Participants - Neil and Ben
Where - Creag Bhan, 510m/1,673', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 40, NM 782847
It was indeed wall to wall sunshine. I hadn't really decided what hill I wanted to do until I got up in the morning but because it looked as though it would be hot I decided on Creag Bhan which looked to be less of an effort than other possible contenders. I took this pic of it from Loch Ailort later in the day.....
I parked the car in a lay-by a few hundred yards west of the start of the path that went over a pass in the hills to Meoble and then to Loch Morar.....
Today, we crossed under the railway line and after comparing the path- which was rough to say the least- and the angle of the hillside above me- which didn't look too steep- I decided just to tackle the hill from where I stood. The going underfoot was good and I decided to go up close to a burn which the map showed flowing out of a lochan at just over the half distance point. That way, Ben would be able to get a drink whenever he needed it. This hill stands across from the Rois-bheinn group which would dominate my southern view today.....
As I got higher I got a view south-east to Beinn Odhar Mhor and its neighbours across Loch Eilt.....
The hillside levelled out around the lochan and then steepened again. I spotted a couple of deer on the hillside so trended towards the east ridge to avoid them. A good move, not just because we avoided the deer but because that ridge provided a great view down to Loch Beoraid, a loch that has for some unknown reason always fascinated me. Maybe because it's so remote.....
The 1:50,000 map is not very accurate. It shows the top of Creag Bhan as being a plateau with no indication of any rocky area. It is, in fact, the opposite. The summit is comprised of large boulders with a number of wee lochans scattered about. It was not immediately obvious what was the highest point but I eventually decided that one boulder was higher than the rest and found my way to the top of it. This is the summit area.....
and this is a view from the highest point to one of the bits of water with Ben taking a rest from leaping about the rocks to have a swim.....
It was another worthwhile summit. This is looking to the distinctive cone of Sgurr na Ciche (Ben coming up in the bottom left).....
and north to Loch Morar.....
and to the west another couple of lochs one of which is named Loch Mama!.....
It was a summit to lounge about on and that is what we did. Despite taking on board lots of water, Ben was obviously tired on the way down and threatened to go on strike.....
so we had another few stops on the way.
And more wall to wall sunshine was forecast for the following day.
1 comment:
Must be hard doing hills with a fur coat on.
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