Penultimate Munros

Heading towards Carnmore at the head of Fionn Loch 

The weather forecast was favourable on Tuesday 14 August as Pete and Lyn set out early to take on the challenge of the two most remote Munros in Scotland...A'Mhaighdean and Ruadh Stac Mor, deep in Letterewe Forest, above the head of Dubh Loch, 16km SE of the village of Poolewe. We took our mountain bikes on the rough track as far as Kernsary, from where we walked the remaining 9km on good paths with full packs to Carnmore, at the head of Fionn Loch, where we planned to camp.  

The causeway between Fionn Loch and Dubh Loch.

Beyond the causeway is grassy platform above a stony beach on the north shore of Dubh Loch which offered a couple of flat pitches for our tents, just beyond the "No camping" notice.  However Pete knew about this interdiction from a previous visit and had permission from Barbara at the Letterewe Estate Office for an overnight camp by the loch side.
 

Here be Midges.

It was a warm evening without a breath of wind, ideal conditions for the inevitable midge attack. As the sun began to lower in the west they massed their forces then assailed us in clouds forcing a retreat to the tents where we sat out the attack. Not until after midnight dared we so much as pop our heads out of the tents. In the morning the coast was clear and a welcome breeze greeted us as we emerged from our hideouts. We packed a day-sack and made an early start at 6 30am. Our route follows a diagonal path along the hillside to the "v" shaped notch in the horizon just left of centre.
Pete's tent is a Hilleberg "Acto"; Lyn's is a Vango F10 Helium 100.

  

Heading SE beside Lochan Feith Mhic' Illean at 500m.

The summits of Ruadh Stac Mor 918m, on the left ,and A' Mhaighdean 967m came into view as we approached the outflow of Lochan Feith Mhic'Illean. These two Munros are the western pair of the so called "Fisherfield Six", the other four lie beyond Gleann na Muice to the east of our objectives of the day.

Fuar Loch Mor nestles between the steep flanks of Ruadh Stac Mor and A' Mhaighdean

The path above Fuar Loch Mor traverses the steep flank of Ruadh Stac Mor to the Poll Eadar dha Stac at 750m, a high bealach between the two Munros.

A chance encounter on the ascent of A' Mhaighdean

These two stags displayed no timidity and allowed me plenty of time to photograph them as we climbed the steep NE slopes of A'Mhaighdean.

Heading along the summit plateau towards the top of A' Mhaighdean.

It was breezy on the top of A' Mhaighdean, we reached the summit in good time just after 10am. It was Pete's second ascent of this Munro and today the weather was even better than the first time and the view, often rated as the best view from a Scottish mountain, even more spectacular.

View towards Poolewe from the summit of A' Mhaighdean.

This may indeed be the finest view from a Scottish mountain summit. Dubh Loch and Fionn Loch, set amid the wilderness of Letterewe, are seen far below, separated by the causeway where we left our tents. Beyond Fionn Loch, to the north is the sea and Gruinard Bay. Ben Airigh Charr, 791m, rises above the loch to the west, our return route to Poolewe lies below her eastern flank and the village itself some way beyond.

Rhuadh Stac Mor from the summit rocks of A' Mhaighdean.

The ruddy top of Ruadh Stac Mor can be seen to the NE, just over a kilometer, as the crow flies, from the top of A' Mhaighdean.

Trig Point on Ruadh Stac Mor 918m.

We made the summit of Ruadh Stac Mor in less than an hour but didn't tarry long as the wind was strengthening. The ascent through the crags and boulder field that defend Ruadh Stac Mor's SW flank was rough and Pete had spotted an easier descent route so we walked NW along the broad ridge then descended steeply on grass to the path alongside Fuar Loch Mor, which was our return route.

The Glen of the Alt Bruthach an Easain

This is the return path from the Lochan Feith Mhic'Illian, in the bottom of the glen is the outflow of the lochan, the Alt Bruthach an Easain. Beyond the lip of the glen, far below, lies the Dubh Loch and our tents, about an hour's walk away.

The last mile to the causeway camp.

As we rounded the corner out of the glen of the Alt Bruthach an Easain, the Dubh Loch and the causeway where our tents waited came into view, it was a welcome sight. We were back at camp inside an hour, packed our tents and gear and were away by 3pm heading back along the long path to Poolewe, which skirts the bottom of the hills in the distance. The walk back from camp took us four hours, it was a windy return trek, we had covered 32km on this, our second day of the expedition and we were rather battered, midge-bitten, tired and thirsty. It had been a great adventure and we were both now on our last Munro. This will be Ben More on Mull and we plan to go to Mull early in October and are looking at the logistics now. So if you fancy coming along, and you're welcome, let us know.    

