OMM training - Carn na h-Easgainn

After my run on Saturday (see previous post) I was oping for slightly better weather on Sunday. The weather in the morning was spectacularly uninspiring. Cloud and drizzle. So I plucked for a relatively low hill close to the house. By the time I left for the 10 minute drive the the start it was already 12 noon, but the weather had improved. From the Farr wind farm entrance which has plenty of parking I headed into the hills and was soon slogging up blanket bog towards Carn na h-Easgainn (616m). As with most bogs it was wet and as I got higher the re-entrants just got deeper. From the cairn the huge turbines of the wind farm turned soundlessly and looked dramatic as the clouds whipped round them. Although I am not a big fan of wind farms, I was actually surprised that I really didn't have any strong emotions on them being there. I presume had the weather been better, the visual impact would have been much greater. Perhaps one reason for building them up here! Now that I was on a ridge I was fully exposed to the wind and the lashing rain. A plus side was the constant winds have kept the vegetation short and it was pleasant running over to Carn Moraig. By now the sun had even decided to come out. The short heather was ideal grouse territory and as I ran past some well maintained butts I made a mental note to avoid here when the shooters are out. One reason for this run was to check out the bothy marked on the map, and as I saw a huge wave of black cloud rolling down Strathdearn I was hoping for a warm, dry break. Dropping over the steep bank to where the bothy was marked I wasn't happy to see that it had been converted into a pigeon cote. The poor creatures certainly weren't posh enough to be doves! Resigned, I put on all my wet weather gear and trugged off towards the A9 in torrential rain. The next mile north back home was through knee high bog myrtle. Lovely smelling but an absolute pain to move through. The traffic steadily roared on my right on the road and the rain was soaking me right through. Not the wildernis experience I was hoping for. Finally I reached Lynemore from where a track should have lead quickly back to the car. Instead, parts of the track were knee-deep in water and moss. Lovely.

Distance: 14km Time: 2.5h

It's an illness

First up a confession. I have always been a ticker. It started innocently enough with climbing routes 'just to remember what routes I'd done'. A move to Scotland was when it went pear-shaped. I went up my first Munro (Slioch) by mistake and it was several weeks before I bought the 'old testament' (SMC Munro guide). A couple of months later, the 'new testament' (SMC Corbetts guide). Recently my wife printed out the Marylins list (all hills with a 150m drop), for a few days it lay, unticked, quietly in the front room. Inevitably it s now festooned with ticks dates and my maps, now devoid of un-bagged Munros and Corbetts, covered in spiders web of new routes. It seems as though many of the over 1500 Marylins attract few people so they can be very wild runs. Being of relative rather than absolute height the smaller hills can be great subtitute in bad weather.





Strath Rory Marylins - Conc an t-Sabhail (380m)


I started off in the rain from the Gravel Pit car-park off the B9176 by the bridge over what I presume is the River Rory in the direction of Struie. About 800m up the road (past a new forestry commission car park, doh!) I turned down right and headed along a good track uphill for 4km until the track flatted off. I expected a thrash through the confiers, but instead a wide break in the trees was at the exact bearing I wanted and soon lead to the fence, which I used as a handrail before I headed back into the trees to the 'summit'.

Top bagged I dropped back due north along a ridge that became processively more runnable til I reached a track which lead back west to Luachar Mhor. The finish along Gleann an Oba back to the was all on very wet but hard tracks.



Distance: 14.5 Time: 1h 45 (with a pack)

Beinn Tharsuinn (692m)


From the same car-park another good run is to head west along a wind farm track to a broken concrete bridge after 3.5km. A long slog over heather and blaeberry leads after 2.5km to the summit trig point, which despite being on a flat top seems to hide until the very last minute. It is worth spending a few minutes mountain spotting. On the overcast day I last ran it the shafts of sunlight illuminating the corries of Ben Wyvis really were spectacular.
The drop down to Torr Leathann, which has wide views over the Cromarty Firth and the Black Isle, leads through some very deep re-entrants but the slope from the cairn to the quarry (unmarked on the 1:50000) is superb running on short grass an heather. Well worth the effort of the climb. Follow the track over the bridge and back to the start.


Distance: 13km Time: 2h (at an easy pace)

Ramsay Reccies Part 2

Stob Ban to Youth Hostel

Using the excuse to see some friends compete in the Ben race, I decided to try and run some more of Ramsay's Round. After a horrendious slow drive down from Inverness due in part to some tourist unable to translate km/h into miles/h, I got dropped off in Achriabhach and headed up via the stalkers path to Stob Ban. The mizzle turned to drizzle and finally to proper rain. Unsurprisingly the wind picked up on the bealach. Fortunately there is a well worn path from the bealach up the summit of Stob Ban with only a few sections of quatzite scrambling. The 3km of flatish ridge to Mullach nan Coirean was all on good path although a few bouldery section on was seemed like granite would be tricky in the dark. Once again I pleasantly surprised but the superb asthetics of the line taken by Ramsay's. The section was reminicient of the Helvellyn section of the Bob Graham. From Mullach I decided to try and pick out the line leading to the West Highland Way. I dropped down the baggers route towards Glen Nevis. At the cairn I turned off the path down a broad rock and grass ridge heading NW. After a mile of following a very indistinct sheep track I was still on route. 10 minutes later I was out of the cloud and lost. I seemed to be marooned in a rough coire and despite the purple splendour of the blooming heather I was beginning to stop enjoying the run. It took me several minutes to work out that it was Glen Nevis I could see at the bottom. Bugger. I was now very wet and decided to drop staright down and pick up the road. Inevitably the forest bashing was a chore and the forestry commission had decided to fell and replant to steep slopes. A wonderful combination of wet logs underfoot hidden by dense undergrowth. Older growth lower down the slope gave quicker running and I then had the pleasure of yet another run down the road to the hostel. All in a decent down the tourist route and then a blast along the road would be quicker than the cross country route, but would it be ethical??

Time: 3.30hs Distance: 16km

Northern Loch Treig Munros

The next day, after a good night at the hostel at Achluarach, I set up from Fersit up the old British Aluminium railway, with one great Indiana Jones style bridge over a gorge, to Coire Laire and then via a decent track to Stob Coire Easain. I was briefly tempted by Sgurr Innse, but not sure how long the rest of the run would take decided against it.

Great views and easy running in superb visibility was a nice change from my recent epics.

The top section of Stob Coire Easain from the north has a well eroded path leading steeply up a lose, gravelly section. From I scoped out the decent line from Stob Ban and the climb from Laraig Leacach, which both looked grassy and fairly clear of heather and rocks. The initial decent from Stob Coire is steep, but soon gives way to faster terrain. The following climb to Stob a Coire Mheadhoin was quick (14mins from top to top) but the summit area is rather indisticnt and time could easily be lost staggering around on the loose tiles of rock. From the top to the dam is a blast and aside from a very steep muddy and eroded section at Meall Cian Dearg is nice running. My choice of route down to the dam road lead through some steep craggy areas and would be better perhaps to stick to the burn marked on the map, just a little north of the crags. All in all another very enjoyable section.

Time: 3hs Distance: 16.5km