SADDLE FROM THE SOUTH

How could we go out on a high at the end of our northern summer? Well, we still had The Saddle and Sgurr na Sgine to do, and as far as I was concerned, there was only one approach I wanted to do - from the south. When the weather is right, this end of Loch Hourn is as heavenly as it gets. And the weather was right…

From Corran we took the track up Glen Arnisdale. A beauty! Because we had them, we used the bikes, but left them stowed where the track leaves the glen floor and heads up round the side of a mini-gorge. Time for a breather, and to look back…

And ahead, one of those little corners of the west coast which, on the map, look like a potential paradise, and when the sun shines, is…

The track wends its way up to the Dubh Lochain, from which this waterfall gushes out…

The Dubh Lochain is de-commissioned boutique hydro. The good news is that the natural world is gradually reclaiming the banks of the loch…

The Dubh Lochain is actually split into two lochettes, and from the upper one we could see our targets - Sgurr na Sgine on the right, and The Saddle on the left.

One of life's better coffee-spots: where the streams join in the Gleann Dubh Lochain.…

As we sat in the sun having coffee, about a dozen mountain-bikers cycled past us up the glen. They were on a circular route from Corran, off-road to Kinloch Hourn, then out to Glen Garry and back over past Cluanie and Glenelg.

We turned right when we reached the pylons from Kinloch Hourn (the only blemish on the whole route), then contoured round on a newish vehicle track into Coire Mhalagain, which drains the Saddle and Sgurr na Sgine to the north. Time for a final cool off before the grind up onto the tops…

And here, coming up onto the ridge, is a retrospect of our route…

Sgurr na Sgine marked Sadie's 200th Munro! That is, everything we have done together apart from Skye.

On the way over to the Saddle, Sadie celebrated her achievement in her own way…

And shortly afterwards we all did the same. In our case we waited until we'd reached the bigger lochans on the bealach.

Here we had One of Those Moments. I hope what follows doesn't sound pretentious, but… it was nearly 4pm, and at that time there was a live Prom broadcast of Wagner's Parsifal starting on the radio. Reception up here is fantastic, and as we dried off, with an ear-plug each, we listened to this fantastic music in a set which Wagner would have died to recreate. Sublime. Opera, it is often said, requires the suspension of belief.

By the time we reached the summit of the Saddle, had set up Tarpy and were cooking tea on the summit, we had gone well past that point - somewhere near the suspension of disbelief. What a scene…

To experience this next image as we did, listening to the end of Act 1 of Parsifal (yup, it goes o…n and o…n) I need to tell that our surname is Ravens! And that ravens feature heavily in the mythology of Wagner. So when this creature plopped down to join us, we just shrugged our shoulders and accepted it as just another part of disbelief…

And the following morning, although the soundtrack had finished, the scene was even more operatic…

And a campy spot to never to forget…

We may have missed out on the Forcan Ridge this way, but the ridge running south-west from the top of The Saddle is entertaining. Particularly in this light…

No hurry to get down…

…

One great thing about camping high during a temperature inversion, it strikes me, is that during the morning, as we descend, the cloud ascends and dissolves.

So here we are, still basking in the sun, as we make our way down the Allt a' Coir Odhar. Another quite acceptable coffee spot…

When the light is like this, there are miracles to see at whatever focal range…

...

Down, eventually, to join a good track which leads down from the corrie into some gorgeous woodland…

And back to the flats above the Dubh Lochain…

A magnificent trip. One of those which, for all the carlories spent, we came out with energy in the bank. Well, the dog certainly did…

Happy Christmas!