An Socach (921m), Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan (1151m), and Mullach na Dheiragain (982m) - Glen Affric
The background to our visit to Glen Affric is covered in a separate story. This was the first of the two full-day walks we took. Although there was a rain shower as we had our breakfast, the sun was shining when the four of us set out at 9.25 a.m.
A track leads directly from the back of the Glen Affric youth hostel towards the slope leading up towards Stob Coire na Cloiche, but soon it bends sharp right to run along below a deer fence for about 300m. Then it turns north again, through a gate and along the east bank of the Allt na Faing. The deer fence protects a large area of hillside on either side of this burn which has been planted with birch and rowan. In another 20 years this path will lead up through thick young woodland, but at present there are still open views up towards the hilltops and across the glen to the peaks on the south side.
We enjoyed the views as we made steady progress up a well-made track, and further on beyond the reforested enclosure we saw the shovels and other equipment left by the pathbuilders. After that the path was uneven but quite reasonable, twisting and turning its way steadily up through the broad corrie (Coire na Cloiche). At one spot we were surprised to see the antlers and carcass of a large deer lying beside a rock.
There was plenty of chat on the way up, and we were surprised to hear the call of a cuckoo. I didn't believe it at first, but then the unmistakable sound was repeated several times.
Not long after that, the sun disappeared and a heavy hail shower began. Right enough, the forecast had said that there might be isolated wintry showers - it would soon blow over. And it did, by the time we reached the bealach at about 10.45. We had a good view over into Gleann a' Choilich and had some flapjack to fortify us for the last stretch up to the top of An Socach.
This was a straightforward hillwalk over various lumpy bits, past a couple of pretty lochans amongst the grey rocks, with expansive views on both sides but no problems of exposure. It was rather like the first section of the Tarmachan ridge I'd walked last autumn, I thought.
We reached the top in sunshine around 11.20 and enjoyed the views across to Mam Sodhail and Carn Eige, to the north-east. We were thinking we might walk there the following day, but later decided against because of the distance. To the north we could see Mullach na Dheiragain at the end of a long ridge.
We could choose either the Mullach or Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan next - we had a triangular route to walk around. Either way we first had to retrace our steps to the bealach and beyond, giving us time to decide. The two ridges could be linked by a track down into the corrie between, past the Loch Coire nan Dearcag. We decided to push on to the highest of the three peaks, Ceathreamhnan, which Michael had already started to call "Chrysanthemum"!
Stob Coire na Cloiche (941m) involved a strenuous little climb, then there were a couple more bumps before the long ascent to the main summit. We were on the lookout to the right for suitable places where we might climb back across from the other ridge on our return, and found one gap in the crags where it looked as though we'd be able to clamber back up to the ridge.
By then, however, the weather had turned stormy again and we finished off the climb in a steady fall of snow. By the time we reached the top at about 1.20 the rocks had a thin covering of snow and it wasn't looking very promising. So we had a rest, and various packs of food were hurriedly consumed as we quickly became chilled.
Les decided to head for the west summit and then down to a corbett, Sgurr Gaorsaic, as he'd climbed the munros before. The remaining three of us set off north-west, looking for a route down the steep ridge towards the Mulach. The book description made it sound a bit tricky, but in fact there weren't any real difficulties or significant exposure as we picked our way carefully down. The track was easy to find and soon we were on the ridge. Just then the clouds began to lift and the snow eased off. The scene was transformed as we could see the snowy ridge jutting out below us and the green of the glen beyond. Rocky slopes sprinkled with snow rose up behind us, and the summit was still hidden in cloud.
From there it seemed like a long hike to the Mullach - we had a better food stop when we found some shelter among rocks, and then we had a steep climb up to Carn na Con Dhu (967m) with a jumble of jagged rocks to negotiate at one point. There were still a couple of km to go to the highest point, Mullach na Dheiragain (982m) but when we got there (at 3.45) both the tops to the north and the south appeared higher!
We didn't hang around too long once we'd established that this must be the munro summit, and set off back along the ridge. It became a tough section when the wind picked up from the west, and started blowing needle-sharp hailstones into our faces. This contined for some time, as we crossed Carn na Con Dhu again and then started looking out for the point where we should start heading down into the corrie.
Visibility was very poor and we were uncertain where to turn off - I was ready to try a couple of times, but I was too keen. Alistair produced his GPS gadget and we worked out we had a bit further to go. Then we finally decided it was the right spot - the ridge started rising again ahead of us - and we went off the ridge to the left. This was another difficult section, finding our way down and round the basin of the corrie, then looking for the lochan. The hail had turned to heavy snow which fell steadily for an hour or more, blanketing everything in a few inches of soft snow.
The GPS was produced a couple more times and we found our way around the outflow of the lochan, then up the far side towards the steep slope rising up to Stob Coire na Cloiche. This was the bit I was dreading - a steep rocky slope with an indistinct track up to the bealach, covered in snow. However, at least we knew exactly where we were, on the east side of the lochan, and could work out the direction to head in. Soon Michael was edging his way up the slope and finding a route among the boulders. I followed behind, cautiously, with a hiking pole to give extra stability as the rocky slope fell away steeply down to the left. Then, miraculously (it seemed to me) Michael found the trail which we were supposed to be following, and this led on a bit further up to the ridge, at a slightly higher point just west of the bealach. I was very relieved.
Alistair soon joined us, and we made our way down to the bealach itself. It was 6.10 p.m. From there we still had a couple of miles (over 3km) to walk back down to the youth hostel the way we had come, but it was pretty straightforward despite the fresh snow on the upper slopes. Further down, as the sun appeared again, the snow was already melting and filling up the burns which cascaded merrily down over the rocks (see the photos in the linked Gallery).
We had one more refreshment break beside a large rock, with a couple of larger waterfalls falling into a deep gorge nearby. Then we set off down the final stretch, arriving back at the hostel at 7.30 with time for showers before supper.
Go to the Glen Affric background story>
Go to the second Glen Affric walk on Beinn Fhada>
Gallery
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