Leg Three : Cape Wrath Trail - 2013 [Strathcarron to Braemore Junction]

I had enjoyed my previous leg (2011) so much that I had to continue. The logistical transport challenge added to the months of planning made for a satisfying timewaster over the winter months of 2012/13 and in April I was ready.

20th April 2013
Distance : 32km
Ascent : 1142m
Time : 8hours

On the evening before, I had driven up to Inverness and stayed at the soulless Fairways Travelodge. An early start and I drove to Garve where I parked the car near the railway station. The weather was overcast, with a little light rain as I waited for the train towards Kyle. Eventually it rolled into sight and I was on my way west to Strathcarron.

Alighting at Strathcarron, I was all ready to set off and was along the road before the train had disappeared along the coast. After a few hundred metres of tarmac I left the road and followed the wide River Carron as it meandered through the fields to the east of New Kelso farm. Too soon I reached the road again and nipped along to leave it at Coulags. Here was where the wilderness began.

Coire Fionnaraich bothy

I made rapid progress up the stalkers' path to the Coire Fionnaraich bothy. No-one was at home so I took the opportunity for a seat and a snack. The weather wasn't improving much, fairly breezy with moisture in the air, but not raining as such. I continued onwards past the massive mossy Clach nan Con-fionn and then round the lonely loch at the head of the glen. Two paths converge here, and I passed two females who had crossed the Bealach na Lice from the west. I went east at the junction and climbed higher to the Bealach Ban and into the mouth of Coire Grannda. I passed some impressive slabs of Torridonian sandstone whilst looking north to the same mountains. Unfortunately they were shrouded in cloud but the wind was strong enough to press me on my way. I briefly had a contact lens mishap in the wind and had to perform some fiddling to regain my sight.

The frozen Lochan Uaines below the Corbett Sgorr nan Lochan Uaine

I contoured round the side of Sail Gharbh and then ascended towards a series of three small lochans, named Uaine, but actually white and partially frozen today. The wind was growing in strength and I ascended the Corbett of Sgorr nan Lochan Uaine with trepidation. The summit was wild, and the tiny cairn offered no shelter. I needed some food so quickly stuffed some chocolate in my mouth before descending due north out of the wind and into the complexity of this wild land. Although I was carrying a 1:50K map, even the detail of a 1:25K map is not sufficient to define this area of ground. I found myself backtracking on several occasions to negotiate wee unmarked crags and lochans and at this stage of the day found it quite frustrating.

Looking back to Sgorr nan Lochan Uaine - some very complex terrain here

I found a grassy rake to follow across the face of a steep cliff which led to the path up to my next Corbett, Sgurr Dubh. After dumping my rucksack (and memorising its location!), I ascended the 200m up to the rocky summit. The wind was mental now, and a squall of sleet came through as I battled to reach the summit. The shattered quartzite was lethal when wet and I did well to not be blown over.

Returning to the 'sack, I was relieved to be back on some sort of footpath again, and not have to woory too much about navigation. The path led me down into the gnarled forest beside the Allt na Luib and the settlement at Coulin. It was probably around 5.30pm now and I was thinking about stopping for the night, but there weren't many obvious sites to pitch that wouldn't impact the natives.  Three working dogs (lab, and two terriers) came racing up the track from the keepers house. Simultaneously barking & wagging, I kept them at walking pole's distance just in case.

The road to Kinlochewe

I reached the tarmac of the estate road, and plodded onwards to the Glen Torridon road. I knew from past visits there'd be no suitable wild camp spots within easy reach of fresh water / away from the road. So made the decision to try Kinlochewe Hotel. After a phone call to check availability (and most importantly when they would stop serving food!), I upped the pace and reached the village in an hour.

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21st April 2013
Distance : 20km
Ascent : 600m
Time : 6hours

The sleep of the dead. After a hearty breakfast, I left the village and followed the tarmac and then track to the Heights of Kinlochewe. The weather was warmer, with even some blue sky in patches. The Abhainn Bruachaig to my right was an impressive river emanating from the hills ahead. In my ears, I listened to a recorded 6Music radio programme from Marc Riley the week before. Some fantastic tunes.

Beinn Eighe with Abhainn Bruachaig in foreground

 I turned left at the fork short of the Heights and passed through a deer fence gate before climbing round the hill into Gleann na Muice. As I crossed the bridge to the north bank, the weather took a turn for the worse and the heavens opened. Soon enough I was at the point to leave the track and return to footpath. The junction was marked with this incorrect Scotways sign below. At least if was a good time to get the waterproofs on and eat some food.

