A Summary of Summer Part II

Sunday 4th April - Beinn Ime (Alfie's Munro list begins)

Pronunciation/Translation: Beinn Ime - byn eem (butter hill)

For me the month of March was chaotic. lots of walking at all times of the day and night, both long and short. The nearest I got to the hills however, was the Gleniffer Braes Country Park. The reason for this, Alfie our new four legged family member. Bred to help with hunting and shooting, Alfie it seems was a victim of the credit crunch. His owner had partly trained him during his first few months, but stated his availability was due to necessary cutbacks within his canine pack.
For a few weeks now Alfie had been showing a keeness to go further and stay out longer. I was beginning to wonder what it would take to tire out a young English Springer.
Maybe he was ready for a Munro. I decided to head up to Arrochar again, this time with my furry companion.
My walk up Alt a' Bhalachain was far less painful than in February. Ironically I was wearing another new pair of La Sportivas, Trangos, lighter and more comfortable.
Alfie was taking it all in his stride and was enjoying jumping across the drainage gaps in the path.
Its a fairly long walk before you have to decide which hill you're going to head for. As we neared the junction of the three routes at Lochan Chlaidheimh I was still unsure which way to take. The Cobbler looked steep, rocky and perhaps a bit much for Alfie at this stage. It wouldn't qualify as a Munro either, so it would need to be between Ime and Narnain. Although slightly higher and longer, Beinn Ime appeared the more gentle option from this angle and so won through.
Squelching across the boggy Bealach a' Mhaim, Alfie on one occasion ended up to his shoulders in liquid peat. With a light breeze zipping over the saddle, it didn't take long for him to dry off.

The one thing that had me concerned was his love for bouncing through patches of snow. I knew I would need to keep a close eye on him the nearer we got to the summit ridge. There were several areas where a cornice could prove to be rather inviting.

We continued upwards and ahead I could see some scrambling to be done. After a hesitant first few steps Alfie got the hang of things and leapt from rock to rock with more panache than his human companion.

To the east of the main summit we reached the subsiduary peak (912m) then walked up the ridge to the true summit of Beinn Ime (1011m). Alfie took it all in his stride to bag his first Munro.

As it was a Sunday there were several hikers already at the top enjoying a spot of lunch, some of which Alfie was only too pleased to help them eat. I was feeling quite proud of him and glad that there were other walkers there to join in with his deserved praise.

The way down was more or less the same route as the ascent. Sun still shining, we couldn't have asked for better conditions. Alfie still had bounds of energy in store and once on the path through the Narnain Boulders he was happy to run on ahead and hurry me along.

Covering the ground at a good pace we reached the forest path down to the car park. Soon we were back on the road, Alfie snoozing away in the back as I joined the legendary slow moving Sunday traffic on the A82 southbound.