243. Beinn Sgulaird (237) (P600 49). 16/08/22

Hamish's first Munro!

Staying in Appin, we started walking around 11am. This was initially along a track, before following a narrow path along the crest of a ridge to the south top. From there it was a fairly straightforward walk along the ridge, over another subsidiary peak to reach the summit. There were quite a few snack stops, but Hamish was walking virtually as fast as I was and we made good time. The views were panoramic, although the cloud started not a lot higher than the summit, so some taller peaks were hidden. We saw deer and long-horn goats, which was quite exciting. We only saw one other walker though, which was unusual given the time of year.

In hindsight, we should have retraced our steps, but instead we followed the recommendation in Cicerone and came off the West side of the hill. This was steep grassy slopes to start with, which is fine (although Hamish was a little unaccustomed), but it deteriorated into boggy plantation near the bottom, because it turns our the whole topography has changed since our guide was written. There's now an artificial loch and a lot of new trees and the going was arduous to say the least. 

After some huffing and puffing, we got to a track which took us out. Hamish was still very positive about the experience, which is great. The 14km walk with 1100m of ascent took us around 6h15.

Looking back after ascending the shoulder

A first view of the summit in the background

At the summit

Lots of goats