UKC

Anyone wild camped on the Ben Lui range in order to bag the four munros?
Any beta greatly appreciated.

In reply to Dave the Rave:

Yes, opposite the burial place in the valley in winter on my own. Had I known that was what it was I might have thought twice... Very nice round those four, the second one is by a margin the most cheaply earned I've done.

In reply to Dave the Rave:
Camped in the beallach at 750m to the sw of the Ben Lui in a hollow to avoid the wind one February.
The hollow flooded so discovered synthetic bags are good when wet.
3 season valley tent blew down as we finished cooking breakfast so threw trangia out of tent.
Trail of burning meths landing on rucksacks quickly extinguished by driving rain so no harm done.
We gave up and climbed back over Ben Lui as rain turned to hail.

In reply to felt:
Cool. My rough plan is to ascend Allt Coire Laoigh, pitch, do an out and back to Dubhcraig over Oss, then climb Lui and Chleibh next day returning for tent. Is Allt Coire Laoigh good underfoot?
Ta

In reply to Dave the Rave:

I don't know as I didn't go that way. It's not a long day to do them all in one go. I think you'll have plenty of time in hand with your schedule, should only take a couple of hours.

It was all frozen in any case and I distinctly recall, as often happens when alone for a period of time, having words on the brain, in this case Goethe's "Vom Eise befreit sind Strom und Bäche durch des Frühlings holden belebenden Blick,", even though it was far from thawing.

In reply to Dave the Rave:

Look out for the plane wreckage on Ben Lui.

In reply to Dave the Rave:

Your plan seems perfectly feasible but maybe a bit tortuous and contrived with your proposed two out-&-back stints. The four Munros as a unit make a classic day walk. I’d be inclined to camp by the end of the Cononish track at the Allt an Rund, climb Lui, out to Chleibh, then cross the back slope of Lui to Oss and Dubhcraig, and return NW down Coire Buidhe. Crossing the Cononish can be entertaining in some conditions.

Alternatively you could take ‘the road less travelled’: start from Glen Falloch and follow the old hydro tracks up to camp about 500m on the south slope of Oss, and do the four hills as a straight circuit from there. You’re almost guaranteed to have that side of the hills entirely to yourself.

In reply to Bob Aitken:

Bob's right about the quietness of the southern side - not the most thrilling approach but interestingly different and likely to be better for wildlife than the standard routes.

Another option is to just do the Lui-Oss-Dubhchraig circuit from Dalrigh (with a camp somewhere along the Cononish glen - cutting back down that side after Beinn Dubhchraig is much less messy underfoot than the NE shoulder exits) and leave Beinn a'Chleibh to be done as a separate outing. It's more interesting that way and deserves better than the usual quick out-and-back tag-on from Lui. It's a decent outing - especially in winter - from the Succoth Lodge side, which also has the advantage of cutting out any river/railway problems.

In reply to Dave Hewitt:

Camping in the Cononish woods is nice and you can always cycle up the glen, saving a long walk in.

In reply to Siward:

The hanging corrie north of Ben lui at 266267 is a good camping spot - you can traverse in either direction to get here.

In reply to Dr.S at work:

Thanks all.
Is the Allt Coire Laoigh a good route though? My available time is limited. Won't be walking until 12pm, so to have a wildcamp between OSS and Lui seems a good plan? I've plenty of time then to pitch, go to Dubhcraig and back, camp,then carry my kit up Lui, stash it, go to Chleibh then return via connonish?
I've thought of biking up the glen, but have heard rumours of thieves in the vicinity?

In reply to Dave the Rave:


The best part of 30 years ago I camped on the broad Oss-Lui col. Think it was an OKish spot but quite exposed to the weather which duly worsened overnight so it didn't feel the best of pitches come morning. Re the Allt Coire Laoigh, I came down that way in patchy snow in spring 2013 after a Dubhchraig-Oss traverse from Cononish. It was easy enough walking - with a path in places - and I stayed on the western side all the way down before crossing the bit of moorland to the Allt an Rund and the track.

Incidentally, for comparative timings, on the 2013 day it took me 4hr50, including about 50 minutes spent sitting about, from Cononish to the Oss-Lui col via the Gleann Auchreoch track system and the two Munros (it can be a bit fiddly exiting the trees thereabouts if you've not been there before). I wasn't carrying overnight gear, but did have metalware - it was crampony in places. Don't know how fast you walk, but you'd have about 8hr of daylight to play with so the same kind of thing might be feasible with a camp on/near the Oss-Lui col. Weekend forecast looks promising at this stage, if that's when you're planning to go.

