32 - An Cliseam

Friday 26th May – An Cliseam (The Clisham) - 11.4 km, 1075 m ascent 
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Rising at 5:30 am, breakfasted, packed lunch prepared, I set off at 7:07 am. The sun was shining and the sky was clear everywhere except over Clisham, which was sitting under a couple of up-turned saucer shaped clouds – a fairly typical example of high wind clouds over hill-tops. These told me to expect high wind speeds from the south-west coming over the top.

An Cliseam seen from the parking area

I eased into my exercise slowly, with tight calf muscles. A clear trail of muddy prints led up on the left of a nice bright and clear stream – heading up on a bearing of 302-degrees for 500 metres, where the stream divided into two (170060). The path crossed the left-hand branch and continued parallel to the branch on the right (7:20 am). The bearing stayed on 302-degrees. The air was calm – often completely still and warm, but I knew not to be deceived. The cloud shape above told me I was in the shelter of the ridge on my left.

The path remained boggy but it looked like a feint trail turned left onto the ridge, while the main trail continued to head for the left of the col. I followed the feint trail, since I wished to ascend the SE ridge, hoping to stay just NE of its edge so I could miss out on some of the wind.  With the gradient not too steep, I was walking at 80 steps/minute of two boot-lengths (60 cm) so that’s about 2.9 km/h or 2.4 mph. A grouse shot out from almost under my foot. No call this time, just a clapping of wings.

Nearing the top, the ascent eases off, Loch Seaforth shines in the early sunlight

The path then shifted to the left to rise up the right edge of the ridge – it was 7:50 am i.e. 30 mins from the division in the stream, so that ought to be 1½ km further, but since the ridge hadn’t steepened up yet I reckoned from the map it was closer to 1 km in the 30 minutes – position 163065. The difference being due to track meanderings or wiggles and the tendency to zig-zag a bit when rising uphill. It was a good place to ascend – just in the shelter from the wind, but up onto better drained ground. At 8:00 am, the ridge ascent became steeper (70 steps/min x 45 cm), then 10 minutes on, steeper still (60/min x 38 cm) while zig-zagging, and then steeper again with even greater amounts of zig-zagging (50/min x 30 cm); turning to the right to avoid a boulder fall – following the grass where possible; pausing at 8:40 am to take in the view and capture the panorama from Loch Seaforth to Taransay before entering the cloud. 
 

An Cliseam trig point

Rising onto the top at 8:50 am, engulfed by cloud and in the full force of the wind, I needed both my sticks to keep three point contact with the ground as I crossed the boulders without losing balance – either lifting a stick to move it, or a foot, but not both at once. As I walked west along the ridge-top, I noticed another high point ahead and then a shelter emerged on higher ground. I had discovered the trig point (799 m; 8:56 am; 154073) was hiding inside a shelter constructed from rocks. As I mooched about the top, the cloud rose and moved across, and the sun found a way around the side of the cloud. On the way up I’d seen evidence of just one set of boot prints made in the last month.

SW from the NW end of the An Cliseam summit

I started to descend westwards along the ridge 9:25 am and the views continued to improve in clarity – seeing down to the south-west tip of Harris. I stopped to attempt to take panoramic photos to north and south. However, as I walked, the wind was sucking fluid from my nose and eyes and spraying droplets over my glasses, so I needed to be doubly cautious – both regarding sight and balance. I reached the west col (148075) at 10:00 am and started to ascend westwards. I was sheltered and warm - cag off, fleece and shirt open. Loch Langabhat trailed away to the north with lines of smaller hills beyond, and the odd isolated hump from the far north of Lewis. Passing over the “inbetween top” (10:15 am, 146076) on a narrower grassy ridge, then down and up a little. Here the track avoids the steep rock-strewn ridge ahead, but climbs gradually, following an ascending smooth path on the north face, until in line with the summit, and then turns south and makes a small easy climb up onto Mulla-Fo-Dheas (743 m; 10:30 am; 143077). 

9.35 am Descending An Cliseam's west ridge, looking ahead to Mulla-Fo-Dheas

From here I admired and photographed the 360-degree panorama – southwest to Berneray; southeast to the Trotternish peninsular on Skye; northwest to the Stornaway peninsular, and northwest to the smooth domed rock-capped hills near Timsgearraidh. 
 

10.35 am Panorama North to East from Mulla-Fo-Dheas

 

11.00 am The descent NW from Mulla-Fo-Dheas, to follow the ridge to Mulla-Fo-Thuath

By 11:00 am I was descending along the ridge on 330-degrees; 11:25 am in the col, on a nice grassy route with occasional large boulder obstacles; then ascending the ridge (veering from 330 to 360-degrees) onto Mulla-Fo-Thuath, an easy top (720 m; 11:50 am; 141084).

11.06 NE from the ridge from Mulla-Fo-Dheas to Mulla-Fo-Thuath

11.15 NE from the ridge from Mulla-Fo-Dheas to Mulla-Fo-Thuath

An older couple (quite a bit older than me) passed walking the ridge in the opposite direction from Scaladale, the lady having considerable difficulty due to the wind, and then another group of five were emerging over the lump of Mulladh an Langa. So many people about! Descending northwards, a nice level pancake-flat platform of rock invited me to take a seat above a boulder field – large hunks with perilous gaps between them. I took my ease for a lunch-break (141087; 11:50 am – 12:30 pm). To my surprise, a mountain hare came running across the rocks below me - its white fur and brown-black fur in streaky blotches – a winter coat being replaced by its “summer” one. It completed a full 30-degree arc, stopped for a while, then scampered back from whence it came.

