KYQ4: Beinn Lair

Meall Mheinnidh and Fionn Loch from Beinn Lair

Sunday, 30 July 2017

Ascent: 1374 metres

Distance: 35 kilometres

Time: 9 hours 44 minutes

Beinn Lair 860m 4hrs 58mins

Meall Mheinnidh 722m 6hrs 24mins

We had rented a cottage in Gairloch to allow John to climb 5 of his remaining 9 Corbetts. He had the three remote Corbetts in Fisherfield to climb together with the equally remote sandstone Corbetts, Baosbheinn and Beinn an Eoin, in the Flowerdale forest. Sunday was to be doused by heavy rain but John and I had enjoyed many glorious days over the past couple of years with the help of the Met Office and the freedom of retirement. This would be a return to the conditions of many walks over the past thirty years when we were restricted to weekend walking in whatever the weather. We started at 8am to walk into Kernsary from Poolewe, we were startled by the appearance of a man in what looked like a space suit crossing the track, it was a beekeeper off to collect some heather honey.

The rain held off for the first hour and a half and then the heavens opened as we emerged from the boggy forest with feet already soaked in a peat-covered mud. The walk along the long moorland path towards the causeway at the head of Fionn Loch was accompanied by heavy rain. For the first time in over a year it was full rainwear. The only compensation was the slight breeze that kept the midges at bay.

The burn east of Beinn Airigh Charr was in full spate and the crossing would have been difficult without borrowing John's walking poles. Just before the causeway at the end of Fionh Loch, I peeled off to the right to climb the steep rocky staircase to the bealach below Beinn Lair at 500 metres. John was going to climb Beinn a' Chaisgein Mor first and then Beinn Lair before an overnight camp. I had climbed Beinn a' Chaisgein Mor at the end of a 12-hour round of the Fisherfield munros from a camp at Carnmore four years ago. I had intended to climb Beinn Lair the next morning on the way out to Poolewe but the cloud was down for the day and Beinn Lair seemed too good a hill to see nothing. As I began the climb up the bealach with the cloud down to 400 metres. I thought perhaps that I should have done it then and saved myself from today.

I began the long climb up the heathery slopes below the northwest ridge of heathery of Beinn Lair, stopping at a burn to replenish my water and eat some lunch. Rain was trickling down the sleeves of my jacket and I began to feel the clammy cold that seeps into the body on long wet days. There was still a 200-metre climb ahead as I aimed for the clouds that concealed the ridge line. At 800 metres I hit the apex of the ridge and peered down a deep gulley, a back gash into the unknown. The final kilometre was less steep and eventually, the massive and beautifully constructed cairn appeared through the mist on the summit plateau.

It was almost 1:30pm so I ate some more and waited in the hope that the cloud would clear. It did just as I was leaving and the splendid views of Fisherfield, Slioch and Loch Maree played hide and seek as I was walking along the summit ridge on the descent. The 360 metre descent to the broad grassy bealach was an easy part of the day. The rain had stopped and my spirits were raised as the nearby Graham, Meall Mheinnidh, appeared. I decided that I would add this to the walk.

The climb up the southeast ridge was delightful with a tiny lochan providing a good foreground for views back into Fisherfield. Slioch remained stubbornly swathed in cloud for most of the time but there was an occasional glimpse. This was on my radar to climb later in the week. The Torridon mountains looked dark and sinister under the grey clouds but Loch Maree was occasionally lit up by shafts of sunshine. Meal Mheinnidh is an attractive summit with spectacular views into Fisherfield. I wasted no time at the top as I had arranged for Aileen to pick me up in Poolewe at 6pm. I decided to head for the bealach between it and the adjacent Corbett, Beinn Airigh Charr, this would eliminate the problem of crossing the raging burn without poles. Alas, my Harvey's Mountain Map did not show the series of crags on the west flank of the hill with the consequence that I spent the next hour negotiating my way down an obstacle course of wet rocks and slippery grassy ramps on the wrong side of a hill that virtually nobody visits.

Once I made the stalker's path that separates the two hills I was into comparatively easy walking, although I had 12 kilometres to walk and only two and a half hours available. Apart from a couple of showers, I marched nonstop keeping a good pace at the end of a long day. The occupant of the farm at Kernsary came out and asked me about conditions on the hills. I gave him a summary in the hope that he might be driving into Poolewe but no luck. The last 4 kilometres along the road had to be walked. My feet were aching after 10 hours of wet shoes and 35 kilometres but the evening sunshine soothed the mind and the midges were kept at bay by a gentle breeze. Unlike John who would be camping, I had the a meal and bed to look forward to.