Get the map out here to doublecheck!

The path was elusive, and after a kilometre or so I had lost it in the marsh. Undeterred, I squelched on into Gleann Tanagaidh and crossed the wide river with only a couple of boot immersions. I was now in the edge of Coire Mhic Fhearchair, that wild and lonely corrie spied on our round of the Fisherfield Six in 2011. I felt lonely too now, and with no paths, wind turbines, forests, or any signs of habitation in sight, it did feel remote. My wet feet didn't help. I climbed up to the Bealach Gorm and dropped down into the final glen for the day. On the way I picked up a few long roots of bogwood, and also came across a sodden fleece, in fairly good condition lying in the heather. To the west I could see the incredible slabs on Sgurr Ban - they would be a dry foot option to that Munro!

The quartzite slabs of Sgurr Ban in Fisherfield

 Eventually I found the traces of a vehicle track which I followed for another kilometre or so to the white washed walls of Loch a Bhraoin lodge.

Looking to A'Chailleach in the Fannichs

 Behind the locked lodge was the bothy itself. I arrived in mid afternoon so had a long time to waste. The bothy has a corrugated iron roof which makes for some noisy rattling in the wind that was howling down the glen. There was also a stream of water trailing into the bothy from under the door and settling in a cold puddle on the concrete floor.

After reading everything I could find (visitors' books, old newspapers, leaflets), sawing up the damp bogwood and generally getting bored, I made some dinner (not successful with cold gas) and then decided I'd prefer to camp. I found a lovely flat grassy spot in the leeward end of the lodge gable to pitch my tent which I'd now lugged over 52km since the day before. With the shelter from the wind, I actually slept very well. 

Loch a' Bhraoin lodge - not the bothy!

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22nd April 2013
Distance : 15km
Ascent : 600m
Time : 6hours

It was a wild night, and the wind was still strong as I breakfasted in my sleeping bag. I packed my rucksack for the hill, it felt like a feather compared to the day previous since I was now wearing most of my gear and the camping gear was out. Two kilometres to the north west of the bothy is the summit of my final Corbett, Creag Rainich. It looked like an uninteresting lump which I hoped to climb relatively easily. 

The ascent was pathless, and I followed streams for a while onto the subsidiary top of Meall Dubh. Above the summit of the hill was shrouded in cloud which whipped fiercely across the slopes in front of me. I secured my zips and plodded onwards, checking the map regularly. Eventually the summit trig point loomed out the gloom, but without a cairn to shelter behind, it was a windswept place to be. I struggled to stand still to take this photograph:

Creag Rainich, 807m

I reversed the route and was glad to see the bothy again below, nestling by the loch shore. A few hundred metres above the bothy, I spotted a lone walker heading up the lochside path. I watched him proceed past the bothy and onwards up the glen. My tent sheltering behind the lodge looked a miserable sight.

 
.Once back at the tent, I packed up and moved into the relative dry of the bothy to eat some lunch and load up for the final leg of my walk. The weather was now windy with driving rain, but I had a bus to catch so headed out. On the way along the lochshore, the waters were lapping over the track in places, blown by the wind. Nearing the far end of the loch, I was diverted away from the usual track by some new fencing and a sign warning of construction taking place at the Boat House.

 I reached the tarmac of the A832 without joy. With wet feet and sodden gear, this was not how I wanted to end this stage of the walk. But I had made my choice of route. Other CW walkers tend to go via CorrieHallie and over the hill to Inverlael, hence missing out any tarmac, but since I was depending on public transport, Braemore Junction was the only bus stop available. (The bus wouldn't stop at Inverlael). 

Plodding on, I knew I had time to waste until the bus at 5pm so left the road at GR186776 and scrambled down through the undergrowth for 100m to see the incredible Victorian bridge hanging over the torrent of Abhainn Cuileag far below. A hidden 'Corrieshalloch Gorge' if you like. I returned to the road and continued to the real thing, crossing the bridge for some wobbly views of the chasm gaping beneath my feet. 

Sadly I arrived at Braemore Junction and settled into the bus stop to wait for my lift to the car at Garve. Almost 1 hour late the Citylink bus pulled infrom Ullapool and I stepped aboard.