Over The Hill

Little did I know that the idea we had discussed on our walk last Sunday on Beinn A’Mhanaich of checking out the forest track around the east side of The Strone as an alternative approach to Beinn A’Mhanaich would reach fruition just a few days later. As, here we were , Thursday morning parked and booted up leaving the layby at Auchengaich in Glen Fruin and heading up the now disused track linking the old Glen Fruin road with the Haul road and then onwards up the access road to the dam and reservoir on the Auchengaich Burn, intent on exploring just where this mysterious track actually leads to, and would it provide access to Beinn A’Mhanaich without having to pass through the restricted MOD firing ranges on The Strone.

On Sunday, the mist and cloud had restricted our visibility to less than 50 metres, hence the reason we did not do much checking out of possibilities then. So just why we were off out again today was actually a bit of a mystery, as low cloud and mist still hung over the hillsides, but, nevertheless we were only going to check out the track. Right?

Once across the dam it was over the high stile on the deer fence and into the new plantation where the trees are now a few years old and not yet a metre high. A short climb up the bank and we were standing on the forest track, easy enough, so far so good. For just short of two kilometres we followed the track as it gently contoured up the hillside with the mist and low cloud playing tricks on us as it closed in on the slopes of The Strone making it impossible to see the boundary fence and whether there was any means of crossing onto the upper levels of The Strone, while, at the same time, to the east, across the Auchengaich Burn the visibility remained somewhat better and we spent most of the time observing the variations of the disjointed tracks on the western slopes of Beinn Chaorach.

As it became obvious that the track was coming to an end, as underfoot it became a little more broken and grass covered, we at last caught sight of the boundary fence on The Strone through the mist as the track and fence seemed to merge and there, about 50 metres away we could just make out the shape of a fine high stile over the fence. A check of the maps and we could see that we were just over a kilometre southeast of the Bealach an t-Salc at which point the path along The Strone crosses enroute to the summit of Beinn A’Mhanaich. Reaching the bealach would entail crossing the stile, covering about a kilometre of rough grass hillside and making an ascent of about 200 metres to the bealach. Job done, we had found a new approach avoiding The Strone. Or was it, job done?

A quick stop for a drink, a review of the situation and it was decided, lets just see how it goes towards the bealach. So off we set, over the stile, a quick bearing to the bealach and onwards through the mist, and, as anticipated it was quite rough underfoot, but nevertheless very doable. The MOD range signs marked the edge of the range area as we arrived at the bealach and stood on the main Strone – A’Mhanaich track. Job done, again. You know where this is going now! Okay, so here we are, at the bealach, it would be silly not to continue to the summit, and so it was, off we set once again, across the longish ridge, mist getting much thicker, 20 metres visibility at most, and a very cold wind and drizzle too as we reached the summit of Beinn A’Mhanaich. A short lunch break, and we retraced our steps back over the ridge, down the open hillside and over the stile to reach the forest track. This time the job was done, no more add-ons, an alternative to The Strone approach was found and now Beinn A’Mhanaich is open even if range closures are in force. Oh, I forget to mention, just as well as the range was in full swing the whole time we were on the high ground, keeping us on our toes for navigation to stay on that boundary line.

A great day, enjoyed it immensely, thanks Ian and Mike.