Over The Hill

This was going to a be a memorable day however we looked at it; either as a long and hard day on the hills, or, more likely, as the day that Alan would finally climb the one Munro that had so far eluded him. Our scheduled timings for this mountain was 11 hours; so, with only 11 hours 40 minutes between sunrise and sunset we were up well before the crack-of-dawn and ready for the off as the sun's rays streaked across an almost cloudless sky.

The remoteness of Maoile Lunndaidh makes for a 3 stage plan from whichever location is chosen as a start point; a longish walk-in to the base of the mountain; the climb, and finally the walk-out. We elected to make our approach from Glen Carron starting from the forestry car park at Craig, and so it was from here that we set off along the good forest track which climbs up through Achnashellach Forest before winding its way for almost 10 kilometres alongside the Allt a'Chonais and along Pollan Buidhe to Glenuaig Lodge situated at the watershed between Pollan Buidhe and Gleann Fhiodhaig.

And what a spectacular first stage this was as we were treated to some wonderful views as the sun rose and picked out the distant Torridian hills and the early morning mist lay in wisps over the tops of the forests. We made easy progress along the track, flanked on our left by the steep crags and grassy hillsides of the one time, but now demoted, Munro, Sgurr nan Ceannaichean, and on our right by the mighty ridge of Sgurr Choinnich and Sgurr a'Chaorachain. With such great weather and scenery we hardly noticed the time, and suddenly, Glenuaig Lodge appeared and beckoned us at the end of stage one.

As we took a short break at the Lodge, we surveyed our route ahead for stage tw0, which would take us across some awkward peat hags and potentially boggy ground towards the waterfalls on the Allt an Fhuar-thuill Mhor and up the steep hillside towards the 759m bealach which lies between Creag Dhubh Mhor and the summit of Maoile Lunndaidh.

As it transpired, the peat hags were a bit awkward, but not as boggy as anticipated and we were soon on the steep sided gorge above the Allt an Fhuar-thuill Mhor and looking for a suitable crossing point below the waterfall tumbling out of the unseen Fuar-tholl Mor, some 200 metres higher up. A delicate step and a short leap and we were over the river and onto the rough path above the river which heads directly uphill towards the bealach. As we climbed, steep crags lined the edge of the summit ridge in a great sweeping arc enclosing the huge bowl-like Fuar-tholl Mor and its hidden lochans.

Just short of the bealach we turned to begin the final climb towards the summit plateau of Maoile Lunndaidh. At this point, the ridge broadens, and changes from easy grassy slopes to a wide plateau of rock and boulder and back to grass as you approach the summit cairn, which although quite large, remains out of sight until you crest the humpback and are at last on the level summit area, when it suddenly pops into view just a few metres away. It is really a very unimpressive summit, so large and flat you could probably set up a couple of football pitches on the plateau. That said, given the clear visibility that we had, the views from the summit are fantastic with mountain tops visible in every direction, truly a 360 degree panorama.

Today, this was no routine Munro summit, it was a summit to celebrate - Why? Well it was the one that would mean that Alan has now climbed all 283 Munros. I chose that phrasing carefully, it was not Alan's "283rd Munro", he has climbed Munros on many occasions, and many Munros more than once; it certainly will not be Alan's "last Munro" - he is not swapping the walking poles for a pair of slipper just yet. And so, suffice to say, congratulations to Alan on having climbed all of the Munros - let the celebrations begin! And so we had quite an extended break on the summit just enjoying the fine views, drinking a few bottles of bubbly, at least what was left after soaking Alan as the cork was popped, a few G&Ts and enjoying an impromptu "cabaret"!

A short stretch of the legs and we had made the transition from the Munro summit of Maoile Lunndaidh to the "heir apparent", Creag Toll a'Choin. I will explain. Older maps show Maoile Lunndaidh at a height of 1007m and Creag Toll a'Choin at 1005m. However, the newer OS 25000 maps show both tops as being of equal height at 1005m. I recently read an article stating that Creag Toll a'Choin, which previously held Munro status, should be re-instated as the prominent top. The argument being that situated as it is, at the convergence of the two great coiries, Fuar-tholl Mor and Toll a'Choin and at the intersection of the three ascent ridges Creag Toll a'Choin is the top of prominence and therefore should take the status of a Munro. For what it is worth, I would certainly agree, the aspect and views from Creag Toll a'Choin outstrip the boring flat plateau of Maoile Lunndaidh. But I digress, so back to the day.

We strolled around the edge of the high ridge and gazed down upon a small herd of deer scrambling among the rocky knolls and running along the waters edge of the lochans more that 200m below us in the great bowl of Fuar-tholl Mor before finally heading over to the minor top at Carn nam Fiaclan. Our stroll was over. From Carn nam Fiaclan it was a steep descent of over 400m, firstly over a large boulder field and then onto even steeper grassy slopes as we made a direct descent towards the An Crom-allt, and then to re-cross the peat hags as we made our return to Glenuaig Lodge.

After a short break, and a chat with a couple of the estate stalkers, out looking for next weeks targets for a group of Swedish guns arriving at the lodge the following day, we set off on stage 3 of our route, the walk-out back to Craig. This was the part of the walk I had not been looking forward to, expecting it to be a long and hard haul. Surprisingly, we were all in good fettle, and the walk-out was much less exhausting than I expected - must have been the company, or possibly the delayed effect of the bubbly - whichever it was, it was an enjoyable walk, with the sun beginning to set and the shadows lengthening as we arrived back at Craig. Sorry Alan, I know you were disappointed not to get the head torch out, but it was nice to get back in daylight, just!!

Another great and very memorable day in the hills - Thanks everyone.