12°C, dry white cloud to start, rain after about 3pm.

Walk along The West Highlands Way for a short while before taking a wet turning north. Onto a bealach that connects two of the horseshoe’s summits. The route up the Glen issues soggy but with reasonable grip. Once over the edge, the full force of the wind was felt but it remained dry.
The planned route was part horseshoe and tee-bone it with two Munros. So over the col and diagonally down the other side to trace a contours behind the peak Am Bodach to skip it out. Stob Coire a Chairn (981m) was the one I wanted.

Before me was a magnificent panorama, the most striking is An Gearanach which looks like a fine scramble for another day. I’d prefer not to do that one solo for safety reasons.

Return was by the same route any then along the ridge to Sgurr an Lubhair. That one is not a munro, even though the height is enough. Munros have to stand 300m above surrounding land, this one doesn’t, quite. Still, for a horseshoe ridge, the top is flatish and requires a decision using the compass to get down. Two sides are drops down dramatic cliffs so you need the right path.
Despite the hill fog, the terrain here was interesting. A very nice Lochan marked my junction. The water is distinctly turquoise with white quartzite stones below. Worth coming back, take note. I chose the descent into the glen south back to the West Highlands Way. A path contours and descends westwards. Reading the contours on the map, there appears to be a chute which turned out to be a very useful route down. It zig-zagged down on what must have been an ancient route. It was too big for a deer trail but overgrown with grasses and lacking any footprints. I think is must have fallen into disuse decades ago.

It was here that I encountered the first midges of the trip. I crouched down at a burn to collect and filter drinking water. I got mobbed by them. Once on the track, I turned east for the long walk back along the West Highland Way. Not having seen anybody all day, a few small groups passed going north here. One group of Germans were setting up camp in a short grass patch on the Glen.