Am Faochagach and exploring Inverlael..

Claire and I had our last night at Forest Way and decided to take advantage of Iain's kind offer to give

View to the Fannich Hills on the ascent.

 us a lift to the start point for the ascent of Am Faochagach - and we could leave our car at Inverlael. The interesting thing here is that Inverlael is actually quite some way from the summit of Am Faochagach - committing us to a substantial re-ascent and traverse to reach one of the two cols which we could use to descend. The another annoying thing was that we would have to walk out on the final stalker's track as the bikes were safely at home...well I am getting a bit ahead of myself!

Claire nears the summit

It was another lovely day - with views very similar to the one in the picture. This was a good choice of hill to do, as all the guidebooks mention that this ascent can be VERY boggy with a very tricky river crossing. However, 3 weeks of no rain rendered the bogs much drier and the river crossing a total irrelevance. The pull up onto the ridge was hot and sweaty, however our pace judgement was quite good and it was not too long before the two of us were on top of Am Faochagach - one of the hills of the Inverlael group that I had not done in my previous visit last year.

After a bite to eat we left behind all the people and headed off in the direction of Loch Pirrie. The descent was quite trying, with uneven ground and no path making it hard to get much of a rhythm going as we descended to the headwaters of Glen Beag. From there - it was a steep and stiff pull onto the long ridge thrown out to the East by Ceann Garbh. This is the subsidiary top of Meall na Ceapraichan (and one I had climbed on my last visit) and was something we planned to ascend before descending to the col.

The going and heat were quite sapping and it was a slow plod up the ridge towards the final bump at 864m, after which the ridge drops before the final pull onto Ceann Garbh. Arriving at the col, it was decided to miss the top out and contour the hill to the col between it and Eididh nan Clach Geala. From there, we could pick up the stalkers path that I had ascended on my visit and follow it down until it met the last path. The contouring was rough, but the altimeter watch was a huge help, enabling me to keep track of the height - and lo and behold we ended up at the correct place.

An Tellach dominates the horizon. 

This being done the day was largely over, and the well made tracks to the stalkers path were a relief for the legs after the rough going of the previous few hours. The view - see the picture - was not bad either!

In due course; we reached the main forest ride - where I had left the bike last time. This last 2 miles or so was not to our liking; being jarring and long and devoid of much interest at all. Given it took about 40 mins longer than the last time I was here -  it was not my favourite part of the day. Eventually however, we reached the car and drove to the highly impressive campsite at Ullapool - more of which later. However, the 6 min shower for 20p was utilised - and then it was the adjacent Indian restaurant for supper...

Pix are here: https://picasaweb.google.com/102361192587557786751/AmFaoghachAndTheInverlaelHills