Mullardoch & Affric Munros

Getting there

• In Cannich, by the traffic lights, a road is marked 'Mullardoch 9m'. Head up this narrow road to the dam at the end of the road. There is ample room to park at either end of the dam.

Carn nan Gobhar

• From the northern end of the dam, hike up the road and around the houses. Follow a track down to a boat house, then continue up a new track past the Chisholm cairn and continue westwards. This track was put in for a small hydro scheme and after turning northwards it follows Allt Mullardoch for 2km.
• A wooden bridge is reached , cross this and head northwest directly uphill through heather - a faint path can be traced for much of the way.
• Higher up on pleasant grassy ground the bealach between Creag Dubh (a 'Munro top') and Carn nan Gobhar is reached.
• Turn westwards and cross easy ground to reach Carn nan Gobhar's bouldery summit with two cairns - the northern one is the summit.

Sgurr na Lapaich

• On a fairly obvious path, head west-north-west over boulderfield to a tiny lochan (not marked on the OS Landranger map and indistinct after long dry periods) on the bealach.
• The path, now very obvious, continues up towards Sgurr na Lapaich, encountering some boulderfields which will need scrambling over just below the summit.
• The summit is a fine place to stop and take in the views, particularly towards Lurg Mhor and Loch Monar, and there's a decent cairn to shelter out of the wind.

An Riabhachan

• Leave the summit and head south-west on a path downhill.
• In fine conditions the route to the bealach is obvious, however in mist, careful navigation is required as the faint path seems to split, with one route aiming off right, down to the coire.
• From the bealach, hike uphill on the path, occasionally zig-zagging on the ridge to gain the crest.
• A tidy cairn on An Riabhachan's long wide crest is met, the summit cairn is 750m further on.

An Socach (Cannich)

• Contine for just under 2km to a third cairn on An Riabhachan's south-west top, then look for a path heading westwards downhill - some care is needed as the ground is loose.
• Reach a narrow bealach before the minor summit with the spot height of 1040m, which can be bypassed.
• Descent to Bealach Bholla on a path, encountering some short easy scrambling sections on the way. Strong winds can funnel through here !
• Uphill next, steep in bits but on a path, reach a minor top on An Socach's east arm. Continue the short distance to the trig point on the summit and have a bite and take in the magnifient views.

Mullach na Dheiragain

• Off path, head south-west and drop 300m to the wide rim of Coire Lungard (careful navigation required in mist).
• Follow the crest of the rim around to Meall Shuas, then descend very pleasant grassy ground to Loch Mullardoch some 500m below.
• If you're back-packing over a couple of days, then by the Gobh-alltan is a fine spot to stay overnight.
• To continue, cross the river, then a track, then follow a vague path climbing uphill by the west side of the Allt Cam and its pretty waterfall. The path disappears into grass higher up and it's a real haul over this terrain (wet in places) to reach the 'Munro-top' of Mullach Sithidh
• South-west and on a faint path, a narrow bealach leads to Mullach na Dheiragain. The views from this Munro are fine, however Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan, the turning point on the route, appears a very long way away !

Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan

• Head south on a distinct path to grassy ground on a wide bealach .
• There are two options from here : if weather is fine then stick to the crest, which narrows as it climbs and the path starts to climb to gain the wide plateau of Carn na Con Dhu. Sections of boulders have then to be crossed before descending down to the next bealach .
• Alternatively if strong winds ar blowing from the west, stay sheltered by contouring on grassy ground (pathless) around the eastern side of Carn na Con Dhu and meeting up with the next bealach .
• The path, now very obvious, is followed up Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan's north-east spur. Airy in bits, there's a full 300m of ascent to reach the summit. A lofty place with a fine cairn and shelter out of any wind. The views west make the effort worthwhile.

An Socach (Affric)

• Aim south-east from the summit and follow a worn path around Coire nan Dearcag, over some bumps to Stob Coire na Cloiche. Continue north-east then east and drop a further 100m.
• Up over a wet rise followed by a final 100m climb on the peat and boulders path to the large cairn on An Socach's summit.

Mam Sodhail

• Follow a faint path north-east to a minor top (marked 906m), then strike downhill north-east, still on a path, to Bealach Coire Ghaidheil .
• A stalker's path crosses the bealach, and ahead another very obvious path heads uphill.
• Follow the uphill path for around 1km to the 1000m contour, then aim north-east over gravel to the minor top (marked 1108m on the OS map).
• Stick to the crest of the hillside, Mam Sodhail's summit is 1km further on. There's the remains of a building on the way. A huge cairn is built on the top - this was the first trangulation point used by the OS in Scotland - it now makes a fine shelter in which to get out of the wind.

Beinn Fhionnlaidh

• From Mam Sodhail, head north on a very obvious, though quite loose path to the bealach below Carn Eige.
• Don't head up to Carn Eighe ! Instead, continue northwards contouring around it and fill up your water-bottle on one of the springs on the way.
• Drop to Bealach Beag, then climb the steep ascent on a good path up to Beinn Fhionnlaidh's shoulder.
• Reach the tidy summit cairn, from where there's an excellent view back down Loch Mullardoch.

Carn Eige

• Return to Bealach Beag, then keeping to the crest of Carn Eighe's north-west shoulder, climb uphill on a well defined path.
• Around the rim of dark Coire Lochan, there's 350m of ascent to reach the small untidy cairn on Carn Eige - this is a superb vantage point !

Tom a'Choinich

• Aim east down to a slightly wet flat area and continue towards Stob a'Choire Dhomhain.
• The hill's crest turns south-east and reaches some shattered rocks , which can be bypassed on the south side.
• Once this narrow section is left behind, the crest widens and turns east-north-east up Sron Garbh.
• Down some scree and some man-made steps with care to Garbh-bealach then progress up An Leth-chreag following occasional fence-posts.
• Over one more bump to continue following fence posts on pleasant grassy ground to the summit of Tom a'Choinich.

Toll Creagach

• There are some sharp drops on the eastern side of this hill, therefore careful navigation in mist might be needed to find the path down.
• The stalker's path aiming down to Bealach Toll Easa starts directly downhill, then zig-zags along the north side of the crest. In winter this path buried under snow and this is taking toll, making the path very unstable. Much better to stick to the worn path on the narrow crest !
• Reach the bealach below and follow a path and posts up towards a wide plateau.
• Continue west-north-west for just under 2km over the broad grassy shoulder to Toll Creagach's summit - the last of the day's 12 Munros !

Return to Mullardoch Dam

• From Toll Creagach, you'd think the route choice would be the faint path that heads north-east to Creag a'Bhaca. However further down the ground is covered in really deep thick heather, with hidden wet mossy holes, making for slow tiring progress - not what you need at the end of a really long day.
• So instead, from Toll Creagach's summit, head due east and follow the Allt Fraoch-choire down towards the dam, it's still heathery, but far easier going. You'll reach a deer-fence below and find a gate.
• A wet path (and occasionally ATV tracks) continues north-east and a track leading to a small wooden chalet is met - follow this down to the road by a house, just east of the dam.
• The dam can't be crossed and the ground immediately below it is unforgiving, so stick to the road to return - one last short climb back uphill to your car !