Day 3 – Sgorr Nan Lochan Uaine (Big Steep Stoney Thing)
It was back to the full peloton and a return to the car park we departed from on the first day.
We headed out at 9:32am. Across the road, over the crash barrier and then single file south westwards along a good path.




The ground rose steadily up to a house with a lochan to its right. We stopped to take photos across the lochan, and over Loch Torridon with the Skye hills silhouetted on the horizon.




The going was fairly easy with streams the only obstacles. These had to be negotiated using the rocks which rose proud of the water.
The first casualty was Garry who needed help out of the water on the second crossing. He hurt his calf and overtopped his shoe.




We continued onwards as the ground started to rise more steeply. The same thing happened on the next crossing and that was Garry’s day done. He returned to the cars with John, who was suffering from a sore back.
The path rose ever more steeply. Consulting the maps (we had brought them this time), we turned off and struck out over bracken and bogs.




The walking was increasingly challenging and after a steep ascent onto a shoulder we stopped for coffee at 10:46am.


Restarting our hike, we searched for the best way up the Corbett. There were a few U-turns as we skirted round crags and ravines.




By 12:15 we were scrambling up a boulder strewn hillside and reached the final shoulder before the scree covered summit.


Any hope of paths had long gone and so we looked for the best route through the stones to the top.


Derek decided that the time had come and scrambled quickly up the slope in front with loose stones falling in his wake.


I was last to make the attempt and chose the wrong route finding myself on loose gravel with my legs pushing upwards while I stayed in the same place. I eventually found some firmer ground and reached the summit, breathless, with legs full of lactic acid. Note to self – maybe we should rethink taking a defibrillator with us!!
We lunched on top and then looked east towards Sigurd Dubh (Big Steep Stoney Thing 2).




It wasn’t far distance wise, but looked as uninviting as the present summit, requiring a tricky descent and crossing a bealach before starting the next ascent.
But which was the best route to take? Some of us were more relaxed about it than others.




The scramble down the hill involved a number of us falling as fatigue set in. We were no longer walking in a nice single file but spread out all over the hillside.
The terrain meant each of us was having to find a route that we felt comfortable with. I fell headfirst on the final slope before reaching some flatter ground. Fortunately I was on heather at the time and managed to turn my feet down as I slid, sustaining damage only to my ego.




It was 2 o’clock and we needed to be off the hill by 4.30. A confab decided it was time to bail out from the second climb and find a route back to the cars.
The route down was no clearer than the route up but fortunately only involved one U-turn when we were faced with cliffs.




There was then a choice of routes to take. Maintaining height and reaching a path some 2 km distant, or heading straight down steep heather-covered slopes to reach the same path nearer to the cars.


It seemed bizarre as we headed across the infinity bog towards what seemed like a vertical drop.


It turned out to be the correct decision and despite a number of soft landing falls and stumbles we were down back at the path with a 1.5km walk back to the cars.


We reached the car park at 4:30pm and after changing our footwear enjoyed a bottle of beer before heading home. Everyone safe but tired.
Garry greeted us from the cottage garden, having recovered from his watery excursion.