It’s known as the ‘Cluanie Horseshoe’, but what a daft name for a circuit that’s only really a horseshoe when taken from the north, with many miles of road separating the logical starting point up Glen Affric from Cluanie just a short crow’s flight to the south and no remotely tidy way to link its Munros and Tops from its ‘named’ side! So perhaps it might be better termed the ‘Cralaig Horseshoe’ when it’s readily identifiable with A’ Chralaig as its dominant (highest) peak and you’ve also got Coire na Cralaig and Lochan na Cralaig in there? But (call it what you will) post the question on Facebook…
dig out the bike to cycle in by Loch Affric or take the shorter drive to mount a bloody-minded assault from the south?
And you get the answer from Marie Meldrum…
Bike in, with me… TOMORROW!!!
So that’s exactly what we did. Except that tomorrow’s now yesterday and we had to chuck in a bonus Corbett as well (!) to give a day’s total of not quite 12 miles cycling and nearly 21 miles on foot, with c.1,500 and 9,000ft of ascent respectively for the two modes of transport…
But, since it would take me pretty well the 10 hours 38 minutes that took us (including a good couple of hours for bike stashing/recovery and leisurely food/camera stops) to describe the day in terms that do it justice, I’m just going to leave a selection of photos to speak largely for themselves with a few quick observations to get going. Like…
- Total midge hell as we unloaded the van in an alternating flurry of semi-preparation and sweary ‘dancing’.
- That lovely, atmospheric start (once midge-free!) to the traverse with morning mist drifting in and out of our space.
- Marie’s belatedly-discovered, slow-burning lobster impersonation after declining the sunscreen she didn’t need but insisted I needed now.
- Multiple ridge-crossing deer with young apparently (initially) oblivious of our presence on the rise up to Drochaid an Tuill Easaich.
- Those lovely, broad, runnable ridges that don’t feel like the rugged ‘West Coast’ hills we know and love at all (perhaps because they’re not really?).
- Stunning views from Ben Nevis and the Grey Corries to Torridon and beyond.
- And Marie’s prolonged encounter with that too-cool-to-run mountain hare pair.
Excellent sweeping up of the tops, deleted tops, munros and bonus corbett Pete. I had brilliant fun and today got a pb in my 10 mile road time trial – so bring on the long days of walking/running – it’s obviously doing me good! Although I’d appreciate it if we could mtb in and back out again!
Comment by Marie Meldrum — 22 July 2014 @ 9:31 pm