Today we decided to head up towards Crianlarich with a view to doing Cruach Ardrain and Beinn Tulaichean. The car park is busy and there are a number of other hikers setting off just before us. The sun has finally burned through the mist and its only 10.20am!
We head through the muddy field and under the railway to join the farm track heading east into the valley beside the river Falloch. The group of 4 that started just in front of us take the path to the right, heading up to An Caisteal and we head further up and then go left down towards the river.
We cross a very unsteady looking bridge and stop to take some layers off. It is scorching now and the sun is beating down on us, not a cloud in the sky. The ground is still pretty wet underfoot, and we splodge our way up, following the fence line for a while before cutting across to Grey Height at 666m. From here we head east and up towards the start of the wide ridge.
We look back and see a man and his son heading up the same way. They are fast!
We push on, keeping the pace steady. As we head east over all of the little hills towards the bottom slopes of Cruach Ardrain, we pass by some amazing gullies. One is amazing and Eric takes a picture whilst Bracken dances around at the edge. One of these days she is going to fall!
The path drops a little after Meall Dhamh before it starts to get steeper and we make our way up the slopes of Cruach Ardrain. As the path nears the top, it curves slightly to the north and splits. From here we get fantastic views across Benmore Glen to Ben More (1174m/3852ft) and Stob Binnein (1165m/3822ft). Not a patch of snow on these now, which is in stark contrast to the conditions we had on them 3 weeks ago!
We head left, northeast, and after another few minutes of walking across a short col, we get to the summit cairn on Cruach Ardrain, where there are a group of people enjoying the views. One woman asks if it is okay to take a picture of the dogs. We don’t stay up here for too long as we have another mountain to climb. We head back down to where the path splits and then head south towards Beinn Tulaichean. The path drops down onto lower slopes and we and enjoy a more level walk before a slight incline to the summit. We have uninterrupted views south from here and are cooled by a gentle breeze as we chat to the man and his son for a while. We study the map to see how we can get across the valley, avoiding the steep craggy side of Stob Glas.
We are hoping for a bealach or at the very least, an adjoining ridge but no such luck. We head back down the path towards Cruach Ardrain and the drop off to the west and towards Stob Glas, which sits at 815m at its highest point. We navigate our way over the top of this and down the steep grassy west side and onto the valley floor. As we were coming down, we could see various other hikers making their way down the paths on the slopes of Beinn a’Chroin opposite. This gives us the chance to gauge distance and time for our ascent.
We decide that it is still early in the day and we have plenty of sunshine and clear skies left, so we don’t want to walk out with only 2 summits reached. We make our way up towards the slopes of Beinn a’Chroin, setting ourselves a goal to reach the first summit cairn by 4.15pm.
Wow, the going is hard here, I am struggling with this one, Its pretty steep and a stiff climb. I’m too hot with all my thermal layers on and now struggling to keep moving. Eric gees me on and everytime I stop, he pushes me to keep climbing. We get to the first cairn ahead of our target time, 4pm, that’s a good 15 mins off. Eric tells me that the official highest point is this one but the real summit is the one furthest to the west.
We stop for 5 mins and I regain my energy and spirit before we drop down a little to a small lochan where the dogs enjoy a paddle to cool down. From here, the path heads up and over a few rocky outcrops and we pass by the middle cairn. Eventually we reach the final cairn and the path snakes to the south.
I’m slightly confused because An Caisteal is now behind us but as we head further down, we see that the path drops to avoid a high crag on the southwest edge of Beinn a’Chroin.
The path then circles back towards the bealach and Eric and I use the short descent to get our muscles ready for the last push up the side of An Caisteal.
We have another 5 min stop to wipe our noses and gather our energy. We have both run out of water and we are suffering the effects of mild dehydration. The sun is still beating down on us, with the occasional breeze bringing much needed relief. Eric said that he saw someone coming down towards the bealach from An Caisteal but they never pass us and we don’t see them. Strange.
We start the very steep scramble up the rocky path and take our time as the ground is loose and we know that tiredness can cause accidents. We are in no rush, so carefully make our way up and finally we reach the rounded edge of the summit. I can’t wipe the smile from my face as I see the cairn! An Caisteal – The Castle!
Eric takes my hand and we walk to the summit together… im so happy and full of a great sense of achievement. these arent the most technical mountains I have climbed but it has been one of the most draining, energy sapping and mentally challenging days on the mountains so far.
After a short stop to enjoy the views and the beautiful evening sun, we start our descent in a northern direction, down Twistin Hill towards Sron Gharbh. We will have the sun all the way to the car, as it sets along side us. It seems to take forever to reach the end of the wide ridge to Sron Gharbh. Along the way we pass a patch of snow that must be about 10 feet deep along with some pretty dangerous cuts in the rock. Would be dangerous in winter. Sounds like a challenge for next winter season!
From Sron Gharbh we start zig zagging our way down the path which soon fades and we go ‘offroad’. It’s boggy and pretty slippery and we make it almost to the bottom without incident. However, I manage to slide onto my backside, again. We laugh about it but both realise that our muscles are aching, so we stop laughing. Before we know it, we are back on the farm track and solid ground.
Now for the slow walk back towards the railway line. We let the dogs have one last swim in the river before we get back to the car. Feels good to get the heavy boots off and put some comfier, softer shoes on for the long drive home.
Total distance – 13.43 miles
Total time - 8 hours 51 mins
Munro Heights – Cruach Ardrain 1046m/3432ft
Beinn Tulaichean 946m/3104ft
Beinn a’Chroin 940m/3084ft
An Caisteal 995m/3264ft
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