Route description: Sgor Gaoith, from Glen Feshie Munros included on this walk: Sgor Gaoith Time taken: 4.5 hours Distance: 13 km Ascent: 900m |
Any regular readers will note I haven't posted for a while, well that's the good old Scottish summer for you. Getting a day off coupled with a decent weather forecast has been harder than the first 30 seconds on a nudist beach !! I had been saving this hill for a 'guaranteed' good day as the views are too good to risk not seeing them. I've said before it's not about bagging them all for me, I always want to see something when I get to the top of any hill. With MWIS giving a 90% chance of cloud free summits for the Cairngorms NP, it was in the car and off up the A9 by 07.30 The day started oddly as I imputed the GPS coordinates for the car park into the Sat Nav, it appeared to have plotted a route to the correct location but was saying it would take 2 hrs 50 mins...I wasn't planning to cycle the 80 miles. I arrived at the car park in about 95 mins and started up the viewranger app on my phone only to realise that I was about 3 miles from the 'real' start point. Back in the car and a further 10 minutes along the narrow road it was then. There were already half a dozen cars parked as I set off along the land rover track exiting to the East at around 9.30. The initial path up through the Birch forrest is very good and only a gradual incline which makes for very easy going. You are warned that you are passing through an area which is being monitored by wildlife camera. I presume it's those motion activated numbers, the sign is not particularly large or prominent, I shudder to think what sights they may have 'innocentl' captured or the no doubt endless gurning selfies of inquisitive walkers ! The path becomes much wetter and boggy in places as you head further into the glen, this may just be a temporary circumstance due to the incessant rain the day before. At around 800m the path disappears all together at a small cairn and leaves you to pick your own path directly up the hill to eventually emerge on the flat plateau to the south of Sgor Gaoith. In all honesty this walk is all about the views of Loch Einich and the huge bulk of Braeriach beyond, the UK's 3rd highest peak. According to Wikipedia snow in the north-facing corrie of Garbh Coire Mor has only completely melted just 5 times in the last century ! Upon reaching the plateau I immediately made my way over to the East edge to start taking in the breathtaking views 600m below me and over to Braeriach. I made my way along the cliff top path towards the crags and the summit of Sgor Gaoith. As usual my pics don't do the views justice and in this case they really don't give you the scale or the sense of the sheer drop on either side to the loch below. Although there was a fair amount of high level cloud the visibility was excellent and I could see for miles in every direction. As I approached the first set of crags I couldn't resist bum shuffling (it was very blowy) my way out onto one of the rocks perched high above the loch for a very self indulgent and dramatic selfie ! The summit atop another craggy outcrop is only a few hundred metres further along the plateau and was soon reached. There is no grand cairn as I'd expected to mark such a wonderful summit, just one large boulder. Given the summit is so close to the edge and it's known as the windy hill, perhaps any attempts to construct a cairn are thwarted by the inevitable 'hoolies'. Despite it being quite a calm day on the ascent it was quite breezy on the summit. The views are sensational, especially looking down and over the loch to the brooding mass of Braeriach (one for another day). I spent such a long time taking photos and admiring the views that I didn't leave myself enough time to complete the circular route I had planned to include Sgoran Dubh Mor which was downgraded from Munro status at some point. As Monty Python would say 'this Munro has ceased to be, she is an ex Munro'! In all honesty I didn't mind too much, I came here for the views from the summit and that's exactly what I enjoyed. As I was about to drag myself away from the summit I was joined by a group of English ladies who were....how should i put his ?......quite exuberant ! A reconstruction of the infamous Malaysian summit pic was proposed by one of them at some point !! It was great to see others so happy and enthusiastic about reaching the summit and obviously loving just being out together in the Scottish hills. I somehow managed to retain my composure as I took the group's photo before wishing them well for tomorrow (they planned to tackle Braeriach). The view on the descent is much better, giving great views over to to the rolling Munros of the Monadhliath and once on the good path again it was a quick descent. I was back at the car in well under 90 mins to be greeted by a hungry horde of the dreaded midge. Boots quickly off, I dived in the car for cover and swiftly headed back down the road to facilitate the kids' next round of dancing/swimming/bownies etc ! That's my 51st Munro completed and is by far one of my favourites to date.
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June 2019
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