A fantastic walk, up a beautiful glen and then some steep climbing and descending, all the time surrounded by magnificent mountains.
- Cruach Ardrainn (1046m) Krooerch Ardren, "High Stacked Heap"
- Beinn Tuliachean (946m) Bine Toolerchine, "Hill of the Little Green Eminence"
The contrast between today's hike and that of a couple of weeks ago up Schiehallion is vast. Where Schiehallion was like Blackpool prom on August bank holiday, I had these hills virtually to my self. Whilst Schiehallion has a soul destroying boulder field and a broad defined track, this route has challenging climbs and small paths that need to be sought out. Schiehallion sits on it's own, these 2 are surrounded by impressive peaks that you'll want to visit next.
It's possible to to do this walk starting from the north near Crianlarich. However, I've been wanting to take a look at Balquhidder and Loch Voil for a while so decided to approach them from the south. Balquhidder looks a pretty village, with a well known tea rooms (to visited with Mrs. Downs first) and the burial place of Rob Roy MacGregor. We'll certainly be visiting again. The drive along Loch Voil is fabulous and I was very tempted to stop off at Monachyle Mhor. I parked up at Inverlochlarig at 9am and was walking by 9:15.
The route started with a gentle stroll through Inverlochlarig farm and onto a farm track up into the glen of the same name. The farm certainly seemed to welcome walkers with helpful signs for all the paths to the various mountains in the area. They also have a farm door shop that sells probably the best venison I've had.
Following the track alongside the Inverlochlarig burn I noticed an area that had been fenced off around the river. This turned out to be a conservation area where they're trying to encourage the growth of native species and keep sheep and deer out that eat them.
After 3km or so I came to the end of the track and started to make my way across country up to the head of the stream. By this time I was completely surrounded by mountains, the two munros that I was about to climb, plus Stob Binnein on my right. The valley floor was green and lush, with many wild flowers around, almost reminding me of an Alpine meadow.
As I approached the boulder strewn bealach I was greeted with a clear uninhibited view of the whole western face of Ben More. An incredible sight seeing the whole mountain from valley floor to summit. Then from the summit the sweeping parabolic curve of the ridge down and then up to Stob Binnein. This glen and bealach have to be the most fabulous that I've enjoyed to date.
After a relatively gentle walk up to the bealach the route now took a sharp turn; to the left and up. The climb up on to Stob Garbh was really hard work. The air was still and a bit muggy. The heart rate soon climbed and the sweat started pouring! I climbed about 500m in 2 km at this point. From the top of Stob Garbh the views north to Crianlarich and the hills around Tyndrum were fabulous. The roads north to Glen Coe and Fort William and West to Oban were perfectly clear.
Stob Garbh stands at 959m (3146ft) but is not a munro. It's considered a munro top as it's part of the ridge that leads up to Cruach Ardrain. A Munro top is a summit over 3,000 ft which is not regarded as a separate mountain. I'm not entirely clear how the Scottish Mountaineering Club distinguish between a summit that is separate mountain. By the time I'd walked along the ridge and down into another bealach Stob Garbh seemed very separate from Cruach Ardrain.
The north east face of Cruach Ardrain loomed in front of me. To say it looked like a vertical climb with no obvious path would be putting it very simply! I found the very small and narrow path and stuck to it. This was real mountain goat territory, the sort of route that is fine going up until you look down. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to go down this side of the mountain. The joy of these sort of climbs is that though they're steep, they are straight up and you quickly reach your objective. The challenge is there, hold your nerve and the rewards are fabulous. In this case more great views north, back to Stob Garbh and beyond, east to Ben More and Stob Binnein and west to the Falloch Valley and An Caisteal. I stopped here for a drink and sandwich and enjoyed the vista.
Walking south the path along the ridge to Beinn Tulaichean was straight forward, but gave great views of summits still to be visited; An Caisteal and Beinn a' Chroin.
Now the hard work started. The descent off the hill side was extremely steep and hard going. My legs felt it the next day. This was tempered with views down Loch Voil though. As I reached the valley floor I spotted an impressive upright boulder with it's own tree.
I eventually regained the farm track and headed back to the car, but first stopped to buy some venison and have a chat with the farmer.
Stat's
Distance: 15.3 km (9.5 miles)
Ascent: 1987m (6571 ft)
Time: 5 hours, 56 min
Munro count: 2
Total Munro count: 15 (of 283)
View Cruach Ardrain in a larger map
No comments:
Post a Comment