Carn an Saobhaidhe

Route from Dunmaglass

Route from Coignafearn:

Munros

None

Corbetts

Carn na Saobhaidhe
Carn na Laraiche Maoile
(deleted 1981)

Grahams

None

Bothies

None

Distance/Ascent

26km     739m

Estimated Time

5h 45min

Notes

I want to see if I can get to the top on a bike without having to push it too much! Carn na Laraiche Maoile is a deleted Corbett. I assume that it was a twin top at one time considered to be of the same height but is 810m, one metre less than Carn na Saobhaidhe. Including this "peak" adds an extra 9km, 298m and should add an extra two hours onto the walk.

An alternative approach would be from Strathdearn cycling up the glen to Dalbeg at 485m (wild camp?) and walk from there. Parking is available as seen below:

Start

The best place to park is probably next to the telephone box. The view below is looking west with the red telephone box visible at the junction. This is surrounded by bins so maybe it is best done over a weekend in case the bin men are not very careful.

The alternative is next to the electrical installation below.

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View Carn na Saobhaidhe in a larger map

18 July 2015 from Coignafearn

Decorating the spare room was finished. My Sister and nephew were not arriving until later in the day. There was a window of opportunity to bag Carn na Saobhaidhe and its demoted neighbour.

I had hoped to make this part of a camping trip but time did not allow such a leisurely approach.

The first stage was the bike ride to Dalbeg.

Then heading west up a track following the Allt Creagach. At NH635135, the track forks and I took the left hand fork that took me across a good, solid bridge.

The track eventually reached an end and followed a faint path up the Allt Odhar before heading upwards across rough, boggy terrain towards Carn Mhic Lamhair. There is an ugly bulldozed track approaching the summit from the north with a separate branch towards Carn Mhic Lamhair. I joined this and followed the track to the summit of Carn na Saobhaidhe. My arrival at the summit coincided with a lengthier period of heavier wind driven rain. I set up my camera on a Gorillapod and set the time delay to 10 seconds. I ran into position and turned to find that the camera had blown over and took a picture of the sky. My second attempt was more successful.

While the wind and rain was not the weather I had hoped for, I was very glad that the cloud base was above the tops as I navigated my way to Carn na Laraiche Maoile passing the ugly construction of the new Corriegarth Wind Farm. 

There are old fence posts to follow but I tended to keep a distance from them to avoid tripping over any partially buried rusty wire. There was a small cairn on Carn na Laraiche Maoile. However, there were other candidates as the actual summit so I visited these before heading down towards the River Eskin. This was the most pleasant part of the route and the weather brightened up a bit. Boulders by the river offered a good, dry seat to eat my lunch. It had been too cold and wet further up so I had decided to push on and eat later. My route eventually reached a stalker's path/track which would be suitable for Argocats, but was a more traditional vegetated track rather than one of the huge, deep, bulldozed tracks that have become increasingly common in our wild places. I found a large feather that I think is probably an eagle wing feather, saw some beautiful wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum), as well as some splendid waterfalls and cascades.

I believe this to be a primary wing feather of a golden eagle. It is approximately 47 cm in length and looks very similar to the young goldn eagle feather shown at the bottom of the following webpage: http://bonesandnature.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/feathers-of-kings.html

There are those that consider the Monadhliath to be rather uninteresting hills but to those that appreciate the finer points of the Highlands, there is a great deal of interest. It is a wild area of great scientific interest and Strathdearn is one of Scotland's finest glens. This area is in great need of protection from hydroelectric and wind farm developments.