26/06/16 - Sgor na h-ulaidh (me)

I set off under heavy skies and the certainty of rain fall along a longish access road. But it was a shorter and more pleasant walk in than Friday's route. When the track came to an end I traced a faint path through and along stream to a high bealach. Curiously there was a gate on this bealach though the fence eithher side of it had pretty much completely disappeared.
I could see the route I need to take up to the top of the mountain, although the top itself was under cloud. It looked steep, but unproblematic. I set off and before long came to a steeper outcrop of rock. I tried to weave my way through shallower sections, but it was tricky, largely due to the lack of holdable rock and the excess of very slipper grass. My nerves started to fray as I realised that there was now no choice but to plough on. I wasn't particularly high, but a fall would still have been quite nasty. I think I was more nervous doing this than any section of the previous day! I managed to get myself over the steepest section and proceed to the ridge.
On the final section of the ridge there was a Grouse and some chicks on the path. The Grouse, bobbed and weaved and tried to blend in with the rocks, and then when that failed it jumped and flapped it's wings at the side of me.
The rains weren't heavy on the ridge, but they were persistent, and the winds had picked up, but it wasn't without it's charms. The ridge itself was fairl undulating and was difficult to navigate at points. The summit came and went and before long I'd arrived at the point where I needed to descend from the ridge and return to the track. This was due to be another steep and scree filled descent. In practice though, I managed to find a route which was fairly forgiving and brought me out about half way along the track alongside a small forest.
I got back to the car after about 5 hours and spent the evening watching the rain fall, enduring a headache, drinking just under 2 beers (I couldn't finish the second one) and feeling quite sorry for myself. I'd been toying with the idea of spending Tuesday in Edinburgh and I found a great hostel to stay at, but in the end I decided to a walk the following day and then drive home afterward. The weather forecast indicated that my best bet was to head inland a bit  and so Ben Vorlich and maybe Ben Vane started looking like good options.

Munro - Sgor na h-ulaidh

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