed onwards to Beinn a' Chleibh. From the bealach, Beinn a'
Chleibh was a short haul after the long slog to Lui. That's not to say
that it was effortless, but without too much hard work, the path quickly
levelled out to the summit plateau. We arrived by the unmistakable
summit cairn. With nothing to see, we only stayed
for a few moments before heading back down again.
Descent
Our last objective was to get back to the car. We descended to the
bealach for the last time and turned down into Fionn Choirer. There was
little to do now and little to see, but I enjoyed the descent all the
same. A sketchy path led back into the forests, where the midges now
appeared to be minimal. I had made a mental note of the forest entrance
on the way up, and this proved to be useful on our return. A long walk
led us out of the forests, across the river and back to the car.
Afterwards, we stopped at Tyndrum's 'Real Food Cafe' before heading
onwards home.
In the light of this walk, I felt Ben Lui would need a revisit. The walk
itself was enjoyable but we saw none of Ben Lui or it's beautiful Coire
Gaothach. I'd always imagined myself doing the four Munros from Dalrigh
in one push, so was pleased that I'd managed this very walk almost two
weeks later. But for June, that was my walking done. And I'd had no
complaints whatsoever.
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