Carn Fiaclach
Carn Fiaclach, Glen Affric. - Section 11B
Climbed - 29 October 2010. Time taken – 3.75 hours.
Distance – 5.5 kilometres. Ascent – 330 metres.
Trip Report Details:
We had been staying for a few days in Tomch and as my walking friends were returning home on what was a very windy morning I decided to climb this nearby Sub 2000 Marilyn. It was a short drive to the Dog Falls Car Park in Glen Affric, where there were plenty of parking spaces.
I walked across the bridge over the River Affric and followed the vehicle track that headed south-west through the forest gradually gaining some height. At a junction of tracks I took the right fork and continued in the same direction searching for a suitable point to scramble through the forest onto this hill. I never found one and when the track started to loose height I decided that I had little option but wade my way through the forest undergrowth if I was going to reach the summit of this ‘little hill’. The map hadn’t helped as Carn Fiaclach was shown as surrounded by forest.
Firstly there was an area of watery ground to traverse before commencing a fairly steep climb through the trees. Underfoot the long vegetation, heather, mosses and some fallen timber made progress slow and awkward but eventually I appeared on the west ridge of Carn Fiaclach. It was then a short walk to the summit where a metal pole marked the top. I found some shelter from the wind for a coffee with views of Loch Affric and the cloud covered Affric Munros.
Maybe it was a mistake taking a coffee break, as while seated at the summit I decided to return by descending the north-east ridge which was initially quite pleasant. However lower down the vegetation and some rocks made the descent pretty awful so I wouldn’t recommend this route. Low down on the ridge I came to the vehicle track which I followed in a south-westerly direction until it joined the track used earlier that day. It was then a short walk back to the car park.
On checking Google the metal pole on the summit may be a trig point for the hydro electric station.
Photos taken on walk.