[Trip Index] [Munro Index] [Home] 29th May 2003   Beinn a' Chochuill Beinn Eunaich Map Another jaunt through the clouds, seeing nothing. Why do I do it? Trisha had dropped me off at 10.00 and the initial stages were easy enough, just following a cart-track up the right hand side of the valley of the Allt Mhoille, an easy 2 mile gradient. The track then reaches a spur which leads back north-easterly for a way round the mountainside and here I set off up the fairly steep, grassy SE ridge of Beinn a Chochuill. I was soon in cloud but kept going, following a path and the compass until I came to an edge. There I turned left and continued on along the ridge for 15 minutes then, after a short climb, I reached the summit which is marked by a cairn. (12.25) The path to Beinn a' Chochuill I had a bite to eat and watched a black beetle who had the same idea and was chomping away on someone's discarded banana skin. Cloud in every direction but at least it was dry. I returned along the ridge the way I'd come and carried on along an easy path to a bealach then up the moderately steep slopes of Beinn Eunaich. The path was quite distinct which was just as well with all that cloud. Its unending greyness was a bit dispiriting. The terrain was grassy, a bit rocky nearer the top which I reached at 1.50 - grass, rocks and a largeish cairn of red rocks. I'd forgotten to take a picture of the Beinn a Chochuill cloud so I took one here - it took me 15 minutes as I had trouble finding somewhere to mount the camera and kept chopping my head off. I'd seen no-one since leaving the car. The summit of Beinn Eunaich I left the top and descended south along a fairly distinct path most of the way, although it did vanish from time to time; I checked with the compass then and carried on with no problems. A gentle descent until near the end of the ridge where the path turns west and goes directly down the hillside - very steep, I wouldn't like to ascend that way. Anyway on emerging from the cloud at last I continued down the hill and rejoined the cart-track. The route back down An easy walk back then, reaching the drop-off point at 3.40 just as Trisha rolled to a halt there.