I left the car park at about 1315 and took off on a good run until I was at the train viaduct. From here, it was a gradual ascent below the crags of Chaisteal and into the upper part of the glen, just below Beinn Odhar. I reluctantly left the land rover track and began the steep climb on to the South ridge of Beinn a Chaisteal - at about 500m, I put my trousers on as the temperature had dropped somewhat. The views were now opening up over towards Ben Challum and beyond. At about 650m, I decided to stop and have lunch with a couple of nervous sheep eyeing me closely. It wasn't long before I was walking along the final few hundred metres, with the cairn visible and in front of Beinn Dorain. The sun came out and I could see the way down and over to my 2nd objective of the day. I popped a wine gum and took off - the weather coming in from the West was none-too-pretty and I knew further down I would get a soaking.
The descent became quite boggy and the bealach was pretty swampy. However, I began the climb up on to Fuaran and pushed on. There isn't much in the way of interest when ascending this hill but the steep slopes keep you challenged. Eventually, I met up with the fence and this took me on up to the summit cairn. The wind was quite strong at this point so I didn't hang about and began my slippery return off the North-West slopes all the way down to the river. The views here were excellent with a particularly nice view of Beinn Achaladair and its steep prow. A couple of cyclists were returning after their sojourn up Mhanach no doubt and I slightly envied them their transport. However, I was feeling fresh and even managed to run back some of the way to the WHW. I was back at the car within 4 hours 10 and it was good to set foot back on the Corbetts.
