Location: Stob a’ choire mheadhoin and stob a’ coire Easain, Lochaber

Grade: Serious mountain walk

Distance: About 9 miles/15km

Approx Time: 5-7 hours

We are all thinking about summer walks at the moment but I remain undecided about my favourite season for the hills.

Many prefer the snowy days of winter but I tend to opt for either spring or autumn. The promise of spring tends to be in your heart, uplifted by the thought of the long summer ahead, but the beauty of autumn is more immediate, and on a good day surrounds you with all the splendour of a golden pageant.

That was the scene on the narrow twisting road that runs from Tulloch to the head of Loch Treig. The trees showed off a seasonal burst of burnished bronze, and the hills lay golden in the early morning sun. The primeval roar of the rutting stags and the gaggles of migrating geese flying in formation down the steep-sided trench of Loch Treig lent an urgency to the scene.

I identified a sense of urgency in my own strides. The forecast had suggested the weather would deteriorate as the day went on and I was eager to climb my two hills before that happened. Stob a’ Choire Mheadhoin and Stob a’ Coire Easain are Munros that rise from the west shore of Loch Treig and are nicely linked by a high, narrow bealach. Their dual ascent makes a superb 15km jaunt, one of the best hill treks in the area.

Fieldfares rose from the bronzed birches as I started along the track that leads to Loch Treig. It was still early and a touch of frost lingered in the air, nipping my fingers. I followed the track through the woods and then took a muddier footpath onto the col that lies below Meall Cian Dearg, the first major bump on the ridge. Already the views were opening up – past the rocky Corbetts of Sgurr Innse and its close neighbour Cruach Innse to the symmetrical peak of Stob Ban, a shapely Munro that’s dwarfed by the big peaks of the Grey Corries.

The Stob a’ Choire Mheadhoin ridge makes a broad highway, but it soon begins to narrow as it curls round the top of the steep-sided Coire Shomhairle. A series of rocky corries lie below the eastern slopes of the ridge and from each in turn came the tormented roar of stags, the lustful sound of the rut. In less than a couple of weeks time the stags would lose interest in the hinds and gather together in herds, their passion subdued until next autumn’s frenzy begins all over again. But before that they have to endure another long Highland winter.

I continued over the broad summit of Stob a’ Choire Mheadhoin and down the steep slopes to the high bealach that separates the two Munros, still accompanied by the tormented roars. By this time much of the promise of the day had evaporated and thin veils of mist were floating in from the west. Stob Ban and the Grey Corries were already hidden by a grey curtain and by the time I had climbed the steep nort-east ridge of Stob a’ Choire Easain the clouds had obliterated the views.

I wasn’t too disappointed. It was all downhill from here and I was keen to get below the mist. I suspected the golden glen below would be worth loitering in for a while and I wasn’t disappointed. Halfway down the ridge the mists passed on, leaving the odd wisp that reflected the yellow colours of the hillsides. I stopped beside a tumbling waterfall and enjoyed a late lunch below a rowan tree, its bright red berries outliving the crumpled yellow leaves. The peace and stillness was beyond description but now that the clouds had passed I noticed they had left behind a dusting of snow on the high tops.

While the promise of spring is in the expectancy of summer, the promise of autumn is altogether darker and less welcome. It’s good to make the most of autumn days while they last.

CAMERON McNEISH

ROUTE PLANNER

Map: OS 1:50,000 Landranger sheet 41(Ben Nevis); Harvey Mountain Map, Ben Nevis & Glen Coe

Distance: About 9 miles/15km

Approx Time: 5-7 hours

Start/Finish: Car parking area above Fersit (GR: NN348782)

Route: From the car parking area follow the track to Loch Treig. Pass the dam and take the second turning on the right. This is initially a broad track that runs up to some sheep pens. Beyond the pens it becomes a muddy argotrack all the way to the col NE of Meall Cian Dearg. Climb steeply to the top of this subsidiary top and continue in a SW direction along the ridge, over another bump before climbing to the stony summit of Stob a’ Choire Mheadhoin. Descend in a SW direction down rocky slopes to the bealach and ascend the obvious path that runs up the E ridge of Stob Coire Easain. From he summit follow the NW ridge and drop down into the wide moors of Coire Laire where a faint footpath by the river carries you down the glen to meet up with the old British Aluminium Company railway line that can be followed back to the starting point.

Due to restrictions, we are running our favourite previously published walks.

Please see www.gov.scot for current travel rules