The Western Fannaichs

9.8.99 - The Fannaichs Trip, Day 3 - 23km, 1920m - 499 mins

Area 14: Loch Maree to Loch Broom

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Sgurr nan Clach Geala1093m3586ftM53#43
Sgurr nan Each923m3028ftM267#44
Sgurr Breac999m3278ftM138#45
A' Chailleach997m3271ftM144#46
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Sgurr nan Each from Sgurr nan Clach Geala

This was quite a day! Morale again started low as I looked out at 5.30am to see the famous Meall a' Chrasgaidh 'weather station' once again in low cloud. By contrast today, however, it appeared to be lifting, and at 6 I stirred into action. I had breakfast, packed up all I could and was off by 7. Sgurr nan Clach Geala alas was still in cloud when I reached it, but these airy buttresses have a certain charm when you can't see to the bottom! Sgurr nan Each on the other hand was beautifully clear, and quite an easy walk.

Sgurr Breac, Toman Coinich and A

Sgurr Breac, Toman Coinich and A

Sgurr Breac and Toman Coinich from below Sgurr nan Clach Geala

By the time I got down to the pass at the head of the Allt Breabaig and up to Sgurr Breac it was clear too and spectacular views were opening up all round.

A

From the summit of Sgurr Breac, A' Chailleach looked a long way away but I made it and returned over Tomain Coinich, which is a Munro top.

Loch Fannaich from A

I then made the long descent and reascent to the col, pausing briefly to paddle my tired feet in the Allt Breabaig. Once at the col the tent came into sight. I came down, packed up, and started the long trudge back to Braemore. By this time I had abandoned any thought of doing the Deargs and was planning to get the bus back to Inverness. I arrived at Braemore a full two hours before the bus was due and soon found that the freezing wind had been a blessing in disguise - here with almost no wind and beautiful sunshine the midges attacked with a vengeance. I visited the Corrieshalloch Gorge to escape them, stopping at the roadside car park for a hamburger, and walked back by a woodland path. A friendly Rapson's bus driver took me to Ullapool (I explained about the midges) but the ferry from Stornoway was late and since the bus was waiting for that we got to Inverness 35 minutes late which meant that I missed the train. Thankfully there was one more train, which didn't get back to Edinburgh till midnight, but at least I was home.

This had been my first Munro-climbing expedition involving camping. During the previous few months I had spent quite a bit of time planning all sorts of ambitious exploits involving carrying a full pack with several days food supplies over multiple Munros, and camping on the tops of ridges at 800m, etc. I decided after this modest debut, firstly, that a full pack was too heavy to lug around in this way, and secondly that camping at high altitudes was probably not much fun anyway. On the positive side, however, I had used the tent to great advantage and done what I probably could not otherwise have done - climbed the nine Fannaich Munros in only two days. I spent a good bit of time during the following year re-thinking the expeditions I had already planned and now rejected as being, if not impossible, at least such torture that they wouldn't be worth doing anyway.