Stile style

How do you cross
a stile in style?

An don't drop me or else I put the bitey on you, woof!

Super cool Ben poses for the shot

One step, two step....

Dogs go first

A side shuffle

Should I jump?

Looking where I go

It's simple, follow the others

However, you cross stiles, look before you do it, it's surprising how they prove slippery, difficult & sometimes trip you up.

Shenavall Bothy wild camping 24th - 26th May

Really hot weather on this last Munro bashing trip made it memorable for many reasons.

We wisely popped Bella into kennels when we went to Scotland because we knew the camping trip was going to be hard going and it was not the place for little Border Terriers to have any fun.  Our journey north was pleasant enough and we ended up in Newtonmore where we stayed at a hotel with an indoor swimming pool, and just had time for a quick dip before dinner. Next morning we headed for Corrie Hallie under An Teallach where we left the car, shouldered our packs and headed off on what we knew would be a 3 hour hike in. The heat was sweltering and we had a couple of stops on the way.

The long hot walk in.

Getting hotter.

Once there, Pete chose the camping spot and up the tents went, simple really. The weather was wonderful and the bothy was not too crowded so we settled in and studied our maps. Our food was all dehydrated so it was light to carry but as I started to munch my evening meal I realised that we were not going to enjoy any of it. Believe me, the only dried food which tastes any good is the custard with apple, the rest is ghastly. We need a serious re think for the next time..... We did take some Calvados though, which I find helps me to sleep, not a lot though just a few sips.

Morning at Shenavall

On the Friday morning we had a meagre breakfast and lots of tea and then set off at 7 am for our attempt at the Fisherfield Munros, we were only looking to do four of them the first day. Well I don't intend to go into detail, but suffice it to say that the temperature soared well above anything we were expecting. Water consumption rose too, and that meant we had to find more on the hoof. We did manage to fill up at a lochan and that meant using our purification tablets which had to be left to work for half an hour. Then on the way up our second Munro, Sgurr Ban I spotted some snow still lying by a gully. We made our way up to it and knocked the bits of grass off as it melted in our warm hands, so we had the pure snow within and stuffed this into our mouths with glee and also filled up the containers again. All this hydration was taking time, so in the end we only managed to do 3 Munros and then decided to call it a day and make our way back.  On the way we filled up the bottles again at a wonderful cool waterfall and had a good drink but by now time was pressing so we did not return to camp until 9.30 pm. The conditions had been much too hot and there was little cooling wind at all. The next morning was even hotter and we wisely decided to walk out and come back some other time which meant we could take our time packing our gear away and just relaxing in the outstanding sunshine. Shenavall really is remote and beautiful and we were glad we did not have to rush about and miss this truly unique experience.

Me in my 'awning'

We made a few decisions at Shenavall too, resolutions you might call them.

1) Figure out what can be eaten, which is light to carry but tastes good.
2) Change my very old tent for a lighter, wider, higher design because I struggled to do anything in the tiny space.
3) Never rush the last few Munros just because they need ticking off, they are far too good to spoil by charging around them, they need savouring.

Wild camping doesn't get any better than this.

We walked out on the Saturday and reached the car by lunchtime. Still exceptionally hot and we headed for Ullapool where we had booked into 'The Argyll' as we had planned to be arriving late, but that had all changed. So we had lunch and lounged around until our evening meal at the Ferry Boat Inn which was wonderful; try the place but book in advance or you won't get in.

Silly socks over trousers to keep out the ticks.

There comes a time when you have to say goodbye to old friends and this tent has been with me as my personal sleeping quarters for over a quarter of a century. Not bad little Saunders Jetpacker. I have slept on a windy ridge on the island of Iona in a fierce storm which blew in off the Atlantic in this little number and lay then wondering when the two of us (in those days DH used to share with me) would be wet through and the tent torn in half.


Back in Keswick I went in search of luxury wild camping......

Plenty of roof space here!

You might be surprised to know that we did not suffer any tick attacks at all, maybe socks over trousers should be the new trend. Nor did we see any sign of midges, really, I mean it....  But, our guard was down in 'The Argyll' and we both were bitten by mosquitos whilst we slept with the window open. I know can you believe it? Shenavall and you would expect us to be eaten alive, but in an inn at Ullapool paying £117 a night?


Now there is a moral to this tale dear readers; wild camping is safer and cheaper than staying in inns, and if you have not booked our wild camping extravaganza yet on 3rd and 4th July at Wasdale Head you should. It will be fun and it will be wild and it will be luxury for me at any rate as I will be in my new tent.