Six or so years ago my friends Willy, Margaret Anne and myself came down off the Spidean a’Choire Leith Munro of the Liathach Ridge having been faced with a terrific snow storm in June!  At last I was back again on a day of sunshine and cool winds.

A constant stream of hill walkers were ahead of me, or passed me, as I plodded up so I was surprised to get as close as ten yards away from a young stag which had eight or ten points in the antlers, with the velvet covering on the horns very pronounced.  He was grazing away unconcerned about how close I was passing. I put it down to the hard winter and he was determined to enjoy the young grass shoots. I have never been that close before and could smell the muskie odour very clearly.  No other deer was to be seen all that day.

Higher up the hill I could clearly see the three summits which had been snow covered last time and after much plodding I reached the third and final summit – in five hours.  I was very slow due to a strain in my Achilles tendon.

At the summit I could look down to the other end of the ridge and swithered about continuing on – but I had done the other Munro before – so after half an hour of day dreaming I started off back down to the car. The whole walk had taken ten hours in total and I was very tired by the end. When I got back fairly late to the hotel they said they had nearly got in touch with the mountain rescue people!

The other views are of previous Munros including Beinn Eighe.

After ten years of meaning to complete Knoydart I have at last done so!

For the first time I approached from Loch Arkaig and Strathan.  I arrived at 4 pm and walked in past Upper Glendessary and by 7pm set up camp.  After a good night’s sleep I was awake at 4am – breakfasted and started towards Sgurr na Ciche and Garbh Chioch Mhor.  They are big hills but the weather was cool.  Only saw a couple of other people and arrived back at the car thirteen hours later to discover that my sore feet from last week had become blisters – oh the joys!

The pictures show the wall over these tops – pre 1914 when there must have been money around as the wall had three strand of wire on top held by stanchions leaded into boulders – built to last.  Other pictures show the campsite from last week plus views into deeper Knoydart.

A very satisfactory conclusion – after ten years of gradually ticking off all twelve Munros in the Knoydart area.

June 1^st and 2^nd 2010  -  last of Knoydart

After approximately ten years of meaning to complete walking the hills of Knoydart I have at last done so!  

For the first time I approached from Loch Arkaig and Strathan.  I arrived at 4 pm and walked in past Upper Glendessary and about 7 pm set up camp.  Slept well and got up at 4am, breakfast and on to do Sgurr na Ciche and Garbh Chioch Mhor.  These were big hills but the weather was lovely and cool.  No sleep on the tops this time!  Only saw a very few other walkers.  Arrived back at the car thirteen hours later to discover that my sore feet from last week had turned into whapper size blisters – oh the joys. 

The pictures show the wall over these tops – pre 1914 – there must have been money around as the wall had three strand of wire on top held by stanchions leaded into boulders – made to last.  Other pictures show the campsite from last week plus views into deeper Knoydart.

Back on the Munro trail with high expectations when on the journey north to Knoydart I realised that I had forgotten my medication and my camera!

Parked the car at Loch Quoich on the road to Kinloch Hourn and walked in to the hills for four hours to the unused dams at Loch na Cruadiach – an idyllic campsite beside deep pools and gorges. Arrived at 8 pm. Supper was pasta in the setting sun and I was asleep at 11 pm.

I awoke at 4 am and started towards the hill at 5 am. Reached top of Sgurr nan Coireachan at 8.25 am and then on over two tops to Sgurr Moh at 12.30 pm. Ate food and then lay down to sleep out of the wind until 1.10 pm when I was woken with people saying “that man is asleep!”

Weather sunny and wind cooling as I dropped down into Coire Reidh where I saw two sheep with fleece sliding off their backs – must have been there a number of years as no other sheep were anywhere in sight. Coire floor full of grazing deer who hardly moved away at all – evidence of the hard winter?

Back at tent and more food for 5 pm and away at 6 pm for long walk back reaching car at 10 pm. Drove to east of Spean Bridge where desperation drove me to stop in car park and sleep in sleeping bag for an hour and a half. Home 6am having experienced a seventeen hour day of more or less constant walking. Took whole day to recover but had great time ticking off two more Munros.

Climbed these two hills on sucessive days.  Morsuig  was done straight from the road,  on east side of burn,  straight up the steep hillside with wind from west.  Thus I came up on to a coire full of grazing deer.  Eventually I was spotted rather than smelt and away they went, all 60 of them.  The summit plateau gave views of wilderness to be explored for further Torridon.  Hope to bike in for them.  Did not need to do Sgurr Nan Ceanaichean as it has been demoted to a Corbet because it is below 3,000 feet – see Munro web site

Beinn Liath Mhor was a big hill with a long summit ridge full of scrambles up and down rather like bits of Skye.  It took nine hours and so I will return another year to do Sgurr Ruadh when light lasts longer.  Found that I am fit and have stamina but no speed,  will work on that over the winter – famous last words.

Heard and saw a stag doing the autumn roaring,  very eery and haunting as its crys echoed around the cliffs.  But he must have been a young one as he had no female followers.  made me realise that these are big hills especially as 76 year old man died on Beinn Eighe,  see last entry, over these two days.

Beinn Eighe

Left car park at 9am back 6 pm. Long walk along Glen floor for two hours,  then one hour scramble up scree and cliff face to ridge of seven tops out and back to do the two munro tops.  Spetacular place if I could only have seen it as rain,  wind and mist only lifted as I reached the road.  Met a family from Kent who gave me a morale boost – thank you

The path up fromAchnasheen took me through a field of bleating lambs waiting for market,  up alongide a burn, across a bog of heather and then on the summit ridge walk but no views.  Down again in six hours

Wednesday 3rd September 2009 and another solitary hill, Maol Cheann-dearg with a long walk in past a bothy and then up past lowering crags,  crumbled white granite paths and boulders to the summit cairn in four hours.  The cairn had various bays made of rock walls which gave views over Torridon.  I choose the north facing one away from the prevailing wind and over looking Beinn Alligin and Liathach.  It was good to realise what was connected to which hill and to notice Skye up the north end.

Down again to the car in heavy rain making a round walk of nine hours.

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The first was totally memorable. In 1959 Iain and Douglas Finlayson included me in a cross Scotland walk. I was not yet 16 and they were school teacher/Scoutmaster and brother about to go to the antartic for three years and they included me in! Totally out of my depth but I kept up with them, camping, sleeping in bothies over New Year. We arrived for Hogmany at the Edinburgh University climbing hut in Kintail. The place was stowed out with the young turks of the day including Robin Smith who along with Dougal Haston was putting up all the hard routes in Scotland at that time. I had cheap rubber soled commando boots, an ice axe and no crampons. Somehow I kept up with different groups doing the Monros round about five sisters and Ben Fhadda the one opposite my latest. So a memorable Hogmany and I gained my hikers badge. We came back to Inverness by train from Kyle of lochalsh. One sunset as we were descending was totally unforgettable with deep indigo purple in the East and warm orange in the West as the sun slipped down into the show covered hills. Memory is better than any photos.