In reply to Dave Hewitt:
Thanks very much for your time Dave

In reply to Dave the Rave:

Here's the classic Lui - Oss - Dubhchraig circuit: http://www.ukhillwalking.com/logbook/r/?i=922 ...which has to be the best route for scenic impact especially if you start with the walk-in up the glen.

It's only an 8-hour (or so) walk so camping is unnecessary (though you might want to anyway for fun of course). Add more time if you're also doing Beinn a' Chleibh as an out and back detour from Lui: perfectly feasible though I've never fancied it myself as I prefer neat circular routes.

Off the top of my head, good camping sites include:

1. Cononish woods: particularly pretty in the native pines south of the river
2. West end of the Cononish track, under Ben Lui: nice scenic backdrop, a fairly frequented camp spot
3. The col at the head of Coire Laoigh: as others have said, it's not hugely sheltered. I don't think it's particularly attractive either, as the hill slopes on either side are relatively boring.
4. Up in a fold somewhere high on Oss or - more likely - Dubhchraig. You'd get an amazing sunrise view of Ben Lui from Oss. Good weather preferable.
5. What about down by Loch Oss? There's not too much height loss from the col

In reply to Dan Bailey - UKHillwalking.com:

You don't need to do it as a there-and-back - you can contour from the col between them to the col before Ben Oss. I don't know how much time it adds as I've only ever done it via this route, but last time it was early February and we started and finished in daylight.

In reply to Simon Caldwell:

Yeah, but it's still a bit of an ungainly-looking leg on the map. It's all about the line...

In reply to Dan Bailey - UKHillwalking.com:

Sometimes it's also about staying as high as possible for as long as possible

In reply to Simon Caldwell:

true

In reply to Dan Bailey - UKHillwalking.com:

If doing the route from Dalrigh over Dubhcraig, what is the river crossing like just up from the village? I've read the bridge is down? Are rivers in spate this week or should it be cross able
Thanks

In reply to Dave the Rave:

The footbridge over the Allt Core Dubhchraig (or is it the Allt Gleann Auchreoch at that stage?), as per stage 6 of the route i linked to? I hadn't heard that.

It was damp underfoot in Glen coe yesterday but not spate by any means. If it stays dry-ish in the next few days then I think you should stay dry-ish too

In reply to Dan Bailey - UKHillwalking.com:

Thanks Dan. I was reading a 2013 report on walk highlands .

In reply to Dan Bailey - UKHillwalking.com:

I can confirm that the bridge near the railway is nay more. It is just two rails spanning the river. River is easily cross able at the moment.

In reply to Dave the Rave:

I was up there today. The descent down from Dubhchraig was a boggy mess and the lower part through the trees and ferns is tick central at the moment. Found 4 on me so far!
The bridge is just a couple of rails now, but they are solid, so you can either ford the river or if you have decent balance, use the rails!

In reply to crustypunkuk:
Yeah. Didn't enjoy the walk up at all, until the bit before the bealach. It was ok on the way down though. The rails would be doable and I nearly gave them a go. Wouldn't want to cross them if the river was in spate though.

In reply to Dave the Rave: Thanks Dave, good to know

In reply to Dave the Rave:

If you are heading up the Cononish Glen from the north there is a footbridge (marked on the OS maps) by the farm at Cononish http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4138327 I used this myself a few years back to do Oss and Dubhchraig.

In reply to Lankyman:


This is a good option to avoid the broken bridge and boggy path through the forest.

For Oss and Dubhcraig, take the track to Cononish Farm, cross the bridge and carry on for another 1.5km on the S side of the river. Follow the W bank of the Allt Coire Chruinn, aiming for a notch on the skyline, then bouldery slopes on the W edge of Coire Cruinn to the little col between Oss and its NE top. After doing Oss and then Dubhcraig, retrace your steps to the wee lochans and take Dubhcraig's N ridge, finally dropping back down to the bridge at Cononish.

Map here: http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=55774&p=29...

In reply to Mark Bull:

That map route isn't the way I went, Mark. Outward-bound I took the mines track right to its end and then followed up Coire Laoigh to the col between Oss and Lui. I then traversed Oss and Dubhchraig, descending north off the latter along a shoulder almost directly down towards Cononish farm and bridge over the Cononish River. Quite steep off the end but can't recall any problems.

In reply to Lankyman:


Sure, that works, too - a bit longer, but less steep and more circular!