TGO Challenge 2010 - Day 3: Sourlies to Eas Chia-aig Waterfalls

After spending my third night on the west coast (this time at Sourlies), I decided that it was time I actually made some eastward progress!

It was sunny when I left Sourlies at 8am, and the loch was still enough to give a fantastic reflection of the mountains. The going was rough again in places on the way up the Màm na Cloich Airde.  At the top of the pass, I got my maps out and had a good look at the route ahead. My plan was to head over to Glen Kingie to climb two more Munros and then head east to Tomdoun. However, due to the time and the distance left to go, this was now looking somewhat unlikely.

I therefore decided to forgo the Munros today and instead I planned to head east along the length of Loch Arkaig, with the option of climbing the Munros above Loch Lochy tomorrow. Therefore to monitor my progress today & tomorrow, you'll have to zoom out on the maps of my planned route.

I made it to A'Chùil bothy in Glen Dessarry just as it started to rain. I had lunch inside in the dry, whilst the shower passed. I continued east along the forest track to reach the end of the public road; now I had 20km of tarmac and forest tracks to look forward to!

The walk along Loch Arkaig was nicer than I expected, with many opportunities for rests on the sunny beaches. After many hours, I finally reached the east end of the Loch just after 7pm. I headed slightly further east to camp by the Eas Chia-aig waterfalls.  All in all, a very long day! (36.5 km)

Position: llz=56.95533,-5.00101

TGO Challenge 2010 - Day 3 Plan

Distance: 29.5km, Ascent: 1930m

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I have a long day planned for today, but at least there's a pub to look forward to at the end! Hopefully I should be able to climb the two Munros and one Corbett south of Loch Quoich before dropping down into Glen Kingie and the walk through the forest to Tomdoun.

TGO Challenge 2010 - Day 2: Barrisdale to Sourlies

I woke up to the sound of rain on the tent, which resulted in me having a leisurely start to the day. However, by the time I left Barrisdale at 09:30, it was dry and sunny.  It was very windy on the ascent of Luinne Bheinn and I reached the summit just before one. The views were excellent and it looked like it had snowed last night on the hills further north.

The ground was quite rough it places and I made relatively slow progress around the top of Choire Odhair to Meall Buidhe. The coire looked quite impressive and was filled with glaciated slabs.  Descending down to Mam Meadail was quite slow going as I picked a way down through the crags. The stalkers path provided easy going down to Carnoch, where I crossed the notorious rickerty footbridge.

Sourlies bothy was reached by a scramble around the bottom of the headland as the tide was now too far in to walk along the shore.  It had been a tough day so I decided to stop for the night at Sourlies, which is a lovely spot at the head of Loch Nevis. Hopefully tomorrow will be easier going.

Position: llz=56.99732,-5.51274

TGO Challenge 2010 - Day 2 Plan

Distance: 21km, Ascent: 1600m

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Assuming that the weather isn't bad, today's plan is to bag my two remaining Munros in Knoydart: Luinne Bheinn and Meall Buidhe.  After that I intend to drop back down to sea level at the head of Loch Nevis and then head east into upper Glen Dessarry.

TGO Challenge 2010 - Day 1: Inverie to Barrisdale

Starting from Inverie meant that I had a much more leisurely first morning than in previous years as the boat doesn't leave Mallaig until 10:15.  The boat was full of challengers and their backpacks, together with various assorted items for the villagers in Inverie because the boat is the mail boat. I popped into the Old Forge for a quick drink with the majority of the other challengers.

I left Inverie on my own at midday and headed north to Gleann na Guiserein. Everyone else was heading for Barrisdale or Sourlies.  The cloud started to lift above the summits as I started to climb Ladhar Bheinn. Unfortuantly by the time I got to the summit it was in the cloud again. Nevertheless, on the way up I got excellent views over the neighbouring hills and over to Skye & Eigg.

The SE ridge of Ladhar Bheinn turned out to be quite rocky, with several scrambly down-climbs, which therefore took a while to descend. After ascending over another peak, I dropped down to Mam Barrisdale where the plan was to camp for the night. However it was quite windy so I instead chose to descend to Barrisdale to camp.  I arrived at Barrisdale around 8 ish and found several other challengers also camped there, including Dennis, Lou & Phyllis and Jeff & Joke.

Position: llz=57.07934,-5.51320

TGO Challenge 2010 - Day 1 Plan

Distance: 13.5km, Ascent: 1290m

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The plan for my first day is to take the morning ferry from Mallaig across to Inverie and then head up Ladhar Bheinn, before dropping down to camp at Mam Barrisdale.

TGO Challenge 2010 - Day 0

Lynsey dropped me off at Stockport station at 7am for my 10.5 hour journey to Mallaig. I met the first challengers when I changed trains at Carlisle.

The gathering at Glasgow Queen St was impressive, having managed to miss out on this the last 2 years. The journey to Mallaig was excellent with good views and company.  Fish & chips for dinner followed by a couple of pints of Red Cuillin in the West Highland Hotel.

Position: llz=57.00537,-5.82998