Creise, Glen Etive - 27th June 2011

Pronunciation/Translation: Creise - kraysh (unknown), Meall a' Bhuiridh - mowl a vooree (hill of the rutting stags)

(Entry by Shona)

We left Eric's house and headed for Glen Etive. Pitched our tent and enjoyed a nice meal while we watched the dogs, "Alfie and Bracken" run around.

On Monday we decided to hike up Creise. We got our gear sorted and took a wander along the River Etive to find a place to cross. The water levels were pretty high, so we headed further downstream, but could still not find anywhere safe to cross.

Back at the tent we studied the map and found there was a bridge a short drive down the Glen. We took the car along, parked up near the bridge and started our hike around 1pm.

The going was pretty tough to start with, through long, rough grass and very steep hillside. I didn't feel too peachy, but wanted to push on as the midges were horrendous. Eric and I decided to play the FNG (Famous Name Game) which took my mind away from feeling unwell.

We made the summit of Beinn Mhic Chasgaig at 864m but had to descend 165m to join the bealach which connected us with the ridge up to Creise and it's 1100m summit.

After a lot of whining from me, we eventually made it to the summit and decided to continue north towards the end of the ridge at Stob a' Ghlais Choire. We took in some nice views of Buachaille Etive Mor then headed back past the summit cairn of Creise and towards the head of Mam Coire Easain where we made a steep drop onto the ridge which took us up the western side of Meall a' Bhuirdh.

Several shots of Stob Dearg (Buachaille Etive Mor) from the Creise Ridge.

After this hard push to the summit at 1108m we were rewarded with excellent views across Rannoch Moor and Loch Tulla to the south. (It is on this peak that the weather readings are taken for the snow forecast information provided at the top right of our blog.) We took a short rest on the summit before heading back down the ridge linking the two Munros. We needed another rest at the top of the step back onto the main backbone of Creise, and as we replenished some liquids the clouds began to close in around us.

Clach Leathad with Stob a' Choire Odhair beyond.

Clach Leathad with Stob Ghabhar behind.

View to Loch Tulla from Meall a' Bhuiridh.

A very tiny Kings House Hotel from Meall a' Bhuiridh.

Stob a' Ghlais Choire, Stob Dearg (Buachaille) and Ben Nevis top right.

Looking out on the Rannoch Moor.

Step onto Creise Ridge from Meall a' Bhuiridh.

 Bracken and I have a rest, Alfie remains on guard duty.

 Coire an Easain.

We trudged onwards, heading west to the bealach on the north side of the Coire Odhar. Here we decided to drop down into the coire and join the north bank of the Allt Coire Odhair. The map states there is a footbridge crossing the river then a path down the valley to Glen Etive. The going was pretty steep but stable enough and we descended at a gentle pace.

I was lagging behind a bit and accidentally triggered a small rock fall, which sent a football sized rock hurtling towards Bracken. She sized it up, contemplated catching it in her mouth. Eric shouted out for her to move and I watched as with a second to spare she ducked and the rock hit Alfie square on the rump a few metres down the slope. With a slight look of surprise on his face he moved to Eric for some reassurance. Thankfully he seemed ok and we kept on moving towards the river.

Time pushed on and it was early evening as we reached the river. There was no footbridge, so we crossed using a tricky route of large boulders and stones. The path was visible but very wet and uneven. I picked out points of reference to keep me moving, I could barely lift my legs as I follow Eric and the dogs.

The path didn't seem to be descending as the river dropped far below us which was disheartening. Eventually the trail began to drop and we were nearly level with the river once more. It was here that the trail began circling round to the south, but we wanted to be heading west. I thought I could see a gap in the deer fence so shouted for Eric to wait. After checking the map again we see that there should be a river crossing near by, but we had to be on the other side of the deer fence. I headed for the fence, only to find that there was wire where I thought a gap existed. Eric shouted that there was a gate further back along the trail, so I had to trudge through waist high ferns to reach it.

We crossed the river again and were back on the trail. After what felt like an eternity the little cottages near the road came into view. Another 30mins of walking over very wet ground and we were back at the car, wolfing down crisps faster than I should, I ended up feeling rather ill. We made it back to the tent and gave the dogs an extra big feed. We then decided to lie down and chill for a bit to let our muscles recover from 8hrs solid hiking. It was hard work, but good for the soul. I felt tired but great, before falling into a deep sleep.