Negotiating the large boulders was definitely not to be hurried – not only were there large gaps, there were also loose rocking “tip-you-off” ones, and cliff like drops. I veered further west away from the ridge to find routes that were grassy and smoother. By 12:55 I was at the col (142092) heading upwards on 28-degrees, where I passed a group of four Poles, also going the opposite way. Moving onto Mullach an Langa (614 m; 1:10 pm;143095), the wind was suddenly hitting me in strong gusts. I decided this was the point where I should commence my return. Getting a good look at the lie of the land, I decided to head for the low end of the cliffs above the head of Loch Mhisteam. Descending northeast , but veering about to southeast, I was crossing the contours at about 45-degrees. The difficulties presented by deep rivulet channels impelled me to pass lower than I intended, but I wished to avoid the boggy leveller ground next to the loch. I reached the head of the loch (2:05 pm) and ascended alongside the stream (2:15 pm; 155086), heading for the col between An Cliseam and Tomnabhal on an approximate 137-degrees.

A solar heated bath? Well, sun on the rocks de-chilled water, at least.

Noticing water running down a long sloping slab of rock, with the sun shining on it, caused me to think about solar water heating. The water was running into a pool almost deep enough to swim or at least float in, so I tested the water with a hand, then a bare foot – quite comfortable – so I stripped upwards to my waist and sat in it – nice – so with all the rest off, I lay back for a float about, and then an all over wash. The sun disappeared, so to avoid getting chilled, I got out just at the moment that a gust of wind caught my light-weight towel/scarf and blew it into the water. A moment of concern, but with a quick squeeze and wringing out of the towel, it got me dry without any difficulty. Quickly dressed, feeling refreshed, the towel spread on a warmish rock while I took a drink, and then I was off (2:50 pm).

Bearing left from the stream to stay headed for the col, the ground became steeper, the wind hit me with renewed vigour, but I was soon met by the tributary stream from the col. I crossed to its right side, since that looked smoother and continued upwards. Glancing up, I noticed two deer were standing above the opposite bank watching me. As I waited, they moved up and across to the right and then left. Another four stood higher on my side, watching, camouflaged among the rocks and then crossed to the left to join the others, and they all moved casually away.

As I moved through the col (3:35 pm), I could hear a lone golden plover “eek-ing” – the first bird of the day, and I didn’t actually see it. The birds had been grounded due to unsafe flying conditions. By this point it felt like a warm gale – Wearing vest and shirt with the sleeves up – cag and fleece off – but the wind made it hard to progress down a gentle smooth slope (80 steps/min x 60 cm, ie 2.9 km/h or 1.8 mph). Just before the U-shaped col descended into the V cut by the stream, five deer (probably the same ones) crossed from left to right, returning to the boulder strewn slopes of Clisham.

Nearing the end of the U-shaped col

Taking a rough bearing of 130-degrees, to follow the direction of the stream valley to my van, and following the left bank a little higher to avoid the waterfall, cliffs and steep edges, I was expecting to meet the sketchy track I followed upwards. However, staying on the left and looking down the valley it really didn’t look quite how it had in the morning. Hedging my bets, I followed a middle course along the ridge between the two valleys. I wasn’t lost. I knew exactly where I was on the map. However I was becoming less sure of where I’d parked! There was 1 km between the two possible parking places, but I didn’t want an extra 1 km roadwalk. Getting a vantage point (at 172064; 4:25 pm), I could see my van at the southmost of the two parking places (173057), so I had a simple descent to reach it (4:45 pm). Three of the four Poles were sitting at a table at the parking area – they’d shortened their route by cutting down to the nearest section of road, waiting while the fourth, most energetic one, fetched their car. They’d seen no-one that I’d not seen. So, with better weather than the previous 16 days, and quite likely for the next 16 days too, a total of twelve people were on Clisham. ( I would guess that a less well known hill on the Outer Isles might have been completely deserted all day, and that a hill of comparable grandeur in England would have hundreds forming queues along its ridges.) Having seen and felt the lie of the land, I’m sure this was the best access point to reach Clisham.

From the S-Harris West coast road, by Seilibost at high tide, looking north

The next stage in my odyssey was to walk from Benbecular across North Uist to the north of Berneray. The last ferry crossing from Leverburgh was at 6:30 pm, for which I would be too late, so my best course of action was to spend the night close to the ferry so that I would be able to cross on the first sailing on Saturday, at 8:25 am. I drove down to Tarbert, hoping to: 

• check on the forecast at the Information Centre, but the display board is inside and the doors were locked; 
• check the Leverburgh – Berneray ferry times weren’t altered due to very high and low tides – failed for the same reason; 
•  top-up on diesel – failed – the forecourt was on such a steep slope that a mere two litres brought the fuel level up to the filling spout, even though the fuel guage showed it to be only half full. 

 So I drove down to Leverburgh, checked the display board there for the next sailing time and then parked on the Scarista road, at the first available parking spot, just out of sight of houses. The uniform cloud layer was lowering upwind – looking typical for an approaching warm front – warmer air pushing over the top of cooler air. However, the air was already feeling warm, with the wind strong and gusty.
I boiled six eggs (3 ½ minutes), lined the grill with bread covered with bacon, grill – turn – grill – cover with ½ bell pepper sliced and halved tomatoes – grill – remove ½ bacon into a breadroll for Saturday – remaining bacon sandwiched between bread slices – toast both sides – eat; followed by a slice of fruit and marzipan cake. Van roof up to dry out in the wind, then down again ready for an early start. Boots polished. To bed.