Over The Hill

On the Monday we saw a possibility of a dry, calm day on the Wednesday so after researching various weather sites, and reading reports from others for this hill, we decided on Tuesday morning to “go for it” and left in the afternoon.

It is not that easy finding a wild camping spot flat enough for the tent and the campervan near each other but we managed and an hour after arriving near the start, the tent was pitched. The midges were biting and neither of us had anti midge with us except for some old “Skin so Soft” in the van. Settled in and poured a G&T each and ate our supper.

Up early and drove to the car park at the start at Coulags to find the car and caravan still straddled across almost the whole space but squeezed the wee van in at the edge, and set off at 8am. No problem with route finding at the start because the track is well marked and used mostly by Munro baggers going to Maol Chean Dearg on the through route to Torridon. There is a relatively new hydro scheme with a section of wide road but mostly the track is narrow and stony. After about an hour we came to the bothy, Coire Fionnaraich which was open, much to our amazement, with entries in the book from the weekend. It was clean and tidy which is always encouraging to see. The next landmark is a large stone, the Clach nan Con-Fionn. Legend has it that in Irish folklore, the gentle giant Fionn mac Cumhail (known as Finn McCool) tethered his hunting dogs on the stone. Another geographical feature attributed to Fionn is the Giant’s Causeway, which he laid as stepping stones to Scotland.

We started to climb on a good stalkers’ path towards the Bealach a’Choire Ghairbh and were overtaken by a young couple we reckoned would be going to the Munro. Got there at 10.30 so had a good look at our goal, and a short rest before tackling the steep ascent. Spotted a tiny pink saxifrage nestling between the rocks and earlier we saw a tiny frog, and these were the only two flora and fauna delights we saw all day. The views were opening up and they were amazing. I particularly like the view of Beinn Damh with Loch a’Mhadaich Ruadh in the foreground. There are large quartzite slabs to start the ascent and this was why we needed a dry day as the rock can be slippery when wet. There is a line of small cairns marking the route up the ridgeline, but we missed a few which made the climb a bit trickier and more arduous! However as we climbed we could see the hills in Torridon and at 12.15 we made it to the top with a great sigh of relief (and rather shaky legs). Sustenance sorted the legs as well as elation. The views were SW over Kishorn to Skye and Rum and Eigg, NW to Redpoint and the north tip of Skye, as well as the Torridon hills.

Fortunately the line of cairns is much easier to spot on the way down for the route off, and although steep, wasn’t as bad as we had feared. We met a couple of lads (who had walked in from Torridon) on their way up the mountain and we took this opportunity to ask them to take a photo of the two of us – always more relaxed looking than a selfie. It is now 1.30ish. The young couple overtook us again coming off the Munro, but their knees are younger too. The terrain is very hard, with not a lot of grass to soften the tread, so it was with great relief we took the boots off at the van at 4.20 or so. We met four young bikers heading up the track but those were the only people we saw all day. Where the occupants of the other five or so cars in the car park were we don’t know. It is a great hill, but choose a dry day and a clear day to appreciate it and the surroundings in their full glory.