Leaving Inverness early to head out for a long hill day, we were able to start our walk just after 8 am, the first car in the small parking area. It was chilly when we arrived, a stark contrast to summer and a clear sign that the seasonal change to autumn is well in progress. Our jackets were quickly added on top of other layers, gloves too. Knowing it would be boggy, Sealskinz socks and gaiters were the final additions, and off we went.
It was a fine, easy walk to begin with, firstly back along the roadside for a short distance, then onto a good landrover track that would gain us a wee bit of height and a couple of kilometres.
We had a small stream to cross, in spate following yesterday’s heavy rain. We managed this crossing with ease, glad of leather boots as they happily cope with being submerged when the stepping stones are under water. After a time, the path descended and we crossed a bridge over more fast flowing water.
Heading Up: Losing the Bog
From hereon in, the path became very boggy! We squelched and slipped our way along, this making slow going. Clinging to the centre or edge of the path was effective at points, however there was also the risk of slipping off as the muddy ground was so soft. However, we remained upright and in good spirits.
Gradually we made our way up a small hill, Creag Dubh Fannaich, finally reaching a point where the bog eased. This was cause for celebration!
Beyond this, we could clearly see the munros of the day: Sgùrr Mòr, the highest of today’s munros standing out. As we made our way up, the cloud closed in a little and it felt like there was some dampness in the air. We put our jackets on as the cloud enveloped us, only for it to clear and the sun to come out again within about ten minutes! This was cause for joy as the views of neighbouring mountains were majestic, layers upon layers of hills.
We made our way to Beinn Liath Mhor Fannaich with relative ease. The ground was rougher but there was nothing to really challenge us.
Here we stopped and had a snack, the first of many! We met a couple of guys with a dog who came up after us, then seeing and chatting to them on each summit thereafter.
Bum Shuffling
Leaving the first summit, we tried to find the path and ended up descending too early. This resulted in us having to go down over large rocks and stones. While Bruce picked a path through in one direction, I followed my own route and this involved a significant amount of bum shuffling, preferable to potentially slipping or getting an ankle broken between big rocks, the resulting effect being getting to the path safely with a wet and muddy bottom! On reaching the the very good path that we should have been on it was apparent where we appeared to have gone wrong! The guys with the dog walking down a short time after us made this section look easy.
Strange Happenings on Sgùrr Mòr
Following the Walk Highlands route thereafter, we descended a little further following a good path once again. Further up the path to Sgùrr Mòr, we saw a couple of folks at a small knoll. It then appeared to be one person and a dog, maybe around 400 yards away, both moving a little. On reaching the knoll, they were gone and we never saw them again. This was very strange indeed as there was nowhere for them to go. We asked others if they’d seen them; nobody had! We debated for a time what we had seen, both confident there had absolutely been a person and a dog.
Sgùrr Mòr, definitely the most majestic of the four munros, standing tall and impressive. A fine summit with amazing views all around and a good path up which made it very easy. On a foggy day this path would really be a godsend as the impressive crags drop off steeply on one side; there’s nothing dangerous providing you follow the route. Bruce played name the summits, impressive in his knowledge (perhaps highlighted by me never having a clue).
Back on an Even Keel
Having struggled slightly with pathfinding previously, we made certain that we were headed in the right direction coming off this hill. We made pretty good time on the descent as the path was good and it was still relatively dry.
We made light work of getting to the third munro as we’d gained the height, although it was a longer walk to get to it.
Meall Gorm had the least impressive summit of all the munros today, barely anything marking it.
Hard Earned Fourth Munro
From here, it looked like an easy walk to the last summit of the day, An Coileachan. It proved to be the most challenging of the summits, a hard pull up on what seemed to be relatively pathless terrain.
We navigated our way between rocky sections, trying to ascend on the grass instead of going over rocks and stones. It felt quite steep and was a pretty relentless slog! We made it though and were happy to have four munros completed.
Long Way Home
All that remained was to begin the long descent back to the car. We were careful to follow the route guide, picking our way through rocky sections, careful of not crossing anything too steep. We headed towards the small loch and it felt like it took forever to get there.
Thereafter we had a complete bogfest! It was such a slog, picking our way through boggy ground, trying to avoid slipping, standing on bits of what looked like rock but was actually sinking sand. We managed to lose the path which added on a wee bit extra, but eventually got closer to the river that we followed all the way back to the bridge.
We were delighted to reach the bridge and get back onto the landrover track. Despite the fact that we initially had to ascend, it was joyous to be walking on hard ground!
Finally we started heading down, glad to be on the home leg. A mile or two further and we were back in the comfort of the car.
10 hours, 16 miles, four well earned munros. A great day out!
