Sgùrr a' Bhealaich Dheirg and Sàileag (via Glen Lichd)

Glen Shiel and the Kintail area is a place I keep returning to. There is so much on offer here and in most cases within easy access of the A87. This time I'd planned a two day hike with an overnight camp, taking in a couple of the brothers with an option to extend over the sisters.

Rather than approach the ridge from the obvious starting points along the A87, I'd decided to retrace my Affric Kintail Way steps through Glen Lichd and break off from the track before Camban bothy to ascend the north eastern shoulder of Sgùrr a' Bhealaich Dheirg. I wanted an early start but also didn't want to reach the camp spot too early so the long approach was ideal, and in any case Glen Lichd is such a peaceful and picturesque Glen.

Once up and over the mountain pass above the Allt Grannda waterfall, I was finally exposed to the sun having been sheltered in the Glen for much of the 2.5hr walk in. Waterfalls cascade down the side of Beinn Fhada by the side of the track here, so I decided to grab a full supply of water for what would need to last me the extended hike over the sisters should I decide to do so.

After leaving the main AKW track, it was a case of heading directly for the shoulder. Without a path the going was slow and steady, and rather warm with the unbroken mid morning sun beating down. I eventually reached the shoulder and could see the way ahead, including an interesting looking rocky narrow ridge leading to the summit. Approaching the ridge I could see the last section looked quite narrow and a bit sketchy, with a very steep grassy pull up to the summit. I just wasn't feeling it especially with the heavy pack, so I made the decision to skirt around the eastern side to pick up the col between this and Aonach Meadhoin.

I joined the main brothers ridge path at this point and made my way to the summit of Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg. The cairn for this summit is located on a rocky outcrop with not a lot of space to manoeuvre around it. The views from here are quite something, with the South Shiel ridge spread out to the south, the great bulk of Beinn Fhada to the north and the pointy peaks of the sisters poking above Sàileag along the ridge to the west. By this point I'd drunk nearly half of the 5 litres of water I'd carried up and was questioning whether I'd make my date with the sisters.

There's a fine ridge walk between Sgurr a' Bhealaich Dheirg and Sàileag and it didn't take long to reach my second Munro of the day. By this point it was nearly 1pm so I found a spot close to the summit to have lunch and enjoy the views. The water situation was looking questionable in terms of carrying on. I had 2 litres remaining and without any obvious fill up points along the ridge, I decided to call it a day on Sàileag. I spent the next few hours snoozing, snapping away with the camera and generally enjoying the views. I set up the bivvy around 6pm, made tea and relaxed whilst watching the sun set over the sisters.

I awoke to a still clear morning with the sun about to rise over a misty Glen Affric. Fog was rolling into Glen Shiel which looked fantastic. An hour of snapping away again with the camera and two coffees later, and I was packing up and setting off. My escape route was the coire leading back to Glen Lichd, in effect the northern side of the Bealach na Lapain. Again the going was pathless but fairly simple to navigate with a few stream crossings to deal with, all in all a pleasant descent. Once I'd picked up the path just south of Glen Lichd House, I was on my way back to the car and breakfast at the Pitstop